This stellar Album by Orchestra Makassy was put together by Englishman Norman Mighell in 1982 for Virgin Records U.K. as an experiment to assess the acceptability of African music to the U.K. market.
A.I. Records – Kenya, was unsure this was a sensible idea considering using multi-tracking techniques was untried, and expensive! However, it was worth a try! Orchestra Makassy had visited Nairobi in the late 1970’s and recorded a total of 20 songs to be released on their dedicated ‘Editions, Makassy label’. These 10 songs as listed are their “Multi-tracks” editions. The experiment worked. African music could sell in the first world, and “Mambo Bado” was even considered good enough for Carlos Santana to think of using on his stage shows.
Yes, African music would sell in the U.K. and indeed, the world.