For those asking for a bio:
Hudeidi was born in Berbera in 1928, one of twins, to a young mother & a police sergeant father. At 40 days old he was carried over the Red Sea to Aden where his father worked. His nickname comes from his grandfather who sailed boats to Hodeidah,Yemen

He went to school in Aden and was a boisterous boy, his Yemeni teacher told him to play the drums to get rid of his energy and from there he started the violin. When he met Abdillahi Qarshe in the late 40s he fell in love with the oud.

His father sent him away to join the Royal Navy to keep him away from music and musicians (!) and he arrived in Portsmouth, England for the first time in 1947. I think he was part of the RN convoy that travelled to Aden for the Queen's royal visit to the Aden Protectorate.

The time away did nothing to break his love for music and back in Aden he immersed himself more deeply in it. In 1960 as Somaliland declared independence from Britain he was in Hargeysa and he performed in Freedom Park as the new flag went up.

H was detained by french colonial authorities for campaigning for Djibouti's independence. In Somalia, he was a foundational member of the Waaberi music troupe and travelled to China, Ukraine, Festac in Nigeria, Sudan, Zaire during Muhammad Ali's fight and many other countries.

An interview with Hudeidi and Abdullahi Qarshe

His life spanned the colonial, post-independence and post-civil war period and I could not have asked for a better teacher, friend, and guide. His small flat in London was such a beautiful place filled with good people, laughter, the scent of Yemeni coffee, ouds & love