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

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

dance band. Their aim was "to communicate the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

to young people in

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tamesid ...

". They were part of the Christian charity,

The Message Trust The Message Trust is a Christian charity working to improve the lives of people in the UK and beyond through work in schools, prisons and communities. Working in partnership with churches and other organisations, The Message is in contact with a ...

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 is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashi ...

Andy Hawthorne 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 Andy Hawthorne (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 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 Meredith, A ...

), 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 three bands, BlushUK (a girl group),

LZ7 LZ7 are an English Christian electronic dance music group from Manchester. The band was formed in 2005 by Lindz West, a member of dance band The Tribe, who had split up the previous year. LZ7 worked for many years as a part of the Christian cha ...

, 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 S ...

, 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 are presented annually. Formerly held in Nashville, Tennessee, the Dove Award ...

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, 1995) - Compilation, #1 radio hits * WWMT - ''Jumping in the House of God'' (Warner Alliance, 1995) * WWMT - ''We Don't Get What We Deserve'' (Warner Alliance, 1995) * ''Jumping in the House of God II'' (Alliance, 1996) - Various artists * WWMT - ''Revived'' (Warner Alliance, 1996) - Compilation * WWMT - ''Heatseeker'' (Warner Resound, 1997) * ''Jumping in the House of God III'' (Alliance, 1998) - Various artists * 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 music 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