The cake has been cut, the first dance is over, the guests have been fed and they are already quite a few sheets to the wind.

What this wedding needs is a song guaranteed to get everyone out of their seats and onto the dancefloor, and that’s where Toto’s ‘Africa’ comes in handy.

Of course the DJ has it up his sleeve, and because this is the final day of January and we want to avoid doing work let’s just have one more listen:

They actually invented the hashtag #blessed, you know.

Who wants to know the story behind the song? I’m keen, and so were the Guardian. They spoke to David Paich, the band’s vocals, keyboards and songwriter, as well as guitarist Steve ‘Luke’ Lukather.

First up, here’s David:

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.

…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.

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.

If you feel like blessing a little rain down in Cape Town go right ahead, Toto man.

That account is fine, but I really enjoyed Steve’s take:

“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…

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.

A quick search on YouTube reveals this is one of the more popular EDM remixes:

I’m sorry you had to go through that.

Finally, we offer you the playlist from the next white person’s wedding you go to:

[source:guardian]