ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses three phases, each recounting a part of the band's story: from discovery, to the recording of their album TrèsTrès Fort and their subsequent global success. The three phases are Staff Benda Bilili 2003-2005: Tonkara; Staff Benda Bilili 2006-2008: Moto Moindo; Staff Benda Bilili 2009-2012: TrèsTrès Fort. The song 'Polio', written by the Congolese band, Staff Benda Bilili (SBB), describes in words the experience of most of the band as musicians, polio-sufferers and homeless dwellers on the literally mean streets of Kinshasa. In a globalized world, where cultural flows shape new forms of consumption and wellbeing, 'world music' has become an increasingly visible signifier. From a wider public health perspective, the band have become poster boys for global campaigns such as Rotary International's 2010-11 campaign to end polio as a global disease. The chapter summarizes the themes and suggests further directions for work on the relationships between world music and the study of health/wellbeing.
