Aie a Mwana
Encyclopedia
"Aie a Mwana" is the best-known title of a song originally written by the French-Belgian writing and production team of Daniel Vangarde
and Jean Kluger
.
It was first recorded in 1971 under the title "Aieaoa" on the album Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki. In 1975, a version with predominantly Swahili lyrics by Black Blood, an African group recording in Belgium, was released as "A.I.E. (A Mwana)". In 1981, "Aie a Mwana" became the first single released by English girl group
Bananarama
. In 2010, with an identical melody but new lyrics and released as "Helele
", it became an official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, in a version by Velile and Safri Duo
.
and Jean Kluger
.
In 1975, Belgian record producer Michel Jaspar - who had been born in what was then the Belgian Congo
- was contacted by Zairean singer Steve Banda Kalenga, who had formed a band with friends from Angola
. Jaspar renamed the band Black Blood, and, with fellow musician Ralph Benatar and with the encouragement of Kluger, produced the band's first single in Belgium. The A-side was "Marie Therese", written by Jaspar, and the B-side was a version of "Aieaoa" which Jaspar re-wrote with lyrics in Swahili
, apart from the words "Aie a Mwana" themselves which are meaningless. It was the B-side, "A.I.E. (A Mwana)", which became successful, reaching #1 in Belgium and France, as well as being a hit in other parts of the world.
After Bananarama's success in the UK with their version of the song, Vangarde and Kluger, who by then had found international success with the Gibson Brothers
and then Ottawan
, also recorded versions of the same song with both Ottawan ("A.I.E. Is My Song", with English lyrics, 1982) and La Compagnie Créole
("A.I.E A Moun'la", 1987).
and ultimately it was the demo version that was pressed onto the record. Originally released as a stand-alone single, "Aie a Mwana" was eventually added to the group's debut album Deep Sea Skiving
two years later.
Bananarama's previous experience in a recording studio was as background vocalists on the Department S
b-side "Solid Gold Easy Action", a T. Rex
cover. Prompted by friend and early supporter Paul Cook
(of Sex Pistols
), Bananarama decided to release their own single. As they had been including several cover version
s in their repertoire (including later hit "Venus"), they decided on the song which had been recorded by Black Blood, sung in Swahili, which they had heard in a French disco. Group members Sara Dallin
, Siobhan Fahey
and Keren Woodward
had to learn to sing the song phonetically. The "tropical" nature of the single inspired the group's name: banana coming from the vibe of "Aie a Mwana" and -rama added to the end as a nod to an early Roxy Music
song called "Pyjamarama".
Issued by independent label Demon Records, "Aie a Mwana" reached number ninety-two in the UK singles chart
. Write-ups in the English music and fashion press (NME
, The Face
) caught the attention of Terry Hall
, who invited Bananarama to sing on his new vocal group Fun Boy Three
's next single.
UK 12" single
US 12" single
. It was released on 7 May 2010 as the lead single from Safri Duo's forthcoming Greatest Hits
album. The song is the official trailer song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
broadcasted on German television channel RTL
and Switzerland's Schweizer Fernsehen
and Télévision Suisse Romande
in June–July. "Helele" peaked at number one in Switzerland, at number three in Germany and at number twenty-two in Austria.
Daniel Vangarde
Daniel Vangarde, born Daniel Bangalter in 1947, is a French songwriter and producer. He is the father of music composer Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk.-History:...
and Jean Kluger
Jean Kluger
Jean Kluger is a Belgian artist, producer, songwriter and musical composer.His career started in 1957, working for his father's company, World Music. He wrote widely for the French and German pop music markets, including songs for Dalida, Will Tura, Ringo and Petula Clark...
.
It was first recorded in 1971 under the title "Aieaoa" on the album Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki. In 1975, a version with predominantly Swahili lyrics by Black Blood, an African group recording in Belgium, was released as "A.I.E. (A Mwana)". In 1981, "Aie a Mwana" became the first single released by English girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
Bananarama
Bananarama
Bananarama are an English female pop duo who have had success on the pop and dance charts since 1982. Rather than relying on a two part harmony, the duo generally sings in unison, as do their background vocalists. Although there have been line-up changes, the group enjoyed their most popular...
