The BBC’s looking for a new diversity boss because June Sarpong is leaving the corporation. In his third and final essay, one of its former correspondents, Barnie Choudhury, suggests ways to tackle the antipathy, apparent apathy and accelerate a win in the diversity war in the corporation.
One of my favourite poems is Wilfred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est. It is a gut-wrenching 218-word message about the futility of war, concluding that the idea that it is sweet and an honour to die for your country is a lie. Even today, I gently, quietly weep when I read it out aloud. I mention this because when I wrote my previous two essays about diversity in the BBC, I wondered whether I had embarked on a futile mission. Why would anyone want to read my thoughts? How would my very personal stories go down? And, crucially, what was the point, what difference would one person’s lived experiences make in a battle which has been raging for at least two generations in the BBC?
(Photo: Bethany Clarke/Getty Images)
I penned my thoughts because in dark corners in the BBC, we people of colour would meet and bemoan our lot in an organisation every one of us loved and yet felt betrayed on a daily basis. I wrote what I thought because former and current BBC friends and colleagues have been asking me to “say it like it is”. “You have nothing to lose”, they said mistakenly. I have everything to lose because my words can be used against me. As several told me when they read my missives, “When I say anything against the BBC to my bosses, I am considered an enemy. I am being frozen out.”
I am humbled by the response to what I have written. Please allow me to share a few words from those who have contacted me. “I just read your first essay on the BBC - nailed it,” wrote one south Asian who has truly suffered, and I have tried to help over the years. “Things got to a whole different level with abusive behaviour from a senior manager.” Another corresponded, “They still believe the whole nonsense about youth and talent. And where are all the talented POC [people of colour]? Over 35 and stuck.” I must be careful in my next example because they are very senior, and they can be easily identified. All I will say is that they recognised the idea of being hired, set up to fail, and now they are being shunned. “It’s a mess,” they write. But one of the saddest messages was from a white leader, “I was actively discouraged from helping diverse hires in case I confused them because I wasn’t their line manager.” How can that be right? Shouldn’t our default human condition be to help our fellow human beings? Every person who contacted me loves the BBC, works selflessly for the BBC, and they want the BBC, the organisation they have given their professional lives to, to succeed.
Chris Birkett
My experiences have been in one part of the BBC – the news division. I started in local radio, and, by some fluke, I ended up getting to the place many of us aspire to, network, as part of the launch team of BBC Radio 5 Live. My boss was Chris Birkett, an immensely talented guy who was my age. Like me he was a BBC trainee – but the one for leaders, rather than reporters. Boy, was he forensic, ferociously intelligent…and incredibly fair. It was an absolute joy to work with him. He got diversity, and he championed what I was trying to do – widen the appeal of the BBC to people from communities who looked like me.
Fast forward four years, and it is 1998. The head of the East Midlands in Nottingham, Richard Lucas, reached out to me. Would I be interested in becoming its community affairs correspondent? The process was tough, but I was successful. On my first day, my line manager, Emma Agnew, said to me, “Barnie, I don’t want you here…” You can imagine my concern, but she continued, “…I want to see you at network. I want you to give me two years, and I want you to work your socks off, and I’ll make it happen.”
In April 2000, I’d won two national awards, beating Five Live and Newsnight, but network turned me down for three correspondent jobs. Emma heard about it, and she rang the head of newsgathering, Adrian van Klaveren. I was in her office and could only hear her side of the conversation.
Emma Agnew
“Adrian, my boy’s just beaten your guys, and he can’t get a job at network…”
“I agree…six months then at a date of his choosing?”
With a big smile, Emma said, “OK, I’ve just negotiated a six-month attachment at network. Don’t let me down.” I like to think that I didn’t.
I tell this tale because the BBC is recruiting a “head of culture and development, BBC News”. It is a new role which will try to shift the dial on diversity and work with senior leaders to change the division’s culture. But here is the big problem. One of the biggest mistakes the BBC has made in trying to create non-white leaders is to entrust it to HR, its human resources team. Sadly, this is not just an HR problem. Another mistake is the credibility of those who’ve been appointed as diversity leads. If the gatekeepers don’t respect you, you ain’t going to get it done. The third mistake is that diversity is not a one-size-fits-all approach. BBC News is different from BBC Studios which is different from BBC Sport which is different from…you get where I’m going.
