Mark Pennells leaves WWMT to form new ministry

VOCALIST and composer Mark Pennells, one of the founders of internationally popular sanctified dance team the World Wide Message Tribe, has left the band to establish a new schools ministry. Mark's new organisation, Kik-Start, will set up schools evangelism in various cities beyond Manchester, which has been the ministry focus since the WWMT were formed in 1992. Kik-Start have already been commissioned to start a schools work in Milton Keynes and will be working closely with the Soul Survivor organisation and a new band formed by ex-WWMT member Beth Vickers. Said Mark, "My heart is to see new projects springing up all over the place and winning people for Jesus."

Taking Pennells' place in the World Wide Message Tribe is Tim Owen, a rapper/vocalist who'd previously performed with re:fresh, the NGM-administered dance band. Tim's wife, dancer Emma, has also joined the WWMT team. Another addition to the Tribe is American vocalist and evangelist Doranda Lewis from Tulsa.

The band, with their new line up, recently completed a successful six-week tour of America. The band's new album 'Cuckoo Land' is set for November release by Alliance Music. 'Cuckoo Land' will be a natural progression compared with previous work of the World Wide Message Tribe. Said producer Zarc Porter, "As with all the Tribe recordings, the brief is the same: to service the ministry by producing music which is correct for the school kids of Manchester. Obviously, styles have changed considerably over the last couple of years. This album is more progressive in places."

The album features a wide range of styles, as versatile as a rap anthem in "Everybody Pray", the progressive dance a la Prodigy in "Hypocrite" and a track currently in the works that Porter describes as a "diva housy disco track". The album is also to receive | secular distribution into mainstream record shops by EMI.