. In 2010, with an identical melody but new lyrics and released as "Helele
Helele
"Helele" is a song by South African singer Velile Mchunu and Danish percussion duo Safri Duo. It was released on 7 May 2010 as the lead single from Safri Duo's forthcoming Greatest Hits album. The song is the official trailer song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup broadcasted on German television channel...
", it became an official song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, in a version by Velile and Safri Duo
Safri Duo
Safri Duo is a Danish percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery and Morten Friis . Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000...
.
Origins of the song and other early versions
The original song was called "Aieaoa", and was featured on the pseudo-Japanese dance album Le Monde Fabuleux Des Yamasuki which had been released in 1971 by the French writing and production team of Daniel VangardeDaniel Vangarde
Daniel Vangarde, born Daniel Bangalter in 1947, is a French songwriter and producer. He is the father of music composer Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk.-History:...
and Jean Kluger
Jean Kluger
Jean Kluger is a Belgian artist, producer, songwriter and musical composer.His career started in 1957, working for his father's company, World Music. He wrote widely for the French and German pop music markets, including songs for Dalida, Will Tura, Ringo and Petula Clark...
.
In 1975, Belgian record producer Michel Jaspar - who had been born in what was then the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
- was contacted by Zairean singer Steve Banda Kalenga, who had formed a band with friends from Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. Jaspar renamed the band Black Blood, and, with fellow musician Ralph Benatar and with the encouragement of Kluger, produced the band's first single in Belgium. The A-side was "Marie Therese", written by Jaspar, and the B-side was a version of "Aieaoa" which Jaspar re-wrote with lyrics in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
, apart from the words "Aie a Mwana" themselves which are meaningless. It was the B-side, "A.I.E. (A Mwana)", which became successful, reaching #1 in Belgium and France, as well as being a hit in other parts of the world.
After Bananarama's success in the UK with their version of the song, Vangarde and Kluger, who by then had found international success with the Gibson Brothers
Gibson Brothers
The Gibson Brothers are a France based musical group, who had their greatest success during the disco boom of the late 1970s. Their best known hit singles included "Cuba" and "Que Sera Mi Vida"....
and then Ottawan
Ottawan
Ottawan were a French eurodisco duo in the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Career:They were fronted by lead singer Jean Patrick and Annette , with Daniel Vangarde and Jean Kluger the main songwriters. They are best known for their two hit singles "D.I.S.C.O." and "Hands Up "...
, also recorded versions of the same song with both Ottawan ("A.I.E. Is My Song", with English lyrics, 1982) and La Compagnie Créole
La Compagnie Creole
La Compagnie Créole is a popular French pop band from French Guiana and the French West Indies, who started singing in the 1980s. They originally started singing in Creole but quickly adopted French as their main language...
("A.I.E A Moun'la", 1987).
Bananarama version
"Aie a Mwana" was the first single released by Bananarama. Group members originally recorded the track as a demoDemo (music)
A demo version or demo of a song is one recorded for reference rather than for release. A demo is a way for a musician to approximate their ideas on tape or disc, and provide an example of those ideas to record labels, producers or other artists...
and ultimately it was the demo version that was pressed onto the record. Originally released as a stand-alone single, "Aie a Mwana" was eventually added to the group's debut album Deep Sea Skiving
Deep Sea Skiving
Deep Sea Skiving is the debut album by the British female vocal group Bananarama, released in 1983. The album peaked at no.7 on the UK album chart and was certified Silver by the BPI....
two years later.
Bananarama's previous experience in a recording studio was as background vocalists on the Department S
Department S (band)
Department S were a British new wave band formed in 1980, who took their stage name from the 1960s TV series Department S. They are best known for their debut single, "Is Vic There?", which was originally released in December 1980.-1980s:...
b-side "Solid Gold Easy Action", a T. Rex
T. Rex (band)
T. Rex were a British rock band, formed in 1967 by singer/songwriter and guitarist Marc Bolan. The band formed as Tyrannosaurus Rex, releasing four folk albums under the name...
cover. Prompted by friend and early supporter Paul Cook
Paul Cook
Paul Thomas Cook is an English drummer and member of the punk rock band Sex Pistols.-Early life and career:...