Adrian van Klaveren
Anyone who knows anything about journalists, is that we are a sceptical bunch. We question everything, and the very best ones are those who won’t accept anything without seeing it for themselves, or at least someone they trust. Trust me when I tell you that the gatekeepers at BBC News won’t respect anyone who tries to tell them how to do their job. They won’t take orders from anyone just because it’s fashionable. And they will subvert as much as they can…while being seen to toe the company line. They will find a reason to appoint their favoured candidate. They will not appoint someone unless they want to…and it makes sense to them.
These are the challenges facing whoever is appointed. That new appointment will succeed when hell freezes over, because they will be weakened and unwittingly set up to fail before the get-go. Why? Because they must persuade the gatekeepers to buy into something in which they are not invested. These very gatekeepers have to have skin in the game. This is a huge generalisation, but all BBC News cares about is being the first, best and being able to say they did something which will get them promoted. Every single correspondent covets being on The Six and The Ten. Every editor wants to be the director of news, and every wannabe presenter wants the flagship Today programme, the Sunday morning slot and to usurp Huw Edwards.
The most important lesson for the BBC is that it needs to stop doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results. Change won’t happen. If I’ve learnt anything, it is that recruiting shining new ‘diverse’ people and putting them at the bottom rung of the ladder is a huge mistake. That is why we’re still talking about diversity two generations on. Look from within. Who have you got? The BBC has cumulatively centuries of talent already. It just is not managing that talent properly, and so they are rotting away, ignored, being made to feel they don’t count. That leads to nothing but frustration, hurt and then disappointment. It’s as if you realise that your partner has, over the years, obfuscated, deceived and serially cheated on you.
Look, as I said last week, I’ve been on two BBC schemes to fast track me for leadership. Neither worked. I was reminded several times that I was a talent and not a leader. In the end, I left the BBC and went into senior leadership for another organisation. But on every leadership course I ever attended, I was told to read Stephen Covey’s “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. Covey was an American educator who, through effective storytelling, set out his vision for leadership. Indeed, in every leadership interview you can bank on one question: what would you do in your first 100 days? For those applying for the vacant BBC’s diversity czar post, here are seven pragmatic steps, free of charge. Use them. Don’t use them, but don’t ever accuse me of merely criticising and not contributing to the debate.
Barnie Choudhury
Before I go into detail about what I would do, I need to (over)share my reasons for being such an evangelist for change. I am a child of 1970s Britain. It was a time when P-bashing was the norm and one where foreigners of a different hue were “smelly bastards who’d come to steal our jobs and women”. It was a time when, especially if you were working class, as I was, life had little to offer. It was a time when only two per cent of school leavers went to university. Many would argue that we, as a country, we, as a society, have changed very little. I disagree. On the plus side, we call out discrimination more than we did when I was a child. On the negative side, those who wish to practise discrimination do so more covertly and more cleverly. I cannot and will not put up with that.
Throughout my life, I have been blessed to meet some inspirational leaders. My thoughts are based on what I learnt from them, and others I have met on my journey.
1. Before day one, I would organise coffee with groups of department leaders one-by-one [Band E and above] to give them an active listening to. Why do they think we’re not doing as well as we might? How might we change things? What one thing could we do differently? As a senior leader, I learnt to listen, engage and create real partnerships. Your partner needs to own it.
2. Then I’d ask them to meet the survivors in two separate groups. The first would be those who have left the BBC and gone on to do better things. I’d like them to hear their stories of why they left, how they succeeded, and what were the differences between the BBC and their new ventures? The second group would be those who have been stuck in junior grades for decades. I would ask the leaders to listen to their stories, and I’d ask them to walk in their shoes. I would beg their indulgence not to be defensive or try to make excuses. Just listen, ruminate and ask one simple question: what patterns do you hear?
3. But anecdotal evidence only goes part of the way. We need to back it up with academic or scientific research. I’d hire an independent team to quiz the 100 top leaders in the corporation – how did they reach the top? What are the secrets to their success? How did the BBC, for example, have some success with women leaders and editors? Equally, what didn’t work? Look for the flaws. Is this far-fetched? No. The template exists because the BBC did this when it was criticised over its coverage of science.
