The 1970s are back, which is good news for music lovers, writes Kamal Sultan Al-Masriyin, a band that was hugely popular in the 1970s and 80s has been resuscitated. The band -- whose name translates as "the Egyptians" -- first got together in 1977 under Hani Shenouda, who drew a huge mixed crowd when he appeared at the Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel earlier this month. Even the young members of the audience seemed to know the lyrics of his songs by heart. Many of them sang along as the band performed Mashya Al-Sanyoura (The Signora Walks), Mama Settu (Sweet Granny), and Qarrabi (Come Close). In a concert that lasted more than two hours, the band performed two dozen of its all-time hits such as Banat Ketir (Many Girls), Horreya (Freedom), Lamma Ebtadina Neghani (When We Started Singing), and Walad We Bent (Boy and Girl)". When Shenouda formed the band in the late 1970s, his co- singers were Iman Younis, Tahsin Yalmaz, Mamdouh Qassem and Hani El-Azhari. When Younis married and left the country, she was replaced by Mona Aziz. Egypt's best poets at the time wrote lyrics for the band, among them the inimitable Salah Jaheen, Salah Fayez and Omar Battisha. Born in 1943 in Tanta, Shenouda studied at the Musical Education College and the Conservatoire. His first band, Les Petits Chats, is now considered legendary. Among his co- performers in that band were Omar Khorshid, Omar Khayrat, and Sobhi Bedeir. Les Petits Chats toured Egypt and some Arab countries such as Syria, Jordan and Lebanon and were hugely popular with the younger generation. Acting on the advice of novelist Naguib Mahfouz, Shenouda decided to turn to Arabic singing. By that time, former members of Les Petits Chats had dispersed. Khorshid died, Khayrat was busy establishing himself as a composer, and Bedeir became an opera singer. At about that time, Shenouda produced an album for a little know singer. Allemuni Eneik (Your Eyes Taught Me) was a disappointment as far as sales went, but the singer Mohamed Mounir went on to become a musical icon. In its first incarnation, Al-Masriyin consisted of Omar Fathi, Iman Younis, and Mona Aziz, as well as Shenouda. The band issued five albums, the first of which was the much-loved Bahebbak... La (I Love You... No) . Some believe that the success of the band was because the lyrics they chose were quite exceptional, snappy and full of life. Because of Al-Masriyin's success, many other bands appeared on the scene, trying similar formulas. One was Ezzat Abu Ouf's memorable Four-M. Shenouda is proud of the impact his band had on the music scene. "I was able to make a change in the form of music. Before Al-Masriyin, Arabic songs were monophonic and monotonous. Bass guitar and rhythm guitar were not used, and there was no fusion between Western and Oriental instruments, and the musical prelude to the song was too long," he says. "We also came up with new themes. I worked with the best poets of the time, such as Salah Jaheen and Omar Battisha, Antar Helal, Salah Fayez, and Morsi El-Sayed." Al-Masriyin disbanded in the late 1980s, by which time some of its brilliant supporters had died including Jaheen, Tahsin Yalmaz, and Mamdouh Qassem. Twenty years later, Shenouda has brought the band back to life. In its current incarnation its members are lead singer Iman Younis and three young singers, Afaf Atef, Ayman Serdar and Fadi Alfi. Mohamed Adel plays lead guitar, Hemeid Sabri plays bass guitar, Mustafa El-Kerdani plays the drums and Reda Bedeir is the band's percussionist. "I wanted to revive the band's songs before they are forgotten," Shenouda says. Then I discovered that young people know the band's songs and some of them sang along with us. I was thrilled to see people of my generation among the crowd." The band started rehearsing in April, and has so far performed in Wekalet Al-Ghuri, the Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel, the Cairo Opera House and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Lead singer Younis recalls asking Shenouda to revive the band. "He agreed immediately" she says. "Then I myself got cold feet about the whole thing, but there was no going back at that point. My family wanted me to do it. My sisters, Isaad and Ahlam, said I should do it." Shenouda asked Younis to choose three young singers for the band. One of them was Afaf Atef, who says she was a great fan of the original Al-Masriyin. Atef herself made the first approach. "I wondered why Shenouda wouldn't revive any of Al-Masriyin's great songs," she says. "So when I learnt that the band was about to regroup I sought out Younis and asked for an audition." Another singer, Fadi Alfi, says he was already taking singing lessons with Younis when the idea of reviving the band came along. "Iman told me they were preparing a comeback and asked me to join. It was like a dream," Alfi says. Ayman Serdar says working with the band was the highlight of his musical career so far. "We learn a lot from Shenouda and Younis," he says. "It's a privilege to work along such great artists and in such an iconic band."
