DR. MAMBO’s COMBO:

 

…were the resident band at Bunkers on the night we piled into 

the white Ford Probe & dove to Downtown Minneapolis. Wikipedia 

says they’ve been resident there since ’87, but it was the first

& only time I ever saw them, re-enforcing a long held belief that

American bar bands are leagues ahead of pub bands in the UK.

 

Until we got there I never realised ‘Downtown’ was an actual place.

I thought it was just a cool line in a Prince song, but here it was,

wrapped around us, everything on show & beggin’ for it, vibrant, 

luminous & hungry. Along with my mate Flashman (yeah, he’s English!),

I believe the drummer Billy Ward & bass player Mark Leonard came

with us that night as we squeezed through a packed house to find 

a booth at the back from where it was impossible to see the band 

though we felt physically connected to their infectious groove – 

they were totally in the pocket. Michael Bland (whom Prince had

discovered drumming with the combo) was holding down a cool beat,

smiling & nodding as we walked in. We’d met up at Paisley Park

& watched him rehearsing with Prince for the latest band – 

‘The New Power Generation’ & it was a joy to see him here, live 

& direct from super league rehearsal, sitting in with his old

bar band buddies (you could tell these guys loved playing).

Dr. Mambo’s Combo were tight & funky, the presence of Prince’s 

groove was evident in this city, add to that the production & 

feel of local producers Jam & Lewis & the Minneapolis streets 

were laying down their marker as the home of funk.

 

We were talking fast, drinking loose, on a rare night off from 

the studio, getting deep into cross-fire stories, letting our 

guard down & becoming a unit (important on a session so far 

from home). Suddenly the vibe in the room changed, tilted, 

twisted on an invisible axis, stopped the conversation dead. 

The noise in the bar filtered, focused, everyone looked 

in one direction.

 

“What the Hell?! – What happened?”

Billy climbed up on top of the booth & yelled

“You gotta see this!”

 

Dutifully following, realising something fantastic was happening

on the other side of the crowd we stood up on our seats to glimpse,

an incongruous figure in white, almost hidden behind the kit, 

beautiful & laying down a scary groove. It filled to room with a 

vibe the like of which I’ve only heard one other time, watching 

Prince at Birmingham NEC arena. Without dropping a single beat, 

Michael had slipped out from behind his kit & handed over to 

Sheila E!

 

(K)