British band 3 Mustaphas 3 did much to popularise world music in the mid- to late 80s, revealing a serious musical intent behind the elaborate mythology that saw each band member adopting 6 August as an official birthday in order to avoid confusion.
Niaveti Mustapha III (b. Tim Fienburgh; flutes, German bagpipes), Hijaz Mustapha (b. Ben Mandelson; violin, bouzouki), Houzam Mustapha (b. Nigel Watson (3); drums), Sabah Habas Mustapha (b. Colin Bass; bass, percussion), Kemo "Kem Kem" Mustapha (b. Kim Burton; accordion, piano), and Daoudi Mustapha (b. David Bitelli; reeds) made their UK debut in August 1982.
The humorous ensemble was first brought to public attention by BBC Radio 1 disc jockey John Peel. The band attracted a degree of criticism for not taking their music seriously, but the end product was still extremely popular with audiences both in Europe and the USA.
United Kingdom