Benda Bilili! by Renaud Barret and Florent de la Tullaye

A lesson in optimism

“Benda Bilili” means “to see beyond appearances”. And to be honest, I can’t think of any other name that would suit them better. The five musicians, struck down by poliomyelitis, have cardboards instead of mattresses and smiles as their only possessions. This Kinshasa band led by Ricky never thought about getting on stage the way their peers did before them. The only reasons they managed to reach out to the world are hope and self-confidence. You may have read this a million times about throwaway European rock bands. You may also be about to give up reading this article… but wait… How can you show self-confidence when every single element seems to play against you? Let the boys give you a marvelous lesson in optimism.

Members of Staff Benda Bilili come from the slums. They move around in wheelchairs, motion with their arms. Poliomyelitis has corroded their legs because of their mothers’ negligence. Most of them have a family to feed and protect, but music, which is their only bread and butter (an expression that reveals its limit when we realize they can hardly afford butter), keeps them away from home. Nevertheless, Ricky and his mates have something that keeps away bad thoughts: a kind of genius which allows them to make songs out of their everyday (big) problems, dance on their chairs, and encourage people not to give up. There was nothing to hope for, nothing to believe in except a better life when this one would end. But they kept on playing for anyone who will stop by and listen.

Chance favours only prepared minds

This is what the band discovered in 2003 when Florent de la Tullaye and Renaud Barret, two of these passers-by, spotted them as they were shooting a documentary about urban music. The filmmakers immediately fell in love with the Staff’s tones. They decided to lock their camera on the Staff Benda Bilili and the story began. There is a particular section of the film that really shows Ricky’s determination. “What are those white people shooting?” asks someone in the street. “Get yourself a life, you prick. I’m building something here, imbecile!” shouts back Ricky from his squeaking wheelchair. It took them three long years to get recorded by Vincent Kenis - the one who succeeded in catching the Staff authenticity, working with them in the zoo of the capital, which is also their main gathering place. A few months later, they were ready to triumph over in “la belle Europe”.

Six years ago, there were eight of them singing about how to keep an appetite for life in the worst conditions. Now they’re firing up the Croisette with their fantastic Congolese rumba, Cuban rhythms and reggae vibrations. Let me put it this way, the applause session lasted longer than the one that ended Robin Hood… And believe it or not, that’s nothing compared to what they’ve lived through in the past year, including a European tour through most of the summer festivals. A success story far, far, far away from the ones of those who cross the ocean and end up with a management job, two sport cars and a swimming pool. Simply a very good lesson that’s worth being taught and learned.

By Olivier Croughs