The Tribe, formerly the World Wide Message Tribe (WWMT), were a British

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

dance band. Their aim was "to communicate the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

to young people in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a ceremonial county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Cheshire to the south, and Merseyside to the west. Its largest settlement is the city of Manchester. ...

". They were part of the Christian charity, The Message Trust, in Manchester.

Background

The World Wide Message Tribe formed in 1991, and grew out of an evangelistic project called "Message to Schools" run by

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

Andy Hawthorne Andy Hawthorne, Order of the British Empire, OBE is a British evangelist, author, and founder of The Message Trust, a Christian mission organisation based in Manchester, UK. He has been a speaker at New Wine, Spring Harvest, Soul Survivor (c ...

and singer Mark Pennells. The Tribe disbanded in 2004. The line up of the Tribe varied over the 13 years and included many recognised Christian artists including

(director of the message), Mark Pennells (co-director of Innervation trust), Zarc Porter (also co-director of Innervation Trust as well as producer and co-writer for most of the Tribe's musical output), Elaine Hanley, Lorraine Williams, Sani, Beth Redman (internationally known artist and author and wife of

Matt Redman Matthew James Redman (born 14 February 1974) is an English Christian worship leader, singer-songwriter and author. Redman has released 16 albums, written 8 books, and helped start three church-plants. He is best known for his two-time Grammy A ...

; she was later in a band called Storm which released an eponymous album in 1998.), Cameron Danté (formerly of

Bizarre Inc Bizarre Inc were an English techno/house group. Formed in 1989 as a duo between English DJs Dean Meredith and Mark "Aaron" Archer (not to be confused with the film producer of the same name), they later re-formed as a trio consisting of Me ...

), Deronda K Lewis, Colette Smethurst, Claire Prosser, Emma and Tim Owen, Lindz West, Jorge Mhondera and Quintin Delport (Jorge and Quintin were formally members of SA band, M.I.C. and have now set up a new bands known as Whistlejacket and Shackleton respectively). The Tribe's parent organisation, The Message Trust, has since created multiple bands, including BlushUK (a girl group), LZ7, a hip hop group fronted by ex-Tribe member Lindz West, and Twelve24, another hip hop group. "Genetik", the tribe academy has been set up with the vision to train up young evangelists in an Urban or Creative course at its Manchester base. Mark Pennells and Zarc Porter have also continued to develop evangelistic bands and projects as part of the Innervation Trust including Shinemk, V*enna,

thebandwithnoname thebandwithnoname (referred to as "TBWNN" by fans) were a Christian band who were launched by Innervation Trust in March 2002, as their flagship band, alongside girl band TBC. TBWNN hosted their final gig at the Stockport Plaza on Saturday 4 ...

, tbc, BeBe Vox, iSingPOP and iSingWorship. The group won three GMA

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

Discography

* WWMT – ''Take A Long Hike With The Chosen Few'' (N*Soul/Diamante, 1993) – N*Soul's first CD * WWMT – ''Dance Planet'' (N*Soul/Diamante, 1994) – Compilation, #1 radio hits:”On My Way to Zion”, “Where Are You Going” & “Peace” * WWMT – ''Jumping in the House of God'' (Warner Alliance, 1998) * WWMT – ''We Don't Get What We Deserve'' (Warner Alliance, 1996),#1 Radio Hit, “Sweet Salvation” * ''Jumping in the House of God II'' (Alliance, 1998) – Various artists * WWMT – ''Revived'' (Warner Alliance, 1999) – Compilation * WWMT – ''Heatseeker'' (Warner Resound, 1997) * ''Jumping in the House of God III'' (Alliance, 1998) – Various artists, #1 Radio Hits,”The Real Thing”, “Jumping in the House of God” * WWMT – ''Frantik'' (Resolve/Diamante, 1999) * The Tribe – ''Take Back The Beat'' (Alliance, 2001) – Three track/video cd-rom * The Tribe – ''Raise Your Game'' (Authentic, 2003) * The Tribe – ''Message to the Masses'' (2004) – Compilation

Singles

References

* Andy Hawthorne, Diary of a Dangerous Vision, Kingsway Books, 15 April 2004, * * * *

Notes

External links

*
CrossRhythms articles

(May 1998)
Page on N*Soul Records

Christian Music Artist Database entry

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tribe, The English Christian musical groups British performers of Christian hip-hop Performers of Christian electronic dance music Christian hip-hop groups English dance music groups Musical groups established in 1991 1991 establishments in the United Kingdom Musical groups from Manchester