Paul in Africa Express tour

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The African journey is over but what an amazing ride

As the Africa Express tour came to a riotous end, the crowd revelled in the barely controlled chaos of a show that brought the Womad spirit to the Twitter era

Tim Jonze

The Observer, Sunday 9 September 2012

Before a note of music has been played, this Africa Express gig can be considered something of a miracle. Over the past week, a bunch of 80 African and western musicians have been touring Britain by chartered train, performing nightly shows while spending every spare waking second visiting schools, hospitals and bandstands to play impromptu pop-up gigs (one involved beatboxer, an Ethiopian group with a six-stringed lyre, and the Hebden Bridge Junior Brass Band).

Given how hard it is to get four band members into a tour van at the same time, you'd imagine by now there would have been some kind of disaster. Distressed-looking Congolese funk troupes wandering around Carlisle city centre, perhaps, or at least the odd kora discarded on Hebden Bridge high street. But no, the tour's gone frighteningly smoothly, making tonight's show at London's Granary Square (the first major concert at the open-air space behind King's Cross station) a celebratory affair.

By the end, Paul McCartney and John Paul Jones will have graced the stage, with Africa Express enthusiast Rio Ferdinand cheering on from the aisles. But it starts softly with two Malian musicians, Afel Bocoum and ngoni player Bassekou Kouyate, and it's left for Ghanaian rapper M.anifest to get the crowd's arms aloft. But it's a riotous version of Dead Prez's Hip Hop (featuring rappers Kano, Bashy and M.anifest again, plus Martina Topley-Bird) that really gets things going. Even taking into account Africa Express's festival-stealing Glastonbury 2007 show, this one feels like the high point of an idea that was first conceived by Damon Albarn and an assortment of music managers, journos, producers and promoters – the aim being to unite western and African musicians.

It's a feat that shouldn't be underestimated. On the train, and on stage on Saturday night, are some huge stars of African music: spellbinding singer Fatoumata Diawara, Malian guitarist Amadou and Senegalese superstar Baaba Maal, who claimed midway through the tour that this was the best project he'd ever been involved in. All set out hoping to exchange musical ideas with the likes of the M1 from Dead Prez, Rizzle Kicks, Lucy Rose, Carl Barat and Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner – and that's exactly what they did.

Tonight's highlights swing from the Krar Collective's charged collaboration with rappers Afrikan Boy and Rye Rye to a crowd-silencing version of the Gorillaz track Melancholy Hill, featuring Malian singer Rokia Traoré.

As the train left Euston station last Sunday, Albarn told me that the plan was to start things scratchily and build towards a stellar climax. You could argue it didn't go quite to plan, as every other night of the tour – Middlesbrough, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol – has been completely enthralling too, sheer enthusiasm overcoming the fact that many of these songs are being played with barely a rehearsal, worked out live on stage.

The joyous spirit has been shared by everyone – from the crowds each night to the startled commuters standing on various platforms as the train whizzed by, beats and bongos blazing from a specially designed rehearsal carriage (including mixing desk and an ear-splittingly loud speaker system). Even the onboard staff seem overwhelmed – train manager Steve Finn admitted as much: "This is the best thing we'll ever do … next week we're back to transporting nuclear waste."

Back on stage and the surprises are being pulled out one by one. When Rokia Traoré plays Dounia, her backing band features not just John Paul Jones but also Paul McCartney. Backstage, McCartney says he wishes he could have been on the train. "I've loved African music for years," he enthuses. "I went to Lagos in the 70s and came back friends with Fela Kuti, so I've always wanted to do an Africa Express show."

The Beatle has taken a bit of a kicking recently for "overexposure", as if publicly playing Hey Jude a few too many times somehow cancels out the fact he's one of the greatest songwriters of all time. Yet Africa Express paces it perfectly, slipping him on stage around 10pm. Coming Up is a great song choice, utilising the kind of repetitive, funky backdrop that Damon, Gruff Rhys and guitarist Seye can jam wildly over. Gruff and Damon hold up signs saying "ape shit" and "tax the rich" to wild cheers. Then Goodnight Tonight arrives with a stellar African line-up: Amadou, Fatoumata Diawara, Tony Allen and more – all sharing the stage with Macca. Clearly there are no stars here, just musicians – and you can't even spot John Paul Jones during a Kano-led run through Kashmir. It ends with everyone on stage for Amadou's Masiteladi.

This seems to be the ethos of Africa Express – it's not about who's on stage, but the joy emanating from it.

Amadou in the rehearsal carriage on the Africa Express train en route from Bristol to London. Photograph: Simon Phipps