Robert ‘Kool’ Bell, who will be returning to Marbella in August to perform at the Puente Romano Tennis Club on August 6th, says the people in Spain have always been “very into ‘Kool & The Gang’” and that the gang love the fans here.

He continues, “It’s always a very energetic night. We have always had great followers of our music in Spain and the fans are hot; the greatest! They party their hearts out!”

The Jazziacs

When Robert formed an instrumental band called the ‘Jazziacs’ with five school friends back in 1964, he probably didn’t anticipate that this would lead to a musical career spanning over four decades with album sales estimated to be in excess of 90 million copies.

Robert Bell and his brother Ronald Bell have been at the heart of this musical phenomenon that became ‘Kool & the Gang’. They started out with a more purist jazz sound that developed into their unmistakable and remarkable style that combines jazz, R&B, soul, funk and disco.

Kool

‘Kool & The Gang's’ extraordinary story starts in the disadvantaged housing projects of Jersey City in the early sixties. Robert, his brother and friends just wanted to be part of the street culture in the area and this desire actually led to the band’s distinctive name. Robert explains, “When my brother and I moved to Jersey City in the 1960s we were used to being around all of the country boys from Youngstown, Ohio, where we were from. We tried to fit in at that time by having a nickname because everyone had a nickname - it was the "cool" thing. There was another guy that we knew that called himself cool but he spelled it with a C; I liked it so I started calling myself that, but I spelled it with a ‘K’. It was a reflection of what was going on at that time; we were on the streets of the ‘ghetto’ in Jersey City trying to just adapt and fit in with what was going on.”

From there the band’s name was born and thanks to worldwide hits like ‘Celebration’, ‘Cherish’, ‘Jungle Boogie’, ‘Summer Madness’ and ‘Open Sesame’, the band have become one of the greatest music machines in history, earning two Grammy Awards, and seven American Music Awards. The group dominated the music scene of the seventies and eighties and their music is part of popular culture; the soundtrack to many people’s lives.

‘Kool & the Gang’ have achieved over 25 Top Ten R&B hits, nine Top Ten Pop hits, and 31 gold and platinum albums. In the nineties, with the explosion of hip-hop saw their incredible back catalogue of music become a favourite amongst DJs and their tracks continue to be part of the mainstream, being sampled by contemporary artists as well as being featured in movies.

The group continue to tour across the world, but Robert has unusual memories of one show in North Africa, “The most unusual show we did was in Algeria; an outside gig in an ancient Roman coliseum. At the time we had to have armed security because of potential terrorist attacks. So when we travelled through the desert, we were in hummers and jeeps with machine guns mounted on them! Once we got to the gig site everyone partied and we all had a good time, but that was our ‘operation desert storm’; it was quite an experience!”

Family

In fact, after years of touring and meeting fans across the planet, there is no place like home for Robert, who continues to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, like family and keeping fit. He explains, “in between all the touring I enjoy going to the gym and working out. The most important part of what I do when I'm not on the road performing is spending time with my family, my children and my grandchildren. I live in New Jersey with my wife, so to relax we’ll go and see a play in New York; go to the movies or go out to dinner at a nice restaurant or even take an evening cruise on a riverboat.”

The band are looking forward to returning to Spain and to Marbella in August, “I always enjoy the scene in Spain…it’s a great culture. The people in Spain like to go out enjoy the night life and celebrate!”

‘Kool & the Gang’ will be performing some of their greatest hits of all time, including ‘Celebration’, ‘Ladies Night’, ‘Get Down On It’, ‘Jungle Boogie’ and ‘Groove On’, next month, Friday 6th at the Puente Romano Tennis Club. Doors open at 8pm.

Tickets from 30 euros. For more information, call 646 757 661