4. Make it personal. Mentoring and development can only take us so far. As I experienced, we need people who believe in us and champion us. During my time advising politicians and being in the room as world history was made, I learnt that deals are made outside a meeting. They are made over breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are made at informal drinks on a lawn overlooking great vistas. They are made when each side accepts compromise and responsibility. But it all starts off with asking one question – what does success look like and what are the steppingstones to achieving it? The mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees, was once a lowly staffer in the BBC. But the first time I met him I spotted his potential. Years later, when he was still a lowly staffer, he explained, “Barnie, the one thing the director general must do is look to those who’re making diversity happen and ask why, then reward them. Hold them up for all to see and share best practice.” You have to ask, don’t you, how on earth did the BBC miss such a huge talented leader when he was staring his bosses in the face? For what it’s worth, I’d make culture and diversity part of a leader’s annual appraisal. I’d set clear KPIs and steppingstones so there is no confusion about what we expect.
5. Data matters. We need to monitor constantly. That’s why we need a dashboard. This is 2022, and we must be able to come up with a system whereby we know at any given moment the diversity statistics rather than current practice of analysing them just for annual reports.
6. Take creative risks, and above all be kind. No-one comes into work to fail. Allow them the chance to fail creatively. Think the unthinkable – give the diversity czar commissioning powers. Allow them to set up and run training and development courses. The model I would use is sport. It sounds mad, but it really isn’t. How do athletes, footballers, and tennis stars win Olympic gold or become world champions? Everyone has his or her own challenges. And yet while training, the team continually assesses, adapts and visualises its way to sporting success. Their coaches don’t set champions up to fail. In short, how do other organisations do it? Teach them the rules of the game. And for goodness’ sake, own your mistakes. Gareth Southall’s acceptance that he carried the can when three black players missed penalties in the Euros remains an exemplar of true leadership.
7. Finally, remember it is all about story telling. The narrative arc. The journey. Tell stories. Market your successes. If it’s good enough for the Harvard Business School, which teaches through case studies, then it’s good enough for me. We need to evangelise and prove this is not a “woke culture”. It’s our culture. Who are our success stories and what are they going to give back? That’s how we truly change culture in an organisation.
I have decided to provide pragmatic solutions because I don’t want the words of my previous two essays to be taken out of context, and to put another nail in the coffin of the organisation this government is bent on destroying. Let me stress again, culture secretary, your will not succeed in your war against the BBC. The ballot box is our way of ensuring democracy in a country which, on the whole, plays fairly. The state does not fund the BBC. I, and 25 million others, choose to do so. I know we think the licence fee is a mandatory tax. But if you choose to own a TV set and want to watch live programmes then you must pay 44p per day for a privilege, and it is a privilege. I know many who have opted out and decided that they can live without watching BBC television. But lest we forget, for 44 pence we get impartial news, sport, drama and culture – things which define a democratic society where governments trust their people. Think China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Afghanistan – are you sure you want to sleepwalk to fake-state-sponsored-brain-washing-news?
To be clear, my three essays can be boiled down into one phrase, which even Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Moggs can understand: heroibus pugna pro diversitate – heroes fight for diversity.
Father’s Day is often seen as a time for cards, tools or a family lunch, but across the globe, it carries a much deeper significance. Beyond the commercial promotions, Father’s Day reflects a wide range of traditions shaped by history, culture and emotion. While some mark the occasion with grand gestures, others focus on quiet reflection, respect and the bonds that define fatherhood.
Thailand’s day of respect
In Thailand, Father’s Day is celebrated on 5 December, the birthday of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The day is as much about honouring the nation’s former monarch as it is about celebrating fatherhood. Citizens wear yellow, the king’s birth colour, and present canna lilies to their fathers as a symbol of gratitude and respect. It’s a cultural blend of familial and national reverence.
Germany’s tradition of brotherhood
Germany takes a different approach. Known as Vatertag, or Father’s Day, it coincides with Ascension Day and is often marked by groups of men going on hiking trips, pulling wagons of food and drink. While it may appear more social than family-oriented, the tradition is rooted in camaraderie and shared responsibility among men and father figures.
