Saturday Magazine - 24.08.2019

SATURDAY MAGAZINE 69

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

THIS WEEK...

Words by: Vicki Power and Kirsten Jones Pictures: PA; Getty Images

N

amed after its bassist, Robert ‘Kool’ Bell, Kool and the Gang rose to

fame with songs like Jungle Boogie, Celebration and Ladies’ Night.

They won two Grammy Awards, had nine Top 10 chart hits and 31

gold and platinum albums in a 50-year career. Robert, 68, who lives

between homes in New Jersey and Florida, lost his wife of 46 years,

Deborah, last year. He has two sons and two grandchildren.

Must see

Killers Anonymous (15)

reveals what happens when the

titular support group discovers

one of their members is

responsible for an assassination

attempt on a US senator. With

Gary Oldman and Jessica Alba, the hilariously dark

whodunnit is in cinemas from Wednesday.

‘I was born in Ohio but moved to Jersey City

[New Jersey] in 1960 when I was 10.

Everybody in the neighbourhood had a

nickname; I tried to fit in and a guy had the

nickname “Kool” and I liked it. We had no

musicians in the family but my father, Bobby,

who was a boxer and travelled a lot,

was friends with people like Miles

Davis and Thelonious Monk,

so that influenced me and my

brother, Ronald.

‘When I was a kid I thought

I was going to be a mechanic,

like my grandfather, but when

we moved to Jersey I got some

bongos and started playing gigs

with my brother. One night at a gig

in New York City when I was 14, my

brother asked me to play the song Coming

Home Baby on the bass guitar, and I stuck

with it.

‘My brother and I formed the Jazziacs –

there were seven of us in the band and I was

always the leader and took charge of the

business side of things. We called ourselves the

Soul Town Band, then Kool and the Flames,

but eventually became Kool and the Gang in

1968. Our first album came out in July 1969
      and made the Top 40. It had a street punk
      Latin sound and people thought we
      were a Latin band because of the
      bongos, percussion and horns.
      ‘Eventually a promoter came
      to us, pointing out that we were
      known around the region but
      didn’t have a national profile.
      They gave us a producer to
      work with and that’s when we
      came up with Funky Stuff,
      Hollywood Swinging, Higher Plane
      and Jungle Boogie in the early 70s. They
      hit at the right time and all those records were
      in the top five.
      ‘It was great and we became a national and
      international band. Then came the groupies
      following us to the tour bus. It was good fun,

but what was more important was finally

getting respect and recognition from the

industry. It felt so good. In 1972 I married

Deborah, who I knew since I chased her

around a skating rink when we were 14.

‘When we were touring with the Jackson 5

a record producer told us we needed a lead

singer, and when we looked around at The

Commodores, who had Lionel Richie, and

Earth, Wind & Fire, who had Maurice White,

we realised he was right, and that’s when we

took on JT Taylor. With him we had hits like

Celebration and Ladies’ Night, which became

our biggest song to date.

‘Fifty years on, we’re still loving it. It’s great

to be working and we still have four of the

seven original members, including my brother.

We travel all over the world to countries where

we don’t even speak the same language but they

know the music and that creates a great energy.’

Must read

In the early hours a man

enters Peterborough

station to take his own

life. But he’s not alone.

Trapped on platform

seven, Lisa tries to solve

the puzzle of his death,

and her own. Platform Seven by

Louise Doughty (£14.99, Faber &

Faber) is out now.

Must do

Dress up, dine out and

dance at the ABBA

disco at The O2 London.

From Thursday,

Mamma Mia! The

Party will invite fans into

a taverna for a delicious

Greek dinner and an immersive show

themed on our favourite film. To book,

visit mammamiatheparty.co.uk.

‘When we

were touring with

the Jackson 5

a record producer

told us we

needed a lead

singer’

obertt‘‘KKool’BellKool and the Gangrose to

Kool and the Gang are appearing at Electric Soul

Festival on Saturday, September 7 at The 02 in

London. For tickets, see ticketmaster.co.uk.

Robert

‘Kool’

Bell Robert

Kool and the Gang in New York in the 70s

Kool

and the

Gang