David Paich, vocals, keyboards, songwriter

I’d just got a new keyboard. It made this brassy sound and the moment I started playing it, I had what would become the opening riff to Africa. Then I hummed a melody and by the time I got to the chorus, I had words. “Hang on,” I thought. “I’m a talented songwriter but I’m not this talented!” It was as if a higher power was writing through me, because this stuff was coming out like magic.

One of the reasons I was in a rock band was to see the world. As a kid, I’d always been fascinated by Africa. I loved movies about Dr Livingstone and missionaries. I went to an all-boys Catholic school and a lot of the teachers had done missionary work in Africa. They told me how they would bless the villagers, their Bibles, their books, their crops and, when it rained, they’d bless the rain. That’s where the hook line – “I bless the rains down in Africa” – came from.

I was watching South Park and there was ​me as a character, playing Africa​. I laughed for an hour and called the band

They said loneliness and celibacy were the hardest things about life out there. Some of them never made it into the priesthood because they needed companionship. So I wrote about a person flying in to meet a lonely missionary. It’s a romanticised love story about Africa, based on how I’d always imagined it. The descriptions of its beautiful landscape came from what I’d read in National Geographic.

In the late 1990s, we finally played Africa, performing in Cape Town and Johannesburg. I went on a safari through a game reserve. People had heard the song and asked: “So when were you in Africa?” I admitted I’d never been there till now. They said: “But you describe it so beautifully!” That just warms my heart.

Steve ‘Luke’ Lukather, guitarist

“If this is a hit,” I said, “I’ll run naked down Hollywood Boulevard.” I thought the song had a brilliant tune, but I remember listening to the lyrics and going: “Dave, man, Africa? We’re from north Hollywood. What the fuck are you writing about? ‘I bless the rains down in Africa?’ Are you Jesus, Dave?”



Then we made a video that was so full cheese. They built this stage that looked like a pile of giant books and stood us on top of it. You can see me laughing. I hated videos and I hate the 80s for the mullet I used to have – and the clothes they put us in to make us look androgynous. We are not that band. On the cover of the single I have a look on my face that says: “I’m gonna kill you.” And now I have to sit here and eat my words because Africa has become a standard and I’m very proud of David for it.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest ‘We’ve got a new young audience thanks to EDM guys playing Africa to end their sets – it mixes well with Skrillex.’ Photograph: Awakening/Redferns

The track has actually started a huge Toto resurgence. I was watching South Park and suddenly this character came on. I realised it was me – with a goatee, holding a guitar and playing Africa. I laughed for an hour and called the band. Africa was on Family Guy next, then there were piss-takes on American Dad and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. Jimmy and Justin Timberlake were dressed as 80s boys scouts singing Africa in their tent.

People would tell me: “I hate that fucking song.” And I’d say: “Sometimes I hate that fucking song too.” I mean, I’d been playing it since 1982. But we’ve outlived our haters and it’s been very good to me. We’re very happy and we’ve got a new young audience, partly thanks to EDM guys playing Africa to end their sets. It mixes well with Skrillex.

I never did run naked down Hollywood Boulevard. These days, I’d be lucky to hobble down it.

• Toto’s new album, 40 Trips Around the Sun, is released on Sony/Legacy on 9 February. The band tour the UK 1-9 April.



