LYNNEE DENISE

Sounds of A Black Global Analysis:
The Berlin Sessions II

In 1985 Loose Ends performed on Soul Train and just like all other performers who graced the stage, Don Cornelius strolled up with a mic and a series of music journalistic questions. When guitarist Carl McIntosh opened his mouth to discuss how the band met, I experienced my first ever encounter with Black Britain. With a precious amount of naiveté my nine-year old mind asked, “So Black people exist outside of America and outside of Africa?” As far as I knew we were between those two places and those two places only.

Prior to discovering their British voices my family had Loose Ends “Hanging on a String (Contemplating)” on repeat. It was a new soul classic, #1 on the US R&B charts, and I couldn’t get enough. After their Soul Train appearance, I went through my sister’s tapes to conduct a proper review of their discography, which at the time consisted of two albums (1984’s A Little Spice and 1985’s So Where are You?). I did everything I could to find out what their experiences were with love, joy, soul and pain. I read liner notes in search of clues and discovered that a few members of the band were responsible for arranging and producing material for the group Five Star, who I had no idea was Black and British as well.

Amused by my obsession, my mom said with little fanfare, ‘yeah, Sade is from over there too.’ What? Now you playing! Pretty ass, heartbroken ass, emotionally brilliant ass Sade is Black British too? I’m sold and possibly down for life. And now that I think about it, I’ve been digging in the crates for three decades strong. 
My digging is what led me to ‘Keep on Movin’ by Soul II Soul and shortly following that single the group hit us with the monstrous ‘Back to Life’ track in 1989. They, too, appeared on Soul Train and at the end of the performance I heard the same British accent falling from their lips of African descent.