ADAYE - Turn It Up

AFS038

South African disco 12” originally released in 1983, the start of the country’s ‘bubblegum’ era. Adaye was a once-off studio project featuring members of Stimela, the SA supergroup formerly known as The Cannibals and at the time also recording under aliases like the Street Kids and Kumasi. 

As Adaye they roped in singer Al Etto and went into the studio with Heads Music boss Emil Zoghby, who shares songwriting credits with Ray Phiri on the only track they released: ‘Turn It Up’ - an eight-minute slice of guitar funk throbbing to a disco beat. Remastered from the original tapes and reissued on Afrosynth Records.

Composed by R. 'Pierie' and E. Zoghby
Produced by Emil Zoghby for Heads Productions
Engineereed by Phil Audoire
Mastered by Wouter Brandenburg
1983 Heads Music / 2020 Afrosynth Records
Distributed by Rush Hour Music
Photography: Georgina Karvellas
Thanks to Peter Moticoe

Buy it here.

THETHA - Move Me Closer / Call On Me (1983)

Spinna/Roi/CTV, 12SPIN3328

Producers: Tom Mkhize, Glynn Storm & Thetha

Engineers: Hennie Hartman & Richard Mitchell

Armed with the most talented bass player in the business in Bakithi Kumalo, Thetha were one of the slickest early bubblegum outfits, alongside the The Rockets and others. The two tracks on this 12” are not their best however, with the band striving for an overproduced "international" sound with minimal local influence.

• Mint copies of this album are for sale here 

THAMI AND THE ALL-ROUNDERS - Ekaba ke mango eo (1983)

CCP, RG(E)1034

Producer: Tom Vuma

The All-Rounders were originally a band of talented blind multi-instrumentalists that included Babsy Mlangeni. Many members of the band left the country after 1976, while Simon Falatsi went on to form Marumo. "By 1983 the line-up had so changed that it would be wrong to call it a band of the blind. They released an album, Ekaba ke Mang Eo, under the name Thami and The All-Rounders, produced by CCP's Tom Vuma. Their lead vocalist was Thami Sobekwa, one of the most powerful voices in the industry at that time. Yes, he's the voice on 'Cause I Love You' on the group Stimela's live album. You may also like to know that one of the band members was Faith Shadi Kekana who would later be a member of female trio Shadiii" (Mojapelo, 2008:16).

BRENDA & THE BIG DUDES - Weekend Special (1983)

CCP/EMI, 12FLY(C)508

Producers: Mally Watson & Blondie

The original 12" version of the song that ushered in the bubblegum era and made Brenda Fassie its star following her apprenticeship in the family band of Blondie Makhene. Heavily influenced by American R&B and deliberately lifting from two specific tracks - BB&Q Band's 'All Night Long' and Sharon Redd's 'Never Give You Up' - in 1986 the song was remixed by Van Gibbs in New York, released internationally on Capitol and made it onto the Billboard charts (more about the song's history here). Penned by Melvyn Matthews, as was the B-side 'Life Is Going On', a timeless ballad showing Brenda's vocal power in the style of Whitney Houston. 

THE SOFT SHOES - Soled Out (1983)

RPM, RPM1192

Producer: Attie van Wyk

Engineer: Pikes Cronje

Recorded at: RPM Studios

Long before today's ubiquitous TV talent searches like Idols and The X-Factor, The Soft Shoes emerged as winners of the SABC's 'Follow That Star' contest in 1983, due to the success of one song, 'Elvis Astaire', which reached number 4 on the SA charts. The band, made up of Jervis Pennington, Darren Magnusson, Roy Bramwell and Tinus 'Tommy' Maree, went on to release three albums. Looking at them now, it's hard to see how these guys broke hearts with their lame dance moves and cheesy 50s era rock n' roll and swing posing. Indeed the white pop scene soon took to superior acts like Face To Face, Ella Mental and eVoid. Interestingly, the Shoes were produced by Attie van Wyk, the same man responsible for launching the careers of black talent like Yvonne Chaka Chaka and Chicco at Dephon around the same time. If you love cheese, 
feast your eyes on this 35-minute TV special...

THEKWANE AND THE SOUND BROTHERS - Ka Thlahetswe Ke Mehlolo (1983)

Muziwakithi/GRC, MZK607

Producer: Banzi Kubheka

Engineer: Keith Forsyth

Pre-bubblegum Sotho soul heavily influenced by the late 70s Sotho soul king Mpharanyana and his backing band The Cannibals (who went on to become Stimela), with a distinctive mbaqanga groove usually reserved for Zulu lyricists. The title (more correctly 'Ke hlahetswe ke mehlolo') means something like 'I have experienced spells of bad luck'. Produced by Banzi Kubheka (Banjo, Vibe Talk).

MUNTU - ABC (Insimbi) (1983)

CCP/EMI, 12CCP(C)1043
Producer: Condry Ziqubu
Engineer: Nic Pickard

Following the student uprising of 1976, many young people dropped out of the apartheid school system to join the struggle. Later musicians began to urge them to return. Condry Ziqubu put out these two super-funky 7-minute tracks that call on the youth to go back to school.