Remembering fathers in Mexico
In Mexico and across parts of Latin America, Father’s Day is a time to honour both the living and the departed. Families often visit cemeteries to pay tribute to late fathers and gather to share stories and memories. It’s a day that highlights legacy over materialism, where the emotional role of a father is celebrated beyond life itself.
The expanding meaning in India
In India, Father’s Day doesn’t have deep historical roots, but its popularity is growing among urban families. Influenced by Western customs, it is increasingly used to recognise not only biological fathers, but also mentors, guardians and elders who provide support and guidance. The day is evolving into a broader celebration of male role models across generations.
A shared message worldwide
Though celebrated in different ways, Father’s Day across cultures shares a central idea: appreciation. Whether through a gift, a walk, a meal or a memory, the day is about acknowledging the role fathers and father figures play in shaping lives. In a time when traditional family structures are changing, this occasion also highlights that fatherhood is defined not just by biology, but by love, responsibility and care.
A thoughtful reminder
Rather than focus on finding the perfect present, Father’s Day offers an opportunity to be present. A simple message, a phone call or a shared moment can mean more than any physical gift. In a fast-moving world, slowing down to recognise those who’ve quietly supported us is perhaps the most meaningful tribute we can give.
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Jungkook under fire for wearing Make Tokyo Great Again cap at BTS concert rehearsal
BTS star Jungkook has issued a public apology after sparking backlash for wearing a cap with the phrase “Make Tokyo Great Again” during a rehearsal for J-Hope’s concert. The phrase, seen as politically loaded, upset many fans in South Korea, with some calling it offensive and thoughtless.
The singer, who recently completed his mandatory military service, said he was unaware of the slogan’s sensitive background and admitted that he should have been more cautious.
Jungkook of K-pop supergroup BTS at an outdoor sporting facility in Yeoncheon Getty Images
Slogan draws backlash over political and cultural sensitivity
Jungkook was seen in an all-black outfit and the now-controversial cap during rehearsals for the Hope on the Stage concert on Friday in Goyang. The slogan on the cap, “Make Tokyo Great Again,” echoed political phrases linked to Japanese nationalism and was previously used by Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko. Some South Korean fans were quick to point out that the phrase has been associated with anti-Korean sentiments and accused the singer of being “careless.”
The similarity to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” also added fuel to the fire, as netizens debated the political undertones and the potential implications of a global star wearing such a phrase publicly. Social media lit up with disappointment, with many questioning how Jungkook could overlook such a sensitive issue, especially given the historical tensions between South Korea and Japan.
— (@)
Jungkook responds: “No excuse for my carelessness”
The 27-year-old singer responded quickly to the criticism through a heartfelt message on Weverse. “I sincerely apologise for the disappointment and inconvenience caused by the hat I wore during rehearsals. I didn’t realise the historical and political context behind the phrase,” he wrote. “There’s no excuse. I was careless. I’ll make sure to be more thoughtful from now on.”
He also confirmed that the cap was discarded immediately and acknowledged that he had hurt many of his fans unintentionally. The apology was met with mixed reactions. While some appreciated his honesty, others felt the damage had already been done.
— (@)
This incident comes just days after Jungkook completed his 18-month military service alongside Jimin. The Hope on the Stage concert marked his return to the spotlight, with all seven BTS members reuniting on stage, drawing cheers from fans. Jungkook had recently released Never Let Go, a song dedicated to fans during BTS’s 11th anniversary.
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They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began. (Photo: Greater Manchester Police)
SEVEN men were convicted on Friday in the UK’s latest grooming trial, after a jury heard that two girl victims were forced to have sex “with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses”.
Jurors at the court in Manchester, northwest England, deliberated for three weeks before finding the seven men, all of whom are of South Asian descent, guilty of rape.
Mohammed Zahid, 64, Mushtaq Ahmed, 67, Kasir Bashir, 50, Mohammed Shahzad, 44, Naheem Akram, 48, Roheez Khan, 39, and Nisar Hussain, 41, will be sentenced at a later date, but judge Jonathan Seely warned that they face “lengthy prison sentences”.
They were all remanded in custody, except Bashir, who absconded before the trial began.
