adminZim music Matrix
Clive Malunga
THE late Simon Chimbetu attended my father’s funeral in Norton.
I felt honoured to have him among the mourners.
My father was well-known in Norton and surrounding areas as Mr Zuda.
Chimbetu later told me that he had known my father for quite some time.
He told me his late father used to play the gambling game of cards commonly called njuga or makasa with my father at a farm compound called Mashumba.
Then, the Chimbetus stayed in Selous, popularly known as Seruwe.
After Thomas Mapfumo, Chimbetu is probably ranked as the second best musician.
He earned the most praise-names from his legion of fans.
Among them were Cellular, Chopper, Marxist Dende, Master of Song, The Maestro, Viscose and Mukoma Sam.
He produced many hit songs in his glittering music career.
Remember Kunjere Kunjere, Mwana Wedangwe, Nguva Yakaoma, Pachipamwe, Survival and Lullaby!
Scorchers like Samatenga, Pane Asipo and Saina are timeless.
In 1998, he released a bomb of a song called Dzandipedza Mafuta, off the album, Lullaby.
In terms of sales, the song broke Zimbabwean records.
It also cemented his place among Zimbabwe’s musical greatest of all time (GOAT).
Chimbetu was a regular performer at Jenaguru Music Festival. He was billed to perform at Jenaguru Music Festival in 1998.
It happened that his management had made a double booking.
He was supposed to perform in Gweru a day before the end of the Jenaguru Festival.
He had to perform in Gweru on a Saturday and return to Harare for the Jenaguru Music Festival early the next day.
He was the hottest property in Zimbabwe and his fans were eager to see him perform at the 1998 edition.
Our festival would end at 10am but at 9:30am, he was nowhere to be seen.
The crowd declared they would not disperse until he had performed. I panicked since fans were beginning to demand refunds.
Some fans even threatened to physically harm me. I sneaked out of the stadium and went into hiding at Mushandirapamwe Hotel.
I would check the situation in the stadium through the hotel balcony.
Fortunately, a friend of mine, Philip Magwaza, who was very close to Chimbetu, managed to contact him.
The late Philip Magwaza was a veteran political editor at The Herald.
He also doubled as a member of Chimbetu’s management team.
He came to where I was hiding and assured me he was on his way to Gwanzura.
I took his word since he was close to the Chimbetus.
Philip’s elder brother, Prince, was my best friend.
He was a former ZANLA combatant. We had shared trenches and many sad moments together in Zimbabwe’s protracted liberation struggle.
The crowd did not go anywhere.
They kept on shouting, demanding to see their hero on stage.
At 1015 hours, Simon arrived at Gwanzura with his musical group, The Orchestra Dendera Kings.
As soon as his arrival was announced, an electric atmosphere gripped Gwanzura.
A large group of fans went to open the gate for his entourage to enter.
As I walked into the stadium from my place of hiding, I could see a group of young men lifting the car, which Chimbetu was driving.
They carried the car from the gate and put it down next to the stage.
Chimbetu opened his car door and went straight to the stage.
The rapturous fans were ululating and chanting many of his stage names.
The fans’ favourite had arrived.
That day, I realised the power of music.
You cannot separate die hard fans from their favourite artist.
He played his hit songs from 1030 hours to 1230 hours non-stop.
People danced, sang along and enjoyed the show.
The concert, which was supposed to end at 1000 hours, had to be pushed to 1230 hours, to allow the Master of Song to serenade his fans in a blistering two-hour period of non-stop music.
I was very happy because Mukoma Simon did not let me down.
Our biggest and best Jenaguru Musical Festival was held at the National Sports Stadium.
Chimbetu performed at midnight.
His performance coincided with the lighting of fireworks display.
He shared the stage with Brother Ayouba from San Francisco, USA, Amber 04 from Zambia and other groups from Egypt and Malawi.
Simon left us but we will always carry rich memories of that music genius.
I also pay tribute to Classic 263 radio manager, Terence Mapurisana for providing me with some information pertaining to Jenaguru Music Festivals and the arts in general.
Happy reading…till we meet again next week.
NB: For feedback, you can contact me on [email protected] or WhatsApp/SMS 0782 464 001.
Online Reporter