Mike Fearon tracked down the Zimbabwean group BLACK UMFOLOSI in South London.

They study the Bible on tour, even when they are too busy to get to a church. Opportunities crop up to share their faith during performances, even if sometimes it's simply a case of saying, "and this is a religious piece" in the middle of their ninety-minute performances.

Black Umfolosi take whatever opportunities come along to visit local churches when they are on tour. "Frequently, we get asked to perform one of our routines during the worship."

Churches back in Zimbabwe help with local advertising, or with the production of posters. The Zimbabwe Foundation for Education and Production greatly esteem the work the group carry out for Zimbabwe culture, and assist them wherever possible, featuring them at seminars and conferences. The Foundation encourages performers to develop manual skills with which to earn a living when performances become few and far between; but Black Umfolosi - perhaps because none of its members is married - have been able to make a reasonable living from their art.

At a time when UK Christian performers are hard pressed to keep even three or four-piece bands on the road, it's astounding that an eight-piece Christian performance group can not only survive, but embark upon world tours.
Michael Nazir-Ali, of Church Missionary Society, once remarked to me that African churches are now sending missionaries to work with expatriate groups within the UK. The nineteenth century trend of Britain sending missionaries overseas has, in some instances, gone into reverse!

Black Umfolosi have made several small-scale recordings in their native Zimbabwe but, on their last British tour, they were approached by the specialist label World Circuit to record an album. Taped over two days, the 'Unity' album features songs both in English and in African dialect - including several Christian songs, such as Take Me Home", which includes the lines, "when I die, take me home to paradise where I know there is peace."

Inevitably, World Circuit and Black Umfolosi have experienced difficulties in marketing and distribution, but the album is currently available in three formats, and the choir sell substantial quantities at their performances.

In concert, the richness and precision of the group's harmony-singing is even more pronounced than on record. Lead singer Sotsha Moyo's soulful voice is carried along by Benia, Lucky, Milton, Tauri, Thomeki, Morgan and Dumisani's exhilarating backing. Sotsha is also a charismatic front man, encouraging his audiences to whoop and whistle their appreciation - or simply to let their hair down.

Critical acclaim for their superb singing, dancing and traditional costumes has come quickly. "Brilliant performers" said the Brisbane Biennial; "High energy performance" echoed the Brisbane Courier, at the start of their current tour. By the time they reached Britain, The Guardian was describing them as "fast rising stars of Zimbabwe's Ndebele music scene".

"If you like Ladysmith Black Mambazo from Paul Simon's 'Graceland', you'll love Black Umfolosi", proclaimed the publicity for their recent performance at Brentford's Waterman's Art Centre. Having seen both groups, I think I prefer Black Umfolosi -their witty and joyful stage presence far outstrips their more famous cousins.

Taking the stage in colourfully dyed casual clothing, many of their stage mannerisms evoked Motown groups like the Four Tops or the Temptations. Their dancing is not 'stagey', but has an air of spontaneous exuberance. Some songs utilised drama and mime to draw out the meaning; particularly on 10th Anniversary - commissioned by the Zimbabwe Arts Council -where the lyric "How old are you Zimbabwe?' is followed by the group spelling out the answer with their bodies.

If their command of English was a little suspect during the introductions, it only added to the ethnic atmosphere. And there's even a joker in the group, who tosses in well-scripted ad-libs, in the manner of The Coasters. The 100-strong Brentford audience lapped it up.

During the 'dancing contest' sequence, the group showed off some nimble-footed solos which, though not quite break dancing, were certainly street-wise and credible.

Several members of the audience rose to the challenge and good-humouredly took to the stage to try some European variations of the African rhythms.
An encore was demanded, of course. Here Sotsha managed to get the audience clapping in some elementary poly-rhythms. 'I've been in existence for 25 years,' said Lucky, when the time came for the troupe to introduce them individually. 'I don't have any hobbies except shaving my head. When I grow up, I would like to eat chocolate cake.'

'When I grow up, I would like to be an air hostess,' countered Thomeki. It was one of those evenings.

In the future Black Umfolosi hope to continue playing ever-larger venues. "If all goes well, we'll be back in Britain next year," they said.