Operation Lytton and police investigation
The men were prosecuted as part of Operation Lytton, an investigation launched by Greater Manchester Police in 2015 into historical child sexual exploitation in Rochdale, a town near Manchester.
The issue has long been seized upon by far-right British figures, including notorious influencer Tommy Robinson, but has also been adopted as a rallying cry by the Conservatives and Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK party.
The issue of grooming gangs received international attention earlier in the year when US tech billionaire Elon Musk launched incendiary attacks on his X platform against the UK government after it resisted calls for a national inquiry.
Over the course of several decades, men of mostly South Asian origin in various English towns are suspected of having sexually abused thousands of mostly white girls from working class families, often from troubled homes.
Court testimony on abuse
Prosecutor Rossano Scamardella said during the trial that the men had abused the two girls for several years from the age of 13 — between 2001 and 2006.
“They were often forced to have oral sex and vaginal sex with multiple men on the same day, in filthy flats and on rancid mattresses,” he said.
“On other occasions they would be required to have sex in cars, car parks, alleyways or disused warehouses. Wherever and whenever these men wanted it.
“They were children passed around for sex; abused, degraded and then discarded,” he added.
One of the alleged victims was also “being exploited and abused by many other Asian men” not in the dock, said Scamardella.
Police response and apology
Following the verdicts, detective superintendent Alan Clitherow, of Greater Manchester Police, apologised for not acting earlier.
“There was information at the time that police and other agencies could, and should, have done something with, and we didn’t,” he said.
“The way those victims were dealt with at the time is indefensible and inexcusable. We have made comprehensive apologies for that.”
(With inputs from agencies)
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Drawings by Victor Hugo on display include Ecce Lex
The moment I walked into the Royal Academy to see Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo, I thought of Rabindranath Tagore.
Both men were giants of literature, but they were visual artists as well.
Victor-Marie Hugo (February 26, 1802- May 22, 1885) is best known for his novels The Hunchback ofNotre-Dame (1831) – many will have seen the 1939 film adaptation starring Charles Laughton and Maureen O’Hara – and Les Misérables (1862), which BBC TV adapted in 2018, with a starring role for Adeel Akhtar.
The Cheerful CastleParis Musees
Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861-August 7, 1941) was a Bengali poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, for the poetry of Gitanjali.
Gallery owner Sundaram Tagore, who had flown over from New York to attend Eastern Eye’s Arts, Culture & Theatre Awards (ACTAs) at the May Fair Hotel on May 23, said: “Before leaving London, I managed to visit the Victor Hugo exhibition, which moved me deeply.”
Sundaram’s father, Subhogendranath Tagore (1912-1985), was the grandson of Hemendranath Tagore, the third son of Debendranath Tagore and the elder brother of Rabindranath Tagore.
The Victor Hugo exhibition is definitely worth seeing before it ends on June 29.
Giving a tour of the exhibition, Andrea Tarsia, director of exhibitions at the Royal Academy, said Hugo left behind some 4,000 works on paper, of which 70 were chosen for display.
“But they really are 70 of his most remarkable drawings,” commented Tarsia. Hugo often used brown ink and wash and graphite on paper.
OctopusParis Musees
Notable works include The Town of Vianden Seen Through a Spider’s Web, 1871; Mushroom, 1850; Lace and Spectres, 1855-56; The Cheerful Castle, 1847; The Town of Vianden, with Stone Cross, 1871; Mirror with Birds, 1870; Chain, 1864; Octopus, 1866–69; and The Lighthouse at Casquets, Guernsey, 1866.
There is also Ecce Lex (Latin for “Behold the Law”), 1854, done after the hanging of John Tapner in Guernsey; and The Shade of the Manchineel Tree (notes from a trip to the Pyrenees and Spain), 1856, where the shade is made to resemble a skull to denote the poisonous qualities of the fruit.
The Shade of the Manchineel TreeParis Musees
There is a photograph of Hugo seated on the Rocher des Proscrits (Exile’s Rock), Jersey, 1853, which was taken by his son, Charles Hugo.
“Hopefully, together, they will give you an intimate sense of Hugo’s remarkable, multifaceted imagination. Perhaps people are less familiar with his work as a visual artist. The exhibition is the first to be held in the UK with Hugo’s drawings in just over half a century.”
