Barely one month after he turned 60 on May 30, 2018, Sir Shina Peters is expected in London on July 1 for the ‘Shinamania Live in Concert’ at IndigO O2 to perform his unique blend of music he calls Afrojuju. The show is part of a two-part celebration to mark the legend’s birthday and 50 years on the music stage that started at the Federal Palace Hotel in Lagos early June.
So astonishing was his performance in Lagos that it was as if a day had never passed since the sensational musician also called SSP, broke unto the scene with his multiple award winning album Afro-Juju Series 1 in 1989 and went on to rule over the 1990s. There had been other kings but a new one who had painstakingly learned all the lessons from them had arrived with a new thing that was taking over the way wild fire must when it meets fuel. Aptly named Shinamania then, which was also the title of his second album, it did not matter where in Nigeria or the world for that matter you were from since once his music hit you the mania took effect. SSP was soon staging sold out shows in all corners of the planet.
Born Oluwashina Akanbi Peters in Ogun State, Nigeria on May 30, 1958, almost directly into music, SSP studied his musical craft at the footstool of the country’s musical greats like Commander Ebenezer Obey and General Prince Adekunle. He was to later start a band called Shina Adewale with Juju Maestro Segun Adewale before breaking out on his own to form Sir Shina Peters & His International Stars band.
Recall that he had played with friends under the handle Olushina and His Twelve Fantastic Brothers while still a fledgling teaching himself how to play the piano and guitar so it is no surprise how far he has come. Add the fact that he had a stint in acting, released an album as recently as 2012 and is still performing, and you can tell that the mania was no accident and will go on for many more years.