Who, indeed, is William Onyeabor? A fundamentalist Christian pastor, devoted entirely to the word of the Lord? A Soviet-trained cinematographer with long-standing links to Moscow? A shadowy businessman with whispered links to unsavoury underground elements? A mega-elaborate hoax devised by Damon Albarn? This show didn't answer any of these questions, but it did confirm the 70's Nigerian funk pioneer produced some seriously great tunes. The first half of a show was at times underwhelming, lacking the requisite groove to get things kicked off, but by the end the whole Barbican was on their feet, singing and dancing and ignoring the fact that Albarn fluffed his one and only moment in the spotlight. A solid tribute to a hitherto undiscovered genius, albeit one that was very rough round the edges.
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