‘It was incredible when she said yes’: why Chaka Khan teamed up with the Bombay Bicycle Club

They are London indie stalwarts, she’s a multiple Grammy-winning great. So how on earth did the band end up duetting with the soul legend on their new album?

For the last few weeks, Bombay Bicycle Club have been teasing that the top secret special guest on their new album might “shock a lot of people”. Now the secret is out, and it’s none other than Chaka Khan. The 10-time Grammy winning superstar behind such hits as 70s funk smash Ain’t Nobody (with Rufus) and the Prince-penned early 80s pop-dance colossus I Feel for You adds her trademark uplifting vocals to Tekken 2, a joyously funky track on the band’s sixth album, My Big Day. “It was incredible when she said yes,” says singer Jack Steadman. “Such an honour. We couldn’t believe it.”

The unlikely collaboration came about after Steadman played the track to Damon Albarn (who also sings on the album), explaining that there was a section that he was trying to sing in a certain way, and “just wasn’t nailing it. I asked him: ‘Can you think of anyone who would be amazing? And he surprised me by saying: ‘Just ask Chaka Khan.’”