Happiful May 2020

TRUE LIFE
Salvation song
Depression, the breakdown of his marriage,
bereavement, and serious illnesses brought
singer Kule T’s glittering showbiz world crashing
down. But it would be the love of music that got
him back on the road to recovery
Writing | Kule T
I
was born in south
London, and grew up
with my three siblings
and my mother. Life
was hard, and my mother
had to work every day,
so my older sister took
on the burden of looking
after us. As the youngest,
and the most creative,
I quickly latched on to
music as a way to express
myself. There was always
music in the house, with
one brother listening to
reggae, the other listening
to jazz, my mum listening
to her Jim Reeves and Bob
Marley collection, and me
listening to gospel.
At the age of 12, I started
playing the drums. I
remember my older
brother showing me a
drum pattern and I kept on
practising every day until
I mastered it. By 14, I was
playing drums in my local
church, as well as guitar
and bass guitar. These
became my outlets for
dealing with life.
At 17, I started singing to
express my feelings and
emotions, and also as a
healing mechanism. I met
other singers and saw how
they were able to capture
an audience with just their
voice, and I was hooked.
So, I began singing
wherever I could, and
formed an a cappella
group called Spirit with
my close friends Carl St
Hill, Christopher, and
Conner Reeves. We ended
up becoming like family.
But in 1988 my dear
friend Christopher, who
had been ill for some
time, collapsed and died
from a heart attack on
the street. I remember
bursting into tears, and
feeling so empty. But I
had to try to hold it all in,
because I had to break the
news to other people. That
was the hardest thing I
have ever done.
Two years passed, and
I kept up my singing and
managed to deal with
the passing of Chris. But
then another member of
Spirit, Carl, was rushed to
hospital with a damaged
foot. I thought he would
be OK, but two weeks
later he was dead. An
infection had spread
through his body from his
injured toe. I tried to hold
it all together but I found
this incredibly hard, and
I had to find a way of
shutting it into a box in
my brain.
As time passed, music
became my lifeline. I
sang wherever I could,
and I became the backing
vocalist for an open mic
talent night. I would
coach other singers and
help them with their
performances.
My professional musical
journey started when I
became a member of
a band called MN8. We
gelled so well, and we all
had one goal, to be the
best – and with time, our
work paid off.
In 1995 we released our
first single, ‘I’ve Got A
Little Something For You’,
which became a massive
hit. Our success continued
with three top 10 singles
in the UK and Europe, a
number one slot in the UK
R&B charts, a gold album
in France, our single in
the soundtrack of the film
Bad Boys, and a tour with
Janet Jackson. I felt like
the luckiest person on
earth, although we worked
hard to get there. >>>
May 2020 • happiful.com • 37