Popchain To Be Revived

If you were not too old to witness any of the popchains that rocked the country in the 60s, 70s and 80s, with a couple of National Championships, held at the Arts Centre, then this time round, a programme dubbed Popchain Nostalgia 2004 will give you an idea of what happened then.

Popchain was a musical concert which featured a number of school bands which performed sometimes in a competition and which brought a lot of joy to the students.

While some musicians like Glen Ghanababa, Warren, Chikinchi, Jagger Quartey, Desmond Ababio and Nana Nkrumah had their beginnings from the popchains, others loved the fun and the experience it gave them.

Popchains were great student events and it brought unity and a competitive spirit among the youth.

Thanks to four women, Kate Baffour, Ama Baffour, Sarah Mansray and Audrey Baffour, the popchain will be revived at Popchain Nostalgia 2004 to be held on August 7, at the El Wak Stadium, Accra.

According to the organisers their intention is to revive the popchains of old with alumni of schools of that period getting together to form bands to compete for trophies and awards.

The organisers hope that the Popchains will be held on rotational basis with the proceeds going to the host school of the year.

?We hope that this event will trigger interest in music in our youth and foster the re-introduction of music in the curricula of our secondary schools?.

?We will eventually establish a Music Development Fund or Initiative to complement this effort leading to a band from each participating school competing in the event?, they added.

Groups that will register to perform in Popchain Nostalgia 2004 will be required to perform two songs from the repertoire of any 40 groups or musical groups of the period, one African rendition, one Jazz number and one song of the group?s own choice.

The maximum duration of each song will be five minutes. A panel of seven judges will award marks for each competing group in the different categories for awards.

Popchains came about after a group of students saw a film featuring Eric Burdon and the Animals with Spencer Davis.

Some students got together, amongst them Dr Kpakpo Allotey and organised the first Popchain at the Baden Powell Hall in the early sixties.

Among the groups that took part were the Avalanches and Thunderbirds from Adisadel College and later groups such as Circuit 5 (Mfantsipim), Road Runners (Achimota), Matthew Chapter 5 (St John?s, Sekondi), Bishop?s Candlesticks (Asankragwa) and Disco Teens (Mfantsipim).

The Popchains featured bands from all the regions especially, Central and Greater Accra. They were held mostly during the long vacations and were excellent ways of encouraging students to bring their musical gifts to the fore.

Popchain Nostalgia 2004 is sponsored by Parry and Co Limited, Barclays Bank, Provident Insurance, Interplast, Shelter Afrique, Taysec Construction Limited, Metro TV, Radio Gold, Atlantis Radio, Sleek Fashion Limited, Ultimate Supplies Limited and Golden Tulip Hotel.