RIGHTEOUSMAN SHARED A 1986 PICTURE OF HIMSELF AND FELIX DUKE.
The Gospel musician shared this photo on social media with caption:
"MY THROWBACK SPECIAL!
The Story of Madam Blessing Studio. (Vol.1).
~ Righteousman Erhabor
On my second return to Lagos as a teenager with my bosom friend, Felix Duke, we got the shock of our lives.
We arrived with high hopes, only to be told that, Majek Fashek, had moved his base from Anthony Village!
Felix Bornagain who was with the Rainmaker who had seen us perform during a concert in Benin City had urged us to relocate to Lagos. When we worried about accommodation, he assured us, "Don't worry, we will all stay with Majek in his house." But here we were in Lagos, no house, no way to locate our inspirer, and remember, there were no mobile phones at that time!
Stranded and getting frustrated as darkness fell, a memory flashed. I remembered my elder brother once mentioned, when he visited Benin City that he lived around Palmgrove. It was a miracle I even remembered the address since I’d never written it down.
We traced our way there, only to receive another heavy blow: He had packed out, and no one knew his new location.
Standing at the junction of his street by Palmgrove bus stop, exhaustion setting in, another address popped into my head, my cousin, Peter Aye's in Ketu: 18, Aliu Street, by Iyanu school bus stop.
But Lagos will always test you!
We kept missing buses because we were busy flagging down drivers and shouting "UKETU!" instead of Ketu. 😂
Buses just kept zooming past us. Finally, a Good Samaritan beckoned on us: "Where are you guys actually going?"
I said, "Uketu."
He laughed and asked, "Is it Ketu or Uketu?"
"I think it's Ketu," I replied. He laughed out loud, realized we were even standing on the wrong side of the road, and pointed us to the right bus stop.
Long story short, we made it to Ketu! My cousin was living in a tiny single room with about three or four other guys, but he was so excited to see us. He opened his doors and said we will all manage.
When I told him about our mission in Lagos, he immediately wanted to help.
The very next morning, my cousin took us around some popular entertainment spots including the Klass nite club in Ikeja owned by Late John Chukwu, a pioneer of stand-up comedy, an all-round entertainer who also worked as an actor, writer, broadcaster, musician, and graphic artist.
Las Las we finally ended up at Madam Blessing Studio at Awolowo Way, Ikeja, where a live band performed every night.
That day, destiny connected us with Jude levi, a wonderful bassist and producer. He welcomed us with open arms and took us straight to his house to rehearse.
His woman was on the keyboard, Jude was on the bass, I grabbed the box guitar, and Felix Duke improvised on the drums using pots and pans! We rehearsed a few songs, and we were good to go.
That same night, we climbed the stage. Everyone sang.
Our very first performance changed the game! Even though Madam Blessing Studio already had a resident band, we instantly became the headline band for every single night.
The pay? On a booming night, we were paid ₦5. On low sales days, we got ₦3. That money couldn't even buy meat to add to our food, let alone cover transport fares. And so, every single day, we braced ourselves and trekked all the way from Ketu to Ikeja just to perform at Madam Blessing Studio and keep the dream alive.
The hustle was real, but the passion was unstoppable.
To be continued... Next Thursday!
#MyLagosChronicles #ThrowbackStory #TheHustleIsReal #MadamBlessingStudio #LagosHistory #UnstoppableDreamers #MusicLife"
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