MushroomParis Musees
He explained it was “a rare chance to see these works because the inks and the paper are so fragile that once exhibited, even at these very low lighting levels, they then need to be kept in the dark for an extended period of time”.
The exhibition’s curator, Sarah Lea, said: “We made a decision to arrange these spectacular works in a thematic structure, because although Hugo drew across his lifetime, he often returns to similar motifs. And it’s really interesting to be able to see, for example, the collections of the castles, one of his great passions. Despite writing so much, he doesn’t leave us very much direct commentary on the drawings themselves. He was inspired by the way ink moves on paper. He was never intending to be an artist.”
She referred to his “mysterious” drawing of a mushroom: “Who knows what was really meant by the mushroom? It appears to us as a total enigma.”
“We have him exploring nature on the monumental level with mountains, and a minute level with spiders’ webs and birds’ nests,” she went on. “The drawings were largely private during his lifetime. Sometimes he made works that he would send to friends. But the drawings themselves weren’t exhibited until three years after his death. They’re first shown in a public exhibition in Paris in 1888.”
A photograph of Hugo taken by his son, CharlesParis Musees
Hugo lived in exile from 1856 to 1870 on the island of Guernsey, where he bought a house. “He redecorated it from bottom to top in a most extraordinary manner of eclectic collecting and reassembling different pieces of furniture and decorative arts. And it was from the lookout, which was a vast conservatory that he constructed at the top of this house, that he would be able, on a clear day, to see the coastline of France. And it was there that he completed some of his most important literary works. A profound source of inspiration for Hugo was the ocean.”
He strongly opposed the death penalty. After the execution by hanging of convicted murderer John Tapner in Guernsey in 1854, Hugo made many drawings of a hanged man, including Ecce Lex.
He also appealed – unsuccessfully – to the US to pardon John Brown, an abolitionist who had been sentenced to death in Virginia on charges of treason, murder and conspiracy to incite a slave insurrection. Hugo appeared to be an early supporter of Black Lives Matter.
Hugo’s brother-in-law, Paul Chenay, made print reproductions of his earlier Ecce drawings, which were published with a new title, John Brown, and circulated in protest at Brown’s execution.
In a letter to Chenay in 1861, Hugo said: “John Brown is a hero and a martyr. His death was a crime. His gallows is a cross. Let us therefore once again draw the attention of all to the lessons of the gallows of Charlestown. My drawing, which through your fine talent has been reproduced with striking fidelity, has no other value than this name: John Brown – a name that must be repeated unceasingly, to the supporters of the American republic, so that it reminds them of their duty to the slaves: to call them forth to freedom. I shake your hand.”
When Hugo died in 1885, aged 83, over two million people lined the streets of Paris to see his funeral procession. But many of Hugo’s admirers wouldn’t have been aware of his private love of drawing.
Incidentally, the Royal Academy last week announced that Simon Wallis, currently the director of The Hepworth Wakefield, will take over in September as its new secretary and chief executive. In his earlier career, he held curatorial positions at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, and Tate Liverpool. He was the director of Chisenhale Gallery, London.
Wallis, who succeeds Axel Rüger, said: “The Royal Academy of Arts is at a pivotal moment of development and positive change. The RA is the central London home for artists, art and art lovers, generating powerful experiences and innovative teaching about art in a rapidly changing society. As the UK’s oldest and foremost artist-led organisation, the extraordinary talent and vision of the Royal Academicians and their team lead the creative conversation on a national and international stage.”
Now that Hugo has been featured at the Royal Academy, maybe Tagore, too, will merit an exhibition one day under Wallis’s leadership.
The Royal Academy won the ACTA for community engagement last year. It was collected by Tarsia.
In Astonishing Things: The Drawings of Victor Hugo, at the Jillian and Arthur M Sackler Wing of Galleries at the Royal Academy, ends on June 29.
With a voice that echoes both the glamour and grit of a bygone era, British singer Aisha Khan is set to take centre stage at London’s legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club on June 29.