"Dear mama, dear papa,
I'm going to school to learn how to write,
I'm going to school to learn how to write my name...
Hello my friend, where are you going?
Let's go back to school,
to learn how to write, to know how to read.
to know how to write your name...
Hey Mr Dum Dum,
You don't know how to write your name,
You don't know how to read a book,
You don't know how to write a letter...
Education - is the way - to the future - yes yes!"

MTUSENI SIBIYA no MFANA NGUBANE nezi NKONKONI - Xola Phela (1983)

Jamloti/CCP/EMI, JML(E)7011   
Producer: SM Khoza       

More 'Zulu traditional' grooves, this time from Mtuseni Sibiya, Mfana Ngubane and "The Wildebeests". It goes back to the roots of maskandi, relying primarily on guitar melodies and call-and-response vocals, while favouring old-style accordians over the keyboards that would come to dominate the genre thanks to the likes of the Madlala Brothers.

DREAD WARRIORS (1983)

Gallo, BL455   
Producer: Charlie Rakawema/Rakwale       
Recorded at: RPM Studios

One of the earliest reggae albums recorded in South Africa. Featuring drummer BP 'Punka' Khoza, who around the same time was part of seminal punk act National Wake with his brother Gary. For the Dread Warriors Khoza helped put out deep Don Carlos-inspired grooves. He also composed some of the songs, along with Steve Kekana and Dennis and Dumi Hlangwane.

GWEN BRISCO - 50/50 Love (1983)

Transistor/Moose Elbow, 12CBK(C)5004   
Producer: Adrian Strydom       
Composer: K Dyson-Oliver                           
   

This American-born singer and dancer performed in over 50 countries all over the world, including SA at a time when overseas artists felt increasingly compelled to boycott touring due to apartheid. Though perhaps better known for her legs and her cover versions, she put out several albums of her own.

50/50 Love is a disco single from 1983, the same year Brenda & The Big Dudes' similar 'Weekend Special' ushered in the bubblegum era. Interestingly, Gwen did a cover of 'Special' on South African TV - some of which can be seen on a video from her suitably oldskool website, along with clips of her playing in Swaziland and the puppet state of Bophuthatswana, to both black and white audiences (from 3min35). Also look out for covers of MC Hammer and Foreigner.

Produced and arranged by Adrian Strydom, who was behind multiracial act Friends First a few years later. The album has three versions of the song - including a 3 minute radio mix and a six-minute 'instrumental mix' that lifts straight from Instant Funk's '79 hit 'Got My Mind Made Up'. Gwen went on to release 'They Let Mandela Go' in 1990, with the production team of Chris Ghelakis and Marvin Moses (Winnie Khumalo, Walk This Way, Dr Victor).

STEVE KEKANA & PJ POWERS WITH HOTLINE - Feel So Strong (1983)

MFM/Gallo, XPD 2128
Producers: Bones Brettell, Greg Cutler & Alistair Coakley
(executive producer: Mike Fuller)
Engineer: Greg Cutler   
Arranger: Hotline

Classic early bubblegum track - a duet by a black man and a white woman that tested the apartheid censors at the SABC. In the days of the Immorality Act, such relationships - or hinting at them through song - were illegal.  Lyrics like "Your love has made me feel like I belong" had to be changed to "your help has made me feel like I belong" for the song to be played on radio. And photos of Steve and PJ holding hands above their heads were cropped to show no touching. If that was enough to get the censor's worked up, they wouldn't have been impressed by the B-side "Rap Version" of the same song, which has PJ cooing "Touch me, feel me... we can make it, feels so good... I want you so bad," even though Steve doesn't feature. Sure enough, five years later PJ was banned by SABC TV and radio for a  year.

Check out this video of the way things were - filmed and televised during Hotline and Steve's mid-80s tour to Scandinavia, where the song was a hit - along with Steve's other early English tracks like 'Raising My Family' . . .

BLACK FIVE - Pula Ea Na (1983)

Third World / Frontline, TWH5000

A tasty serving of Sotho Soul stew! Hailing from Sebokeng, south of Joburg, the Black Five were a 10-piece group whose vocalists included Cokes Mokhele and the recently departed Daniel "Nana" Tsietsi Motijoane, later known as Coyote and part of Stimela.

Highlights on the pre-bubblegum classic include the smooth funk of 'Selallane' and 'Wa Ikgona', the ecstatic gospel of 'Hallelujah' and the famous title track, written by Tsepo "The Village Pope" Tshola (Sankomota) and later covered by the likes of Hugh Masekela and Mara Louw.

KUMASI - I Know You Feel It (1983)

Kongas/Media Sounds/Wea, KSC1001

Six-track album of sophisticated Afro-funk. Kumasi was led by one Paul Ndlovu later of Stimela side-project Street Kids. Kumasi are the missing link between the Cannibals and Stimela. Although no names are provided anywhere on the album, few others possessed what the members of Stimela were capable of.

