Home Name

The British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal Team

Date

1985

History

During the mid-1980s The British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal Team (BRAFA) raised thousands of pounds for Ethiopian famine relief by recording a charity song Let’s Make Africa Green Again, and holding a benefit concert in Shoreditch Park.
Hackney reggae artists Leon Leiffer and Gene Rondo came together in January 1985 to form BRAFA with fellow musicians including Courtney Carr, Raymond Dangarembizi, Ras Elroy Bailey, Jah Bunny, Tony Douglas, Ken Kendricks and Fay Addison.
On 24 February 1985 over 200 singers, musicians, local residents, and school children joined the BRAFA team at Hive Studio in Stoke Newington to record the charity song Let's Make Africa Green Again. Released by Island Records in April 1985, all profits from the record went to the charity Save the Children Fund for long-term development projects in famine-affected areas of Africa.
BRAFA held a benefit concert in Shoreditch Park on Bank Holiday Monday, 26 May 1986. Over 10,000 people watched top reggae and soul performers, raising further money for Save the Children Fund’s Ethiopian famine appeal.