International One

Spotlight by Severine, We7 PR Guru

International One are John (vocals/Guitar) Tim (Guitar/Vocals) Rabi (Saxophone/Vocals) and Elliot (Drums/Percussion). Growing up in Manchester, they carry on the musical ethos created by bands such as Stone Roses, The Charlatans and Oasis.

They have now recorded a single especially for Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday, at the request of his close friend Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Here, the band talk about the song, their experiences in making it and the video.

The interview

How did your involvement in the single come about? Were you approached personally by Archbishop Desmond Tutu?

Tim: It's all been a bit of a whirlwind – a friend of Archbishop Desmond Tutu played some of our music to him – when he heard it he asked if we would like to record a song for Nelson Mandela for his 90th Birthday. It was a huge honour to receive a letter from the Archbishop asking this of us! The words he wrote were humbling and inspirational.

How did you go about writing the single? Did you find the prospect of writing a song for Mandela daunting?

John: We wanted to capture some of the history of the Apartheid, combined with the current struggle faced by those living in South Africa today so we spent a lot of time researching, as well as reading Nelson Mandela’s autobiography. The song deals with the journey of one man - one man whose voice reaches many and affects them.

Deano: The word "Inyaniso" meaning "The Truth" seemed to deliver the main message we wanted to get across and so it became the theme for the song. Because of the potential of the song, we were all really focussed on trying to create something powerful to deliver to the audience.

What was the experience of working with Hollywood Director Phil Hawkins like?

Robi: It was absolutely amazing working with Phil. He kindly agreed to make the video for us for free and when we saw the finished result, we couldn't get over how great it looked! For once John looked like he'd washed – they must have been expensive camera lenses.

You performed your single for the first time at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent in front of a massive audience. How did this go for you?

Elliott: The audience was fantastic and really encouraged us to play one of our best sets yet. The atmosphere was mint! When we played "Inyaniso", Archbishop Tutu stood up in his box and started to dance and groove. At the end of the song, the Archbishop and Don Mullan punched the air and then waved. They were really excited and it meant so much to us to see such a positive reaction. It was so important to please them; I think we did ourselves proud.

Were you nervous performing in front of Archbishop Desmond Tutu?

John: Yeah it's not every day you get to perform in front of such an influential man, but as soon as we met him, his personality and gratitude helped to put us at ease. Don Mullan was also there, who we have got to know quite well during this project. He is now in his own words "our biggest fan"!

Proceeds from the single will be donated to 46664.com, Nelson Mandela's Aids charity. Do you hope the single will raise awareness of this terrible disease?

Deano: South Africa is currently experiencing one of the most severe AIDS epidemics in the world – we hope that proceeds from our single will help educate those who need it and where possible make a practical difference. But to do this, we need as many people as possible to download it on July 18th. It really is over to the public now.

What is your message to the world on the birthday of Nelson Mandela?

Everyone has their part to play and something to add to the world that can change things for the better - in the words of Mandela himself "love your brothers and sisters".