BRAFA Square

BRAFA Square

In between the new Britannia Leisure Centre and Shoreditch Park you will find BRAFA Square, named in recognition of The British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal Team. 

During the mid-1980s BRAFA raised thousands of pounds for Ethiopian famine relief by recording a charity song 'Let's Make Africa Green Again' and holding a benefit concert in Shoreditch Park, Hackney.

The making of BRAFA Square

The British Reggae Artists Famine Appeal team story was rediscovered in 2019 when a local resident recalled attending the benefit concert in Shoreditch Park.

Together with BRAFA founder Leon Leiffer, over the course of two years we tracked down the concert organisers, the musicians that played and sang on the charity record, and the music journalists and photographers who covered the story at the time. BRAFA musicians and their families, local residents and people from across the world came forward with memories, photos and newspaper cuttings, helping us piece together the story of Hackney’s answer to Live Aid in the 1980s.

A permanent information panel installed in the square shares the story and photographs of the recording studio day, the fundraising campaign and the benefit concert. The 'Let's Make Africa Green Again’ melody and a timeline charting the history are inscribed in the steel tree and bench surrounds and serve as a permanent reminder of the hugely impactful, but almost forgotten, history of the BRAFA fundraising campaign.

Remembering BRAFA: The Documentary

To document the history and to commemorate the opening of the new public square a Booklet was produced and a special documentary was filmed, which includes interviews with founder member Leon Leiffer, BRAFA co-organisers and their families and many of the musicians who performed on the charity single and at the benefit concert. Watch Remembering BRAFA here:

The official opening

BRAFA Square was officailly opened by Mayor Philip Glanville on 6 October 2021 with original members of BRAFA, their families, and reggae music legends in attendance. They included Leon Leiffer, Winston Reedy, Winston Francis, Pauline Reid, Audrey Scott, Janet Kay, Black Steel, Jah Bunny, Fay Addison and The Blackstones!

To relive the magic from the opening night, see photos on the Hackney Council Flickr page and rewatch the speeches and entertainment here:

BRAFA on the Antiques Roadshow

In 2022 BRAFA founder members and families were invited onto the Antiques Roadshow to share their story. The episode filmed at Clissold Park in August 2022 is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

For more information about Brafa Square and how the name was discovered read the press release.