Performing with her acclaimed band The Rajahs, Khan will present a rich cocktail of 1940s and 1950s American roots music, jazz and rhythm and blues – blending timeless classics with her own original songs. Known for her evocative vocals, magnetic stage presence and deep reverence for the great female vocalists of the past, Khan promises a night filled with toe-tapping rhythm and heartfelt emotion.
Ahead of the show, she spoke to Eastern Eye about her lifelong love affair with vintage sounds, the power of live performance, and her inspirations and musical heroes.
What first connected you to music?
There was not just one thing. As a little girl, I was always singing and had no idea why – I just could not help it. I did not come from a musical family. My mum had a couple of Bollywood LPs with Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, and my dad listened to Andy Williams and The Carpenters in the car. Apart from that, there was not much music at home. I watched Top of the Pops as a teenager, but I fell in love with Elvis Presley when I was 13 – that is where my passion for vintage music began.
How would you describe your brand of music? Mostly, I perform authentic 1940s and 1950s American music – blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll. I sing cover versions, but I also write a lot of original songs in the same style. I have also been developing a new Americana/country project, so the music keeps coming.
What does live performance mean to you? At its best, it means pure connection with the audience – almost a transcendental experience. It does not always happen like that, but subconsciously, I think that is what I am always striving for. I go on stage with songs I love and musicians who are great and always have my back. With that secure foundation, I try to see where the music can take me, and I bring the audience along with me. I love being close to the audience and drawing them into the live experience. It can bring so much energy and joy.
How much are you looking forward to performing at the iconic Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club? We performed our first sell-out show upstairs there last year, but this is our first gig in the main room downstairs. I cannot express what an honour and privilege it is to appear at such a legendary venue. To think we will be on the same stage as so many iconic performers – from Ella Fitzgerald to Miles Davis – is mind-blowing.
What can we expect from the show? We will perform some of our most loved original songs, as well as several from our latest album Seven Shades of Blue, released this spring. We also have the honour of introducing Haylen, an incredible artist from Paris, as our special guest. There will be a lot of toe-tapping and happy vibes.
What do you hope people will take away from your performance – musically or emotionally? I hope they leave with a range of emotions. I want them to feel moved, but also to walk out feeling joyous and uplifted.
What do you most love about the jazz and rhythm and blues of the 1940s and 1950s? There are so many things I love about the music of that era. The musicianship, the danceability – how you just cannot help but move to it. I love the lyrics, the humour and the storytelling. When I was younger, I learned a lot of jazz standards and loved them. But it was only after living life – experiencing love, loss and heartbreak, having children, going through disappointment and great happiness – that I truly connected with those songs. Many of them now bring tears to my eyes, or even ecstasy when I sing or hear them. These are songs that truly stand the test of time.
Do you remember the first time you heard a song from that era that truly moved you? It was when I began listening to jazz in my teens. I idolised Sarah Vaughan and her craft. Then, as I discovered more popular music from the 1940s and 1950s and started dancing, I began to feel it not only emotionally but physically too.
Aisha Khan
Who is your own music hero from that bygone era? Sarah Vaughan, definitely. I also loved Billie Holiday.
If you could duet with any artist from the 1940s or 1950s, who would it be? It would have to be one of the great rhythm and blues vocalists – Wynonie Harris, Louis Jordan or Joe Turner. That would be so much fun.
Which classic songs do you most enjoy performing live? I love rhythm and blues by the many powerful female vocalists of that era – songs like Voodoo Voodoo by LaVern Baker, They Call Me Big Mama by Big Mama Thornton, or Pretty Good Love by Big Maybelle.
What inspires you as an artist? A life lived. Everything I have experienced – from having children to feminism. People, places, books – you never know where inspiration will come from. I also love collaborating with other musicians and singers; you never know what kind of magic might be created.
Why do you love music? The same reason I breathe. It is part of all of us – from the rhythms in nature to the cadence of the languages we learn as children. It can tell great stories and express deep emotions. It has the power to change lives – to comfort those in pain and bring joy to those open to it. I believe it is one of the purest art forms and forms of self-expression. I feel incredibly fortunate to have done this for so many years, and I hope to continue for the rest of my life.
Aisha Khan and The Rajahs at Ronnie Scott’s, 47 Frith Street, London W1D 4HT on Sunday, June 29. www.ronniescotts.co.uk