(of Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
), Bananarama decided to release their own single. As they had been including several cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s in their repertoire (including later hit "Venus"), they decided on the song which had been recorded by Black Blood, sung in Swahili, which they had heard in a French disco. Group members Sara Dallin
Sara Dallin
Sara Elizabeth Dallin is an English musician mostly noted for her membership of the group Bananarama, which she co-founded with her childhood friend Keren Woodward.Dallin was born in Bristol, England...
, Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey
Siobhan Fahey is an Irish musician and founding member of the 1980s British girl group Bananarama, and later formed the BRIT Award and Ivor Novello award winning musical outfit Shakespears Sister.-Career:Fahey was born the eldest of three daughters to Helen and...
and Keren Woodward
Keren Woodward
Keren Woodward is an English pop singer and songwriter of British girl group Bananarama, co-founded by her long time school friend Sara Dallin and Siobhan Fahey....
had to learn to sing the song phonetically. The "tropical" nature of the single inspired the group's name: banana coming from the vibe of "Aie a Mwana" and -rama added to the end as a nod to an early Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...
song called "Pyjamarama".
Issued by independent label Demon Records, "Aie a Mwana" reached number ninety-two in the UK singles chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. Write-ups in the English music and fashion press (NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
) caught the attention of Terry Hall
Terry Hall (singer)
Terry Hall is the lead singer of The Specials, and formerly of Fun Boy Three, The Colourfield, Terry, Blair & Anouchka and Vegas. He has released two solo albums and has also collaborated with many artists including David A...
, who invited Bananarama to sing on his new vocal group Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three
Fun Boy Three were a short-lived but successful English New Wave Pop band which ran from 1981 to 1983 and was formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left The Specials.-History:...
's next single.
Track Listings
7" single- "Aie A Mwana" 3:33
- "Dubwana" 3:40
UK 12" single
- "Aie A Mwana" (12" Version) 5:39
- "Dubwana" – 3:40
US 12" single
- "Aie A Mwana" (US Extended Version) 7:54
- "Dubwana" – 3:40
Charts
| Chart (1981) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | 92 |
| U.S. Hot Dance Club Play | 66 |
"Helele" by Velile and Safri Duo
The song was re-recorded in 2010 by the South African singer Velile Mchunu and Danish percussion duo Safri DuoSafri Duo
Safri Duo is a Danish percussion duo composed of Uffe Savery and Morten Friis . Initially classically oriented, by 1999 they were discovered by a label executive working on classical music. After being signed, a track mixing both tribal sound and modern electronica was set to be released in 2000...
. It was released on 7 May 2010 as the lead single from Safri Duo's forthcoming Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Safri Duo album)
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by Danish percussion duo Safri Duo released on 21 June 2010. It is released nearly ten years after Safri Duo scored an international hit single with "Played-A-Live " in 2001, which became the fourth fastest selling single ever in Europe, selling over 1.5...
album. The song is the official trailer song for the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
broadcasted on German television channel RTL
RTL Television
Rtl.de' redirects here. For other uses, see RTL.RTL Television , or simply RTL, is a German commercial television station distributed via cable and satellite along with DVB-T , in larger population centres...
and Switzerland's Schweizer Fernsehen
Schweizer Fernsehen
Schweizer Fernsehen is the German language division of SRG SSR, in charge of production and distribution of television programmes in German for German-speaking Switzerland...
and Télévision Suisse Romande
Télévision Suisse Romande
Télévision Suisse Romande is a TV network with 2 channels: TSR 1 and TSR 2. They are the main French language channels in Switzerland, part of SRG SSR idée suisse...
in June–July. "Helele" peaked at number one in Switzerland, at number three in Germany and at number twenty-two in Austria.