Marcia and Friends shows off?
A SERIES of shows featuring veteran reggae artistes, scheduled for the United Kingdom this week, may be called off.
The four shows, slated for May 14-17 at O2 Academy venues in Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham and London have hit a bump. Marcia Griffiths, one of the acts billed for the shows, said most of the ‘artiste arrangements’ have not been made.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this; I’ve never disappointed any audience especially in London because they have always showed love to me from the years of Bob and Marcia. The promoter, Malinnga Tejan-Sie, kept dragging his feet and now we have discovered that no flights or accommodations had been taken care of,” Griffiths said in a release.
Tejan-Sie is head of Mandinka Ltd, which allegedly collected funds from the actual venue company, AMG Events, but did not secure work permits, airline tickets or accomodation for the artistes.
In addition to Griffiths, Bob Andy, Judy Mowatt and Tanya Stephens were down to perform on the events.
Griffiths has been performing in the UK since the early 1970s when she and Andy had a big hit there with a cover of Nina Simone’s Young, Gifted and Black.
“When these things happen the artistes get blamed and branded ‘no-shows’. This affects my brand and my name and so I really want everyone to know what has happened in this instance,” she said.
This is not the first time Mandinka Ltd failed to execute the Marcia Griffiths and Friends shows. Originally slated for September 2014, it was postponed after the promoter was unable to secure adequate financial support.
