A team of police officers attached to the Anti-Cultism unit
of State Anti-Robbery Squad have been linked to the suspected robbery
operation that took place at a popular hotel in Lagos.
The incident happened at the popular CY Hotel located at Governor’s
Road at Ikotun, Lagos. Sources reports that the officers whose
identities were not yet known, invaded the hotel in the evening with a
bus and whisked a Nigerian resident in Ghana simply identified as Uche
who came with his friend from Republic of Sierra Lone at gun point.
They reportedly ordered Uche to his room, searched the whole place
acting as if he was a suspected criminal and cultist who might hide his
weapons in the room.
It was gathered that when they had searched everywhere and did not
find any incriminating item, they carted away all the money they found
in the room and left.
They had attempted to take Uche and his friend away before the owner
of the hotel arrived, intervened and rescued the victims but was unable
to recover their money.
According to Uche who claimed that he was a businessman and
footballer, he came to Nigeria with his friend and lodged in the hotel.
He explained that they were relaxing at the hotel’s balcony before the
men who claimed to be from the Anti-Cultism unit attacked and
intimidated them with their guns.
He narrated that two of the officers pointed their guns at him,
marched him to his room and searched everywhere. And when they did not
find anything except money, they carted away the money.
Uche said he was terrified mostly by the commando style they attacked
and robbed them which made him doubt if they were police officers.
“All the money we had in the room was stolen and yet it was not
enough for them. They beat and forced us to enter their waiting vehicle
in order to take us away to an unknown place before the owner of the
hotel intervened” Uche narrated.
When Sources contacted the owner of the hotel, Ezewele Abionaojie,
he confirmed the incident and said it was a pure case of robbery
because the officers used their guns to intimidate the victims. Ezewele
said that he did not know initially that the officers dragged the
victims to their rooms and robbed them until after he had intervened and
they had left.
He lamented that the action of the police officers disrupted
activities in the hotel as his customers had to abandon the hotel and
ran for safety.
He said since then they had not returned and the hotel had suffered
huge losses as a result. He said he had reported the matter to the
Commissioner of Police and said he can identify some of the officers
that came for the operation if need be.
When our correspondent contacted the Police Public Relation Officer,
PPRO, Mr Famous-Cole for comments his phone was switched off.
Some of the residents who witnessed what happened said they did not
believe that the men were police officers because they did not come with
police vehicle.
The late Johnnie Wilder, Jr. (d: May 2006) had the vision that led
to the creation of the multi-ethnic 1970s band Heatwave, as well as the
soft baritone and high falsetto that powered hits like “Always and
Forever,” “Mind Blowing Decisions” and “Ain’t No Half Steppin’.”
The late Rod Temperton (d: October 2016) had the keyboard playing and
songwriting skills that helped him create those tunes for the band
along with many more for other artists.
But it was Johnny’s more soulful sounding younger brother, Keith Wilder,
who provided the grittier funk lead vocals that made the songs “Boogie
Nights” and “The Groove Line” Heatwave’s biggest-selling pop singles.
Keith Wilder (1951-2017) of Heatwave died in his sleep on Sunday, October 29, 2017, at age 65. (picture circa 1978.)
Keith Edward Wilder died in his sleep on Sunday, October 29, at the
age of 65. Wilder was the last original voice of the energetic band
whose fun yet funky disco songs and beautiful ballads from the late
1970s made them one of the most liked bands of their short-lived era.
In a sad coincidence, Wilder’s older brother Johnnie died in his sleep
eleven years earlier, leaving Keith to carry the torch for a band that
had already endured so much tragedy during its earlier history.
The two Wilder brothers and Temperton were the essential pieces to a
group that began in the mid 1970s with a mixed ethnic lineup that
initially included two black Americans from Dayton, Ohio, (the Wilders),
a Czech drummer (Ernest “Bilbo” Berger who was a wizard on those drums,
by the way), a black Briton (rhythm guitarist Roy Carter), a Swiss man
(bassist Mario Mantese), a Jamaican (Eric Johns) and an Englishman
(Temperton).
The
members of Heatwave (circa 1978), from l to r: Mario Mantese, Rod
Temperton, Keith Wilder, Johnnie Wilder, Roy Carter, Eric Johns and
Ernest Berger.
In other words, Heatwave was to the late 1970s what Sly & the
Family Stone was to the earlier part of that decade, except Heatwave
made Sly Stone’s all-American mixed-race/mixed-gender group look almost
homogenous by comparison.
Yet as progressive a band as Heatwave was during its day, what with
its multicultural background and stellar dance/pop sensibilities – and
despite the fact that groups like Average White Band, KC & the
Sunshine Band, and Sly & the Family Stone had already paved the way
for mixed-race funk and disco bands to gain widespread acceptance in the
U.S. – Heatwave’s longtime label, Epic Records (GTO in the U.K.) was
reluctant to market the group by its multiracial identity. In fact, none of the band’s six album covers bore Heatwave’s images, which instead were relegated to back covers or insert sleeves.
It was the first of those six albums, however, that introduced us to
Keith Wilder’s gruff soulful tenor, as he kicked off “Boogie Nights”
thusly: “Ain’t no doubt, we are here to party!” And it was with that
convincing declaration that Heatwave started their platinum party train
rolling here in America with a famous trio of singles that each sold
between one and two million copies.
“Boogie Nights” just missed the No. 1 spot on the pop singles chart
in late fall ‘77, while “Always and Forever” did the same on the soul
list a few months later – both tunes peaked at No. 2 on those tallies,
respectively. “The Groove Line,” from their second album, was an even
faster climbing single, peaking at No. 3 soul and No. 7 pop within three
months of its April 1978 release.
