Finally, a Protest Song for London's Striking Bus Drivers

When London’s bus drivers went on strike last month, the uplifting sounds of Afrobeats and dancehall boosted morale on the picket lines. Depots and garages across the capital temporarily transformed themselves into makeshift sound systems as drivers dropped hits by Nigerian and Ghanaian stars like WizKid and Stonebwoy between more conventional protest songs like “Get Up, Stand Up”. Despite the frustration surrounding wages and the sting of a freezing cold January morning, there were even a few sweet-smelling BBQs flavouring the air.

“It was more like a carnival than a strike,” laughs DJ Ali, a broadcast journalist who spent the day reporting on the demonstrations. In the days following, videos started popping up on YouTube featuring bus men and women singing and dancing along to one of the most instantly gratifying genres to takeover the captial. Although mainstream radio play has been largely limited to crossover acts like Fuse ODG, the videos were as good an indication as any of the current popularity of Afrobeats.

Continues below

As Ali points out many of the drivers were also DJs and MCs, well versed in working up a crowd. This too perhaps explains the shift from more traditional protest music towards Afrobeats, mirroring a current demand for African sounds. “What they’d been playing from the start of the strike was reggae”. explains Ali. “But as soon as they started playing Afrobeats everyone was dancing. The reaction was the same from non-African drivers, even kids passing on their way to school were enjoying it.” Given the number of dance crazes that Afrobeats has given rise to, it’s unsurprising that the music energised the strike.

While Afrobeats might have reigned over PAs, it was not the only soundtrack to the demonstrations. At one south London depot, DJ and singer Mikey Bashment performed his own song, "Bus Drivers Anthem”, in support of his fellow drivers. When Mikey, who has worked as a driver part-time to support his music career, uploaded a video of his performance on YouTube it became a viral hit, racking up over 100,000 views through a Facebook post. It's since been adopted as an unofficial call to arms – even belatedly endorsed by trade union Unite.

You can see why it's resonated with the transport workers. “What the song is saying is true for a lot of us,” says Allan Edwards, a long-serving driver, who was also at the demost. “This is the first time we’ve had a chance to have our voices heard after being silenced for decades.” The lyrics - example: "When the bus drop in a pothole, you feel like it transforming into Optimus Prime" - are all jokes observations about the occupational hazards that come with a life spent on London’s roads, blending the joyous optimism of his performance with mundanity of the job.

That said, it does seem to hint at some of the mounting frustrations that led to the strike. One line stresses the importance of keeping up the pace, for if you “can’t do that you sacked from your workplace." What finally led Mikey and many others to walk out last month is an ongoing dispute over the disparity in wages between the eighteen bus companies that operate in London. Unlike the city’s Tube workers, bus drivers don’t have an across-the-board pay deal. “If I left to work at another company I could be paid a lower salary despite driving the same route. That’s the reason I decided to strike,” he explains.

It was, however, never intended to be a protest song. “It isn’t actually about the bus strike. I wrote it previously for all the drivers in my garage: it’s just about the routes that we drive.” Even though it was written purely with his co-workers in mind, the video has galvanised thousands of supporters since its inception. “Loads of people have been coming up to me since asking why didn’t I call them to come down for the video,” he says laughing.

With the success of “Bus Drivers Anthem” Mikey is considering working on a followup. For now his paean to public transport has fulfilled the promise of its title Whether Afrobeats might also be the soundtrack for industrial action in the years to come is more difficult to say. Although it might seem like an unlikely choice for drivers fighting to improve their lot, its irrepressible energy of Afrobeats has motivated their struggle. As DJ Ali suggests, “it keeps people's spirits up, it keeps people happy”