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War’s Lonnie Jordan: ‘We don’t shoot bullets; we shoot rhythms’
The frontman of one of the great groundbreaking rock-funk-soul acts of the 60s and 70s talks about politics, peace and their influence on rap music
Songs such as Low Rider, The Cisco Kid and Me and Baby Brother, a tribute to a sibling who was “shot down in the name of law and order”, are prize nuggets from the golden age of funk, though War were enviably versatile, also penning soul ballads and instrumental jazz. (Foreground, from left, Lee Oskar, BB Dickerson, Charles Miller; rear, from left, Eric Burdon, Howard E. Scott, Lonnie Jordan, Harold Brown, and ‘Papa’ Dee Allen) Photograph: TPLP/Getty ImagesJordan is the sole remaining member of the original outfit that included guitarist Howard E Scott, saxophonist Charles Miller, drummer Harold Brown, bassist BB Dickerson, percussionist Papa Dee Allen and Danish harmonica player Lee Oskar. “People wanna hear us after all this time,” the slender, moustachioed frontman tells me just before heading on stage for a raucous sold-out show at London’s Royal Festival Hall as part of Chaka Khan’s Meltdown.
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