By PHILIP MWAKIO
Wednesday, March 5th 2014
The story of
Kelly Brown had a tragic ending: In 1989, his maimed body was discovered at his
Stuttgart home in Germany
Kelly Brown
whose real name was Mohamed Abdulkadir Ali Bux, was a household name in the
local entertainment industry in the early 70s and 80s.
His music
prowess run far and wide, culminating in his sudden rise to stardom. After an
initial jig in local tourist hotels around Mombasa, Kelly Brown’s popularity
grew in leaps and bounds and soon, tourists on holiday at the Kenyan Coast
formed his growing army of fans.
The
Mombasa-born musician later moved to Nairobi as he sought to endear himself to
the international arena and set up camp at Club Bonanza Night Club (now Florida
Club).
With a firm
fan base in Nairobi, moving up the supremacy ladder for this son of Mombasa was
an easy ride.
Known for his
trade mark Afro hairstyle, Kelly travelled to Germany using savings from his
performances with the intention of sharpening his skills and gaining
international exposure. Soon, he settled in one of Europe’s elite entertainment
cities - Stuttgart, Germany.
It was while
in Germany that he adopted the stage name Kelly Brown. This was a tribute to
his idol James Brown.
His love for
Kenya, his motherland made him return home several times for charity concerts
where he performed for free. Kelly Brown developed an interest in music at the
age of 18 according to his younger, surviving sister, Amina who lives in
Ganjoni, Mombasa Island.
“A lady by the
name Chiquita Cara owned a performing club in Ganjoni and first took in my
brother as a dancer,” she said.
Kelly Brown
would later be introduced to nightlife entertainment in Mombasa and spent
several days in Nairobi before flying out to London.
It is here
that he got into proper music career and mastered several dancing styles that
would later propel him to being a top chartbuster.
After sometime
in London, Kelly Brown found solace in Germany where he was to spend most of
his life performing until he died mysteriously in 1989. He played different
styles such as funk, soul, country, and jazz with a touch of African beats. In
1973, he returned to Kenya and released the singles “Something is Wrong”
(originally by Sam & Dave) and a cover of “Funky Stuff” (Kool & The
Gang).
Back home with
his fame having grown immensely, Kenyans were yearning for his original
compositions.
Music pirates
had hit the trail and were out presenting dubious and fake presentations
purported to be his very own.
But Kelly
Brown was quick to react.
He adapted and
published patriotic songs such as “Asante ya Punda” and “Kenya Nchi Yetu” which
got considerable airplay on local radio and around East Africa. He followed
with another song titled “Higher”, which became a hit internationally.
Performing to
larger and well paying crowds in Europe meant better earnings unlike in Kenya.
Kelly Brown’s other popular hits include “Sexy Lady”, and “Only You Can”. Unfortunately,
his death was a mystery.
He operated
between Stuttgart and Nairobi, and each time he returned to his home, he
devoted himself to his countrymen, who were not so fortunate and less well-off
and gave charity performances.
He went
missing for about six weeks and his body was found dismembered in his Stuttgart
apartment on the February 3, 1989.
The death was
never resolved, but was suspected to be a revenge murder.
“Up to date,
we do not know how our brother died. After an autopsy, German police issued a
report linking his death to sudden heart failure,” Amina said.
The Kenya
Government facilitated the airlifting of his remains for burial in Mombasa.
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