Kiki Gyan (7 June 1957 – 10 June 2004), also known as Kiki Djan, was a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian musician. He was the keyboardist of the band

Osibisa Osibisa are a Ghanaian-British Afro-Rock band founded in London in the late 1960s by four expatriate West African and three London based Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were the most successful and longest lived of the African-heritage bands in ...

which was popular in the 1970s. He also recorded and produced a series of disco records. He was a prodigy who could play the keyboard exceptionally well.

Early life

Born into a middle-class family in

Takoradi Sekondi-Takoradi is a city in Ghana comprising the twin cities of Sekondi and Takoradi. It is the capital of Sekondi – Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly and the Western Region of Ghana. Sekondi-Takoradi is the region's largest city and an indus ...

, Ghana, Gyan started playing the piano when he was five years old and went professional at the age of 12. He dropped out of secondary school at 14 and after a tour of London with a local Ghanaian band called Pagadija; he joined the UK-based Afro-rock group

after his talent was recognized by the brother of the band's founder. He was only 15 years old when he started playing with Osibisa in 1972, replacing the keyboardist who had just left, and he travelled internationally with the band during the 1970s, playing to large audiences around the world.

Height of his career

By the age of 18, Gyan had made more than a million dollars, "had hung out with

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

, played for Britain's

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

and cruised on champagne-drenched luxury ocean-liners to island-hop in the Caribbean". In 1977, he met

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...

Peter Tosh Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963� ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

, and

Third World The term "Third World" arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either NATO or the Warsaw Pact. The United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Western European nations and their allies represented the " First ...

during the

FESTAC The World Festival of Black Arts (French: Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres), also known as FESMAN, is a month-long culture and arts festival that takes place in Africa. The festival features poetry, sculpture, painting, music, cinema, theatre, f ...

event in Nigeria. He left Osibisa to go solo in 1979 and recorded the single "24 Hours in a Disco", which hit the charts in the United States and the UK. He was briefly married to

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...

's first daughter, before divorcing to marry a Ghanaian woman. He has a daughter named Vanessa Gyan who now lives in Ghana with her son, Aaron.

Later life and death

Gyan became addicted to hard drugs for some 21 years, to the detriment of his career."'Say No to Drugs' – Kiki Djan"
''

Accra Mail ''Accra Daily Mail'' was an English-language daily newspaper from Accra, Ghana. The paper, which is privately owned, was started in 1998. The daily ceased publication in January 2009 due to financial problems. In April 2009 the paper was relaunc ...

'', 2 September 2001. ModernGhana.com. Kiki Gyan died alone and impoverished in a church bathroom in Ghana, the cause of death being

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

and drug-related complications.

Discography

With Osibisa

* ''

Osibirock ''Osibirock'' is the sixth studio album by British Afro rock band Osibisa released in 1974 by Warner Bros. Records K56048 and WEA International WE 835. Issued in 2000 CD format by One Way Records 35165. The cover depicted Henri Rousseau's "Negro ...

'' (1974) * '' Welcome Home'' (1975) * ''

Ojah Awake ''Ojah Awake'' is an album by Ghanaian Afro rock band Osibisa released in 1976 by Island Records ILPS 9411. Issued in 1995 CD format by AIM Records (AIM 1056 CD). Track listing Personnel * Teddy Osei – tenor and soprano saxophones, flute, ...

'' (1976)

Solo

* ''Afro Reggae'' (1977) * ''Feeling So Good'' (1979) * ''Feelin' Alright'' (1983)

With KG Brothers

* ''Pretty Pretty Girls'' (1979) (as The Twins) * ''Disco Train'' (1979) (as KG Band) * ''You'' (1982)

Compilations

* ''24 Hours In A Disco 1978-82'' (2012)

References

1957 births 2004 deaths Ghanaian musicians Keyboardists AIDS-related deaths in Ghana Drug-related deaths in Ghana {{keyboardist-stub