Heatwave’s first two albums, Too Hot To Handle and Central Heating
– each peppered with memorable deep album cuts to go along with the
successful hit singles – had impressive sales commensurate with that of
the singles. Both albums went platinum in the U.S., selling a million
copies each and peaking in the top five on Billboard’s R&B charts
and Nos. 11 and 10, respectively, on the pop charts.
With all the band’s success in 1977-78, it seemed Heatwave could do
no wrong with radio and on dance floors across America. Their fans were
pumped and primed for nearly anything the funky outfit had to offer and
the future certainly looked bright for one of the genre’s best new
ambassadors. For their part, Heatwave could deliver well-crafted
dance-pop tunes and then flip the script to turn in some of the most
beautiful love songs of their day.
But the group was about to endure a series of tragedies that put all
of their commercial success in a harrowing perspective and which made
their lofty out-of-the-box sales levels tough to sustain, despite their
most valiant of efforts.
First, original bassist Mario Mantese was stabbed by his girlfriend
after attending a party one night in 1978. The near-fatal injuries he
sustained (including a lengthy coma, followed by temporary blindness and
paralysis) forced him to leave the band.
Then, while visiting family in Dayton in 1979, lead singer Johnnie
Wilder was involved in a car accident that left him paralyzed from the
neck down. Bound to a wheelchair, the elder Wilder brother continued
recording with the band, although he would be replaced during concert
tours and TV performances by J. D. Nicholas (who was also Lionel
Richie’s replacement in the Commodores a couple of years later).
Johnnie Wilder’s car accident occurred on the heels of the band’s third album release, 1979’s Hot Property,
a less successful (but still gold-certified) collection that contained a
moderate top-30 soul chart entry, the underrated single “Eyeballin’,”
and its quirky follow-up, “One Night Tan,” an uptempo disco number that
missed the charts altogether. (“One Night Tan” was a guilty pleasure of
mine though; it even topped my personal charts in the summer of ‘79.)
Keith Wilder and Johnnie Wilder front and center in Heatwave. Also shown are Roy Carter, left, and Eric Johns, right.
While both Wilder brothers remained with Heatwave during the 1980s,
other personnel changes would occur as the band’s popularity began to
wane. Changing tastes in music were partly to blame for the group’s
increasing difficulty to reach larger audiences – particularly the
decline of disco and the rise of hip-hop, British pop and ‘80s techno
music. This changing landscape stacked the odds against Heatwave, which
wasn’t able to navigate the changing musical tide as well as other
late-‘70s staples like Donna Summer or Earth, Wind & Fire.
It also didn’t help that the band’s creativity seemed stifled after
their first couple of albums, both musically and thematically. In
keeping with their name, for instance, all their album’s titles were
simple variations on the same theme… heat: Too Hot to Handle, Central Heating, Hot Property, Candles, Current, The Fire.
The songs from the later albums didn’t ignite the fire that earlier
efforts did. Their 1982 single “Lettin’ It Loose,” from the Current
album, incorporated elements of rap but even that seemed contrived
against the backdrop of the song’s kiddie-like chorus. The ballad “Look
After Love” from that same album tried but failed to capture the magic
that its more evergreen predecessors “Always and Forever” and “Star Of A
Story” had earlier.
Ultimately their 1988 set, The Fire, a nine-track collection
released only in the U.K., would be Heatwave’s last studio album. As a
recording act, the group called it quits shortly afterwards.
But it was Keith Wilder, that one remaining original member, who kept
Heatwave’s fire burning on-and-off for decades as a touring band long
after the hits stopped coming. Despite his own health setbacks, in a
way, he was keeping his big brother’s dream alive after Johnnie could no
longer tour with the band following his paralyzing car accident and
after he died at the age of 56 in 2006.
Now, with his own passing, Keith Wilder joins his brother Johnnie and
their legendary songwriter Rod Temperton in that proverbial
rock-and-roll heaven. They leave behind a small, but memorable legacy
of tunes that some might consider mere timepieces – songs that are
defined more by their era than by any enduring qualities.
Heck, some pundits might even argue that Heatwave was nothing more
than a ‘70s disco/funk band who couldn’t evolve with the changing
musical styles of the 1980s, hence their quick demise.
But for Heatwave fans, nothing could be further from the truth. For
us, “Boogie Nights” and “The Groove Line” were collectively a partying
call-to-arms (along with the funk classic “Ain’t No Half Steppin’”) that
had us shaking our booties wildly for months, while “Always and
Forever” was the love song of a lifetime – one that helped launch many
marriages over the four decades since its release.
For those reasons we will always forever love Heatwave, and we will miss its co-lead vocalist Keith Wilder.
Keith Wilder in more recent years.
In honor of the late Keith Wilder, as well as his brother Johnnie,
I’ve ranked what I consider to be Heatwave’s 10 best songs, and
djrobblog is counting them down in order from No. 10 to No. 1.
Hope you enjoy the memories. Scroll through the list below.
DJRob
11items 1followers 0votes 143views
Honorable Mention: “One Night Tan” (1979)
Nov 03, 2017 - youtu.be - 15
Not only did
this second single from their 1979 album Hot Property not chart very
high, it didn’t chart at all! However, it was a guilty pleasure of
mine...so much so that it reached No. 1 on my personal Top 40 charts
during that summer. See Keith Wilder lead the group through some hot
dance moves on a June 1979 episode of Soul Train in the above link.
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