Left: Tony Williams Senkebejje on lead guitar and vocals, his wife Rachael on a rhythm guitar and vocals perform with their Simba Sounds Band at the Kampala Serena Hotel. Photo/Morgan Mbabazi
What you need to know:
Music brought Tony and Rachael Senkebejje together in 1974. They now perform at various joints alongside their Simba Sounds Band.
Watching Tony Williams Senkebejje pluck the lead guitar and his wife Rachael strum the rhythm guitar, it becomes clear why many regard them as the leading musical couple of live music in Uganda.
The EastAfrican attended one of the duo’s Friday evening shows at the Kampala Serena Hotel on July 13, where alongside their band, Simba Sounds, they churned out a mixed grill of genres that included renditions of popular hits.
Among the songs on offer were Eyali Akwagala, Ebigambo, Gwe Wange, Tuteesa, My Lover and Njakubeera Nawe.
Popular cover versions included Jabulani by PJ Powers, Papa Wemba’s Show Me the Way, What A Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong, Don William’s My Best Friend, A Lion Sleeps Tonight and Chudi.
Tony and Rachael were accompanied by Patrick Waiswa on bass guitar, Daphine Bwanika on solo guitar, Siraje Galiwango on drums, Roy Aloma on rhythm guitar and vocals, and their son Glenn Sewanyana on the keyboard.
The band which sings in Lugunda, Kiswahili, English, Lingala, Italian, Arabic, Rwandese, Somali and Spanish, has four albums so far. Their first album, Byonna Mbimanyi, was released in 1996.
The second album, Topapa came in 2002 with hits such as Kampala by Night. Their third album is titled Wulira Ate Yiga, while the fourth is Going Strong — both released in 2009. Simba Sounds, has toured London and Djibouti, is working on its fifth album.
Perhaps it’s their love for music that attracted the couple to each other. “I met Tony in 1974 while attending a performance by the Cranes Band at the Silver Springs Hotel in Kampala. We fell in love and married that same year,” Rachael said.
Tony was a co-founder of the Cranes Band where he started off playing the rhythm guitar while a student at Lubiri Secondary School in Kampala. He did not further his education after his ‘O’ level exams in 1967.
“I concentrated on the Cranes, which became a famous local outfit,” he said.
Rachael started off as a vocalist at Luzira Primary School, St Francis and Kololo Secondary School choirs.
In February 1975, Tony and Rachael moved to Kenya. Tony joined Sombrero Night Club in Nairobi as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist for six months.
He later joined the Le Noir Band that performed regularly at Bristol Night Club in Mombasa, as a lead guitarist and vocalist.
His musical journey would then take him through the Spartans Band and the Mombasa based Vickings Band with whom he performed for seven years.
Rachael, who initially concentrated on raising their children in Kenya, joined the Spartans as a vocalist in 1982 up to 1992. It later became Simba Six band.
Tony rejoined Simba Six. The group toured Germany twice in 1989. “The knowledge and skills I acquired with the Vickings helped me turn the band into one of the greatest in Mombasa,” he said.
Tony returned home in 1991 while Rachael joined him in 1992. They then joined the Afrigo Band where they stayed for two and one year respectively.
In 1993, the Senkebejjes formed Simba Ngoma, a two-man band with Rachael on guitar and Tony on keyboard. They were later joined by the late Sam Mulungi on the keyboard and his wife Florence on vocals.
Simba Ngoma eventually broke up, with Sam and Florence keeping the name, while Tony and Rachael formed Simba Sounds.
Regarding the state of the industry in Uganda, Tony said: “Promoters are one-sided. They are only interested in a certain kind of music, which I don’t play. So I have ignored that market. I don’t copy others. I do music from my heart and there are people who like it.”
On her part, Rachael believes women have made great strides in the industry but poor accompaniments are a let down.
“When I listen to female musicians on radio, I think they are doing good music. But the accompaniment need to be improved so that they do not sound monotonous.”
