In truth, however, the creation of the band began in 1982 when guitarist and musicologist Ben Mandelson, also known as Hijaz Mustapha, and Uncle Patrel, also known as Lu Edmonds, started playing together, along with Patrel's other "nephews", namely Houzam, Isfa'ani, Oussack and Niaveti III. Before World music became a genre, they were already playing musical styles from all around the globe. According to band members the first concert was held in a London restaurant that year. The early 3M3 line-up was noticed by BBC Radio 1's John Peel, for whom they recorded several Peel Session broadcasts. A concert in Berlin followed, and two mini-albums were subsequently released, but their first full-length album, "Shopping", was not recorded until 1987. The album covered a wide array of genres also including a cover of Moroccan Najat Aatabou's "Shouffi Rhirou". By then Oussack had left the band, but bassist Sabah Habas Mustapha, who may in fact be Colin Bass, and accordionist Kemo Mustapha had joined.