Fela: the authorised biography



First published in 1982, Fela: This Bitch of a Life is the authoritative text on the life and times of Africa's greatest ever musician.


In just under 350 pages, the reader is invited to the living room of Fela’s iconoclastic mind, discovering from the inside the key turning points in his life – his childhood in Abeokuta and the forceful influence of his parents, especially his mother; student life in England; his coming to black consciousness in America (and his encounters with Funk and some of the key players in African-American musical and political culture); his return to Nigeria and setting up the Shrine and Kalakuta Republic and his increasingly painful struggles with the authorities in Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s.

Reading about Fela brings to life post-Independence African history in all its turbulence and drama. The book also includes interviews with some of Fela’s wives, allowing the reader to get an intimate perspective on Fela as a husband and as a lover.

The author, Carlos Moore, will be touring Nigeria this October:

Saturday 9th October, 4pm: Centre for Contemporary Art, 9 McEwen St, Sabo, Lagos. Click here to reserve your place.

Sunday 10th October, 4pm: The Life House, 33 Sinari Daranijo St, off Younis Bashoroun St, off Ajose Adeogun, VI, Lagos (with live band). Click here to reserve your place. Special guests Keziah Jones and Guitar Man.

Monday 11th October, 10am: The New Africa Shrine, NERDC Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja. Lecture "Fela: Music is the Weapon" (Symposium titled The Fela Debates - part of the annual Felabration).

Wednesday 13th October, 11am: UNILAG, 4th floor, Faculty of Arts Boardroom (in conjunction with CBAAC). Public lecture, "What is Africa to me? Fela Kuti and the reshaping of the Pan-African Dream in the post-colonial era."

Saturday 16th October, 4pm: French Cultural Centre, 52 Libreville St, Wuse, Abuja. Click here to reserve your place.

Note that for the events on the 9th, 10th and 16th October, there is a N2,000 entrance fee (which includes a copy of the book). Fela: This Bitch of a Life will only be available to buy at these events this year.

Don't miss this year's Felabration. From the 12th - 17th October, the following artists will be playing at The Shrine: D'banj, Kwam1, Nneka, Ayetoro, Seun & Femi Kuti, Kezia Jones, Awilo Longomba.