Way ahead of its time, this is an Afrosynth classic. Every track is a winner - from the deep funk of 'I Know You Feel It', 'Dali Wam' (My Darling) and 'She's a Queen' and the Fela-fuelled 'Anomakoliwa'  to the chilled out 'Dreamin' and 'What's on Your Mind'.

Internationally, put it right up there with the likes of Cymande and Mandrill.

éVoid (1983)

WEA,  WIC 8012
Producer: Lucien Windrich
Engineer: Richard Mitchell   
Recording at: RPM Studios, JHB   

 Classic debut from one of the few white rock bands to successfully incorporate African sounds and styles as a means of resisting the status quo. "Taximan" (featuring Bakithi Khumalo on bass) and "Shadows" remain two of the biggest hits to come out of the 80s. éVoid were also right on the button when it came to experimenting with new synthesizer sounds. Tracks like "I am a Fadget", "Inda-inda-Indaba" and "Urban Warrior" give Eno-era Talking Heads a run for their money. Performed alongside Steve Kekana, Sipho 'Hotstix' Mabuse, Juluka, Hotline and a host of others at the famous multiracial "Concert in the Park" at Ellis Park in January 1985 for Operation Hunger. Left for the UK soon after to escape conscription.

The albums executive producer was Benjy Mudie, who once played bass in the band and who signed them to WEA in the early 80s. He is also the one responsible for remasters and re-releasing the album on his Retro Fresh label. This is what he had to say about the album: "I listen to éVoid’s first album, made for like R8000. And it sold gazillions, right.  I listen to it now, 27 years later, and I think ‘what a great fucking pop record’. I mean ‘Taximan’ still has a vibe. And we made that record in two days.. I hear it now and I think ‘fuck, what a brilliant song!’. It still cuts through anything on radio, when radio does play it."

• Lucien Windrich: vocals, guitars
• Erik Windrich: vocals, keyboards, bass synthesizers
• Wayne Harker: drums
  

         
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SANKOMOTA - Sankomota (1983)

Shifty, SHIFT 1.

Producer/Engineer: Lloyd Ross

Composer: Frank Moki Leepa

Recorded at: Shifty Mobile, Lesotho

Classic album on underground independent label Shifty, later re-released on CD on Tic Tic Bang (BANGCD06).

Personnel:

Frank Moki Leepa – Guitar, Lead Vocal, Perc

Maruti Selate – Bass, Backing Vocal, Perc

Moss Nkofo – Drums, Backing Vocal, Perc

Extra Musicians In Lesotho:

Sunshine Mokoena – Keyboards, Backing Vocals

Sponky Tshabalala – Percussion

Jhb: Rick Van Heerden, William Ramsay, Eirfaan Gillan (Tenor Sax), Stompie Monana (Trumpt, Flugelhorn), Warric (Sony… Trombone, Perc), Lloyd Ross (Additional Guitar, Keyboard, Perc.)

"About the recording: this collection of songs was recorded on location in Lesotho by Shifty Mobile Studios. As Lesotho is not blessed with any music recording facilities of its own, this is to the best of my knowledge, the first LP ever to have been produced there. Initial tracks were compelted within 10 dayswith brass and additionals going down in Johannesburg. Shifty mobile is an 8 track onto ½" facility housed in a caravan."

Irrelevant typo: while the cover says “Sankomota”, on the album itself, spelling is "Sankomoto".

HARARI - the best of (1983)

Gallo, DGL 753/4

Double-album of all the hits from the greatest afro-rock in SA ever, including the jam from which the band took its name.

The end of an era as far as Harari were concerned. Time for Mabuse to strike a path as a sol

JULUKA - Work for All (1983)

Music Incorporated / EMI MINC (L) 1070

Producer: Hilton Rosenthal (and Richard Mitchell at RPM) 
Engineer: Peter Thwaites

Recorded at: Satbel

Mastered by Ray Staff at Trident Studios, London

1983's "Work for All" reflects Juluka's growing international appeal - a slicker sound pre-empting JC's later more commercial vibe. Hits abound - highlights include "Mana Lapho", "Woza Moya", "Work for All" and "Bullets for Bafazana".

AMAMPONDO - Uyandibiza (1983)

Claremont, AM 2

Live recording from Dizu Plaajies' seminal traditional outfit.

 
Multi-talented composer Dizu Plaatjies' Amampondo put out this album in '83, a selection of live recordings of traditional compositions that highlight the group's skills on the "acoustic synthesizer" (marimba).

HOTLINE - Music For Africa (1983)

Mike Fuller Music (MFM) / gallo FML (B) 1001

Producers: Bones Brettel, Greg Cutler & Alistair Coakley.

Engineer: Greg Cutler

All-white crossover act Hotline was fronted by the inimitable PJ Powers (SA's answer to Tina Turner). From their initial straight-up rock appeal, regular gigs in Soweto, where they were warmly received by black audiences, led to an increasing affinity with African music and style. 1983's "Music for Africa" features Margaret Singana (guest vocals on the title track) and Steve Kekana on "We’ve Got Love". As if to prove a point - during the dark days of apartheid, a political statement that few other bands were willing to make - most song titles feature the word "Africa", the only decent one being "Rhythm Africa," a glam-inspired call-and-response number.