Tony Allen is a Nigerian-born drummer, composer and songwriter from Lagos, Nigeria. Born in 1940 and active until his death in 2020, he lives and works in Paris and is one of the central figures in the development of Afrobeat. His work spans afrobeat, funk, jazz and post-bop.

Early life and musical start

Allen is of mixed Nigerian and Ghanaian parentage. He teaches himself to play drums by listening to recordings by Art Blakey and Max Roach, and he also takes inspiration from Gene Krupa. He begins working as a professional musician in 1960, playing highlife and jazz around Lagos after facing strong opposition from his parents. Before becoming a full-time musician, he works as an electrical technician.

His first extended engagement is with the Cool Cats, a highlife group led by Sir Victor Olaiya. After that, he returns to electrical work and then plays with several other Lagos bands, including Agu Norris and the Heatwaves, the Nigerian Messengers, the Melody Angels and the Western Toppers.

Fela Kuti and Africa 70

Allen meets Fela Kuti in 1964 while playing with the Western Toppers. The two first perform together as the Fela Ransome Kuti Jazz Quartet, playing jazz for about a year before forming Koola Lobitos in 1965. Koola Lobitos plays a mix of highlife and jazz, and Allen helps shape the simplified, dance-oriented approach that develops into Afrobeat.

From 1968 to 1979, Allen is the drummer and musical director of Fela Kuti’s band Africa 70. He is widely regarded as one of the main founders of Afrobeat, and his double bass-drum patterns become one of the style’s defining features. His playing combines highlife, soul and funk, jazz, and traditional African drumming. The band records a run of major albums, including Alagbon Close, Everything Scatter, Expensive Shit, Yellow Fever, Zombie, Kalakuta Show, Before I Jump Like Monkey Give Me Banana, Sorrow Tears And Blood and Fear Not For Man.

Allen appears on all of Afrika 70’s albums up to V.I.P. - Vagabonds In Power. His own first album with the group is Jealousy in 1975, followed by Progress in 1976 and No Accommodation For Lagos in 1978. He also records with Fela Kuti and Roy Ayers on Africa Centre Of The World.

Solo work and later bands

In 1979 Allen forms Tony Allen and the Afro Messengers and records his first solo album, No Discrimination. He later leads the Mighty Irokos from 1981 to 1983. In the 1980s he records N.E.P.A. - Never Expect Power Always with Afrobeat 2000, and the title track comments on the unreliable power supply in Lagos.

He moves from Lagos to London in 1984 and then settles in Paris. A recording made in Paris with producer Martin Meissonnier remains unreleased. He also tours with juju star Sunny Ade in 1984 and 1985, contributing the song “Oremi” to Ade’s album Aura.

Collaborations and recognition

During the 1990s, Allen works as a session drummer with Randy Weston, Groove Armada, Air, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Manu Dibango and Grace Jones. After Fela Kuti’s death in 1997, he is increasingly seen as a leading carrier of Afrobeat. His later releases include Black Voices, Home Cooking, Tony Allen Live, Lagos No Shaking and Secret Agent.

He also works with Damon Albarn, beginning after hearing the line “Tony Allen got me dancing” on Blur’s “Music is My Radar”. Albarn appears on Home Cooking, and Allen later records with him in The Good, the Bad & the Queen. Their collaboration continues through African Express events, which bring African and European musicians together. Other groups and projects associated with Allen include Rocket Juice & the Moon, Psyco on da Bus, and the Moritz von Oswald Trio.

Allen is widely associated with Africa 70, Tony Allen & His Afro Messengers, The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Rocket Juice & the Moon, Psyco on da Bus and the Moritz von Oswald Trio. His style and rhythmic approach have a major influence on later African popular music, especially juju.