Zambia ( /ˈzæmbiə/), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west. The capital city is Lusaka, located in the south-central part of the country. The population is concentrated mainly around Lusaka in the south and the Copperbelt Province to the northwest.

Originally inhabited by Khoisan peoples, the region which comprises modern Zambia was colonised during the Bantu expansion of the thirteenth century. After visits by European explorers in the eighteenth century, Zambia became the British colony of Northern Rhodesia towards the end of the nineteenth century. For most of the colonial period, the country was governed by an administration appointed from London with the advice of the British South Africa Company.

On 24 October 1964, the country declared independence from the United Kingdom and then-prime minister Kenneth Kaunda became the inaugural president. Kaunda's socialist United National Independence Party (UNIP) maintained power from the 1964 until 1991. From 1972 to 1991 Zambia was a single-party state with the UNIP as the sole-legal political party, with the goal of uniting the nation under the banner of 'One Zambia, One Nation'. Kaunda was succeeded by Frederick Chiluba of the social-democratic Movement for Multi-Party Democracy in 1991, during which the country saw a rise in social-economic growth and increased decentralisation of government.

Mark Stephen Burke (born 12 February 1969) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder. A player skilled at retaining the ball, he enjoyed a 15 year professional career in England, the Netherlands, Japan, Romania, and Sweden.

He began his career at Aston Villa, turning professional in February 1987. He was sold on to Middlesbrough for £50,000 in December 1987, and played for Fourth Division champions Darlington on loan in October 1990. He transferred to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £25,000 fee in March 1991, before playing on loan at Luton Town in March 1994. He signed with Port Vale in August 1994, before moving on to Fortuna Sittard the following year. He joined Omiya Ardija in 1999, before signing with FC Oss via Rapid Bucharest and IF Brommapojkarna in 2001, helping the latter to the Division 2 Östra Svealand title.

Burke joined Aston Villa on schoolboy forms aged 14, and played for England Schoolboys, before signing professionally in February 1987. He made his senior debut in a 1–0 defeat to Everton on 18 April 1987, as the "Villans" were relegated out of the First Division in 1986–87. They were immediately promoted in 1987–88, but Burke managed only eight appearances for the club before joining fellow Second Division side Middlesbrough for £50,000 in December 1987.

Alan Murphy (28 November 1953 – 19 October 1989) was an English rock session guitarist, best remembered for his collaborations with Kate Bush and Go West. In 1988 he joined the group Level 42 as a full time band member, and played with them until his death in 1989. He also played lead guitar on select recordings by Mike + The Mechanics, including the hit single "Silent Running".^{[citation needed]}

Alan Murphy's first musical group was called Blackmass and consisted of Murphy, Roy Phillips, James Hedges, Terry Eden, Steve Paget, and Vincent Duffy. Blackmass were named in tribute to Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, an early influence of Murphy's, and existed for about two years until some of the band's equipment was stolen and the group disbanded.

SFX was an instrumental jazz-rock fusion band featuring Murphy and fellow luminaries of the session world, Felix Krish on bass, Tony Beard on drums and Richard Cottle on keyboards. SFX originated from the covers band "The Stapleton Allstars", morphing into SFX after creating a set of original instrumental fusion tunes. They played the occasional interrupted residency at the Cricketers pub, near The Oval cricket ground in London. The band recorded an album which was subsequently released after Murphy's death.