Entertainment
Showbiz Personality Reminisces Night Life In Old PH Township
A Port Harcourt based
showbiz personality and movie practitioner, Mr victor D. Inko-Tariah remembers with nostalgia the peaceful and fun filled night life of yester years in the Old Port Harcourt townships when the Garden City bubbled with life and entertainment.
Speaking in an interview with The Tide entertainment, Mr Inko-Taria who is also the manager of Crisano Film Productions, noted that in the yester years, the Old Port Harcourt township bubbled with fun and entertainment, criminal activities such as rape, cultism, kidnapping and militancy were unknown in the society and it was difficult to differentiate between night and day, people from all works of life used to come to the town to enjoy themselves.
He recalled that in those days the cinema culture was in Vogue, there were three popular cinema houses in town namely, Central Cinemas, Rivoli Cinemas, (station Bus stop) and Plaza cinemas behind the town market), there were also night clubs and other entertainment hangouts.
He explained that in those good old days, night life started in the evening when fun lovers came out in their numbers to watch their favourite movies and actors. The popular films according to him were the Indian films, Chinese films and Western Cowbody Films among others. At the end of the cinemas, they moved over to the night clubs such as Copa Cabana, Aggrey road (now MTN office), Nido Night Club at Hospital road, Ragent Night Club Borokini, Club 67 and Orupolo Night Clubs at Harold Wilson drive Borokiri.
The showbiz personality disclosed that on Saturdays and Sundays they used to have life bands. At the Nido night club. There was a resident band called the ‘Nidocans’ and other guest bands. Among the guest bands and Artistes that played in the club then were Tonye Grey, Gyraldo Pino, Sir Victor Uwaifor, etc while the youths preferred Copa Cabana at Aggrey road, then it was Sunday jump in the afternoon by 2.00pm and mostly life bands played, such as wings from Aba, Founders Fifteen from Port Harcourt, the Apostles, the Octopus, B.L.O from Lagos, Action from Ikot Ekpene, Sweet Brceze, One World, among others.
He reiterated that Orupolo night club at Harold Wilson drive Borokiri was very popular for Traditional music groups who played at the club regularly popular among whom were Oliver D’cogue, King Robert Ebisimo, I.K Belemu Etc. The music genre in Vogue were soul, highlife and later reggae.
According to him, the basic drinks were beer such as Star, Gulder, Harp, Guiness, Stout etc while the popular spirits were Gordon gin (Gim and lime) Batola, Jonny Walker etc.
According to the film maker, the music of those days had meaningful lyrics and people understood the message and enjoyed the songs and still play them till date. It was era of life bands unlike today when music has been computerized and digitalized, the artistes of today sound gibberish in their lyrics and promote immorality and alien culture in the society.
He also revealed that the dress code for men were Afro hair, three or four layers shoes and Sopido shoes with Bongo trousers and tight fitting shirts, while for the ladies they wore maxi, labou, ‘Akpola’ shoes and Afro hair do.
It was indeed a beautiful and quiet city where people came to enjoy themselves on daily basis.
Spotify yesterday revealed a significant surge in heartbreak song streams in Nigeria during the Valentine’s Day season, with a 626 percent increase between 2022 and 2024.
This was disclosed in a statement issued in Lagos, Nigeria by Spotify’s Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa Phiona Okumu.
Okumu said, “Spotify data reveals a surprising trend, a massive surge in heartbreak song streams.
“Nigerians are turning to their playlists to express their emotions, with a staggering 626 per cent overall growth in heartbreak streams from 2022 to 2024.
“This Valentine, the sound of love is accompanied by the sound of heartbreak, and the data shows it’s louder than ever before.”
She said on Valentine’s Day, most surprisingly, male listeners streamed heartbreak songs at a significantly higher rate than female listeners, with a 362 per cent increase compared to 169 per cent among women.
“This could suggest that men resonate with the feeling of heartbreak more and turn to music as a private outlet for processing emotions.
“Whatever the reason, one thing is clear, when love is in the air, so is heartbreak and Nigerian men are pressing play on their pain more than expected.
“While Valentine’s Day is often celebrated with grand gestures, heartbreak is a common theme on Valentine’s Day -more than what’s publicly shown,” she said.
Nigerians will join their counterparts across the world to mark the 2025 Valentine’s today.
Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has joined MLS side San Diego FC’s ownership group as a club partner.
SDFC announced today that Tems joined the ownership group through her company, The Leading Vibe.
In the process, Tems became the first African woman to be involved in MLS ownership.
“We are delighted that Tems has joined San Diego FC as a club partner,” SDFC chairman Sir Mohamed Mansour said in a statement.
“Tems is a globally significant artist who will help us reach new audiences and spread the word about our unique project, which, of course, has its foundations in sub-Saharan Africa through the unique Right to Dream organisation.”
Reacting to her addition as the latest partner in SDFC’s ownership group, the singer said: “I am thrilled to join San Diego FC’s ownership group and to be part of a club that celebrates creativity, culture, and the power of community.
“Football has a unique way of bringing people together, and I am excited to help build something special in San Diego, a city that thrives on diversity and innovation.”
Fashion and beauty entrepreneur, Toyin Lawani, has claimed she is enduring back pain and that her spine is degenerating.
Lawani revealed this in a video posted on social media last Tuesday.
In the clip, she opened up about her experience with epidural anesthesia, an injection administered to pregnant women in the spine to reduce pain during childbirth.
The mother of three claimed that since receiving the injection, she has not felt like herself.
She accused doctors of not fully informing women about the long-term side effects of epidurals.
According to Lawani, she received the anesthetic injection during the birth of her last two children.
She said, “When you hear ‘epidural,’ run. Doctors tell you about the side effects but do not tell you about the long-term effects on your body. I have about three friends having the same issues that I am having.
“Like, I am just 42, how did I end up with spine issues? I have a degenerating spine. I have implants in my spine. I go paralyzed. I can’t stand for a long time. I can’t even breathe properly sometimes because it affected so many things in my body when I had the surgery.
“They will not tell you because you just want the pain to go away. I have had two epidurals. I had my first as natural birth. The last two were epidural. The last one I had epidural because I had to undergo a surgery and I had no choice.
“See, the pain does not stop. My back is killing me and my spine is degenerating.”