adminnon-appearance of Beres Hammond at the just-ended Lion Lager Beer Festival.
I was of the impression that when something is out of sight, it soon goes out of mind, but judging from the amount of mail I received on the subject this week, the Beresford Hammond thing is certainly not going away that easily.
A lot of reggae fans still feel cheated, not by a fly-by-night promoter but by a corporate institution which makes lots of money through the sale of alcohol and other beverages. Up to now the fans do not know why he did not come. Since October 15, my inbox has been flooded with mail from abroad and from all over the country complaining about fans being short-changed.
If I do not print some of their letters I would have done an injustice to those who have written to me.
So, Mr Delta, why not give this thing the closure that it deserves? Zimbabweans are truly slaves to the rhythm and they enjoy meeting foreigners.
It’s hard to ignore such a huge wave of expectation, which you failed to fulfil.
After all, how many times does the average Zimbabwean meet a man with dreadlocks, straight from the Caribbean Islands and with a pure Jamaican accent? That alone is cause for excitement.
If that man can sing that is even a bonus.
That is Beres for you. He was born to make an impact and thousands of Zimbabweans had thronged the concert venue to witness his rare musical genius, only to be frustrated at the last minute.
Delta should unearth this non-appearance mystery and let the nation know what happened.
One punter succinctly put it: “To be honest, Delta owes me change.
“I paid to see three Jamaican artistes and I was treated to two without explanation. Why?”
Another punter who calls herself Shereen Manuhwa simply said: “It was a perfect dream for me. Beres in Zimbabwe! Wow! I went out to buy myself some red, gold and green outfit for that day which never came. My dream soon turned to a nightmare.
“I thought ten bucks to see three Jamaican artistes under one roof was good value for money, but I was cheated by these con artistes who proved to be cleverer than me.”
Dennis Wilson, a former Radio Three DJ who used to rock the Zimbabwe airwaves with his famous reggae sessions wrote from England and he had this to say:
“Fred,What happened with the Beres no show. With all due respect, these kind of things have to stop, man. The more it keeps happening the less people will be interested in paying to attend.
“Why did the promotion company not have the artistes appear live on radio (By phone) from whatever country they may have been in to assure the public that they were contracted and they would be in the country to fulfil that contract.
“If after this they did not appear, it would give the public the chance to make up their minds as to who was at fault. Another point is.
“Why was there no statement from Delta in particular, they have so much more to lose than the promotions company, just throwing names of artistes to appear with the intent of increasing ticket sales has now been used too many times. “Just my opinion after reading the article in the Herald.”
He goes on to say: “You know Fred, I have my contacts who would never allow this kind of thing to happen on so many occasions. I have tried so many times to offer my services in this field, yet there has never been any company willing enough to engage me in any of their projects, why?
“Is it because I am (black Joke) not Zimbabwean. I have the relevant agents, with direct contacts to the artistes’ managements.
“When a contractual arrangement is made, the agent will make sure the artistes are available and all the relevant documentations are in place, including artistes fees, which would be deposited into an escrow account.
“That money would only be released to the artiset on their arrival in Zimbabwe.
“From the article I read, Beres is already in possession of his fee, without even boarding a plane for Zimbabwe, if that is the case, I smell a rat somewhere.”
Garland Kasecha who seemed to have enjoyed the concert despite Beres’s absence had this to say:
“I was there. I missed Transit Crew but I came soon after Mic Inity had finished playing. I must say Cocoa Tea put up an outstanding performance that overwhelmed the fact that Beres did not show up. I personally think the organisers would have done themselves a favour by not advertising Beres in the first place as the show was ok with Cocoa Tea and Moja on their own.
“Anyway, yes, we were shortchanged as no explanation was given on why Beres was not available and a portion of our money should have been refunded.
“It only became apparent that Beres would not perform after I realised that the MC’s were not mentioning his name whenever they were talking about upcoming performances. I also feel that Delta should have given the Dj platform to seasoned players like Stereo one and Silverstone and should have considered bringing one of the big sounds from Jamaica.
“Kudzi Marudza and Witness Matema did a lousy job and should concentrate on their old school funk and not reggae. I do not have any problem with other genres being played at such functions because that is the only time we as rastas can get a chance to hear and watch such acts. Imagine the only time in my life that I have seen Macheso perform live was at the Sizzla show, had it not been for that show I would have never seen Macheso. The norm when they do their sunplashes in Jamaica is that they invite non reggae artists just to hype the shows.”
Dr Obadiah Moyo (aka The Mighty Biscuit) of Chitungwiza Hospital also commented: “Not to give an explanation to your clients is scandalous. It goes to show you how unprofessional some people can be!”
There is more, but there is no need to repeat the same sentiments expressed in the scores of e-mails I received. However, Samuel Masawi sums it all by stating that “Delta should be ashamed of itself”.
The irate rastaman whose name I shall not mention because ganja smoking in this country is illegal says it again.
“I could have enjoyed my spliff more with my US$10 than to waste my time listening to Fantan Mojah when I had come for Beres.” Nuff said!
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