Country music duo The Bellamy Brothers Howard and David are the first ever country band to make it to Indian shores, also first ever to tour on the sub-continent. Best known for their 1970s and ’80s country hits like Old Hippie, I need more of you and the pun-ny If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me,) the duo are happy to be in familiar surroundings. “Back home in Florida we have a similar weather to what you have in India. Our summers are almost the same. But what we like most is the Indian food. We are foodies and love eating Indian food.” says Howard, while David chips in saying that Chicken Tikka Masala is his favorite. Seated in a city hotel lobby he adds “We have grown up eating Indian food and I can’t remember how long we have been doing it. It’s been a long time. It’s spicy but we love it.”

There Indian connection continues with Indian music which began when they were young. “As teenagers we have tuned into Ravi Shankar and have seen many Bollywood movies too and so yeah, we have a great Indian connection. Bollywood movies are very different from Hollywood movies, in that Bollywood uses different formulas. It’s also nice to watch movies from different countries. Infact there’s a Bollywood award ceremony happening in about 30 miles from our town and yeah I hope to be there” says David.  

“I probably discovered Indian music through the Beatles” says Howard adding that they have used the sitar in their music. “My son plays a little of the sitar and actually he has a real sitar and an electric sitar. Infact we used a little of his work on our recordings. We had done a gospel album and we used the sitar on a song Grandma’s God. The song is interesting because it’s about western religion and usual eastern instruments” laughs David.

In aid of Kripa Foundation, the Bellamy Brothers have always wanted to come to India, but just could not make it. “We have been in the industry for the last 40 years and have always wanted to come here as we know we have many fans, but it just never happened. I am happy we are finally performing for all our fans today.” states Howard. While fans in Mumbai would be happy to see them perform, when prodded, David is quick to share one of his strangest fan experiences. “There was this lady who recently tied herself to our tour bus so that she could come along with us on our tour. I must say she was a real big fan of us. Actually there are many fans that do many things for us”. Howard’s craziest fan experience was when he was gifted a rocking chair which he says he still uses.

Most of the songs the Brothers sing are stories either of their personal life or general stories about daily life. Speaking on the current crop of country singers like Taylor Swift and a few others, the duo feel that they are not real country music singers. “Country has to have that traditional style, the style that we or artists like Willie Nelson and the like sing. I do hope that one day this same traditional country music comes back and we get to listen to pure country” says Howard the elder of the duo.

The duo have together written countless worldwide hits, crossed the globe like their music has crossed genres, and brought reggae to the Grand Ole Opry. The duo’s most famous number Let Your Love Flow was ranked number 1 on the 1976 Billboard Hot 100.

Fans would be happy to know that the Brothers are releasing their 40^th album this year. The duo has five other members who play with them on the road and on their albums, since the last 30 years.

For music lovers who would’ve attended the live concert at Willingdon Gymkhana in Santacruz last night, having the Bellamy Brothers performing live would’ve been a dream come true. As for the Bellamy Brothers it’s their dream too one that will be long remembered.

Text and Photos by Verus Ferreira