THEY WERE THE BEST, SAYS BRITISH DJ

BRITISH broadcaster and disc jockey, Andy Kershaw, believes the Bhundu Boys were a class apart from all the local musical groups of their era. He feels their greatest mistake was to get rid of Biggie Tembo. Only one member of the original group, Kenny Chitsvatsva, remains alive following the death of Rise Kagona this week.

“The Bhundu Boys remain the single most natural, effortless, catchy pop band I’ve ever heard,” Kershaw noted. “I went to Zimbabwe at the height of it and saw all the groups, and although I championed people like the Four Brothers and John Chibadura, it was blindingly obvious what the Bhundu Boys had over them all. “They had great tunes, musicianship and a pop sensibility, they had the personality, and they had the communication skills – few of the other bands actually spoke much English to start with, but the Bhundus could.



“And they were willing to work. They came from a tradition of very, very hard-working Zimbabwean musicians. “In terms of personality, their big asset was Biggie.

He was a great character on stage, a great communicator. “The biggest mistake they ever made was to get rid of him. He was the front man, the spokesman, the leader and the ambassador.

Everyone loved him, and he loved that role.” There is a constituency which also feels the Bhundu Boys were ripped off by those who were managing their affairs during the height of their fame. But Gordon Muir, who was their manager, refutes these allegations.

“The implication seems to be that I’ve swindled the band over the years, which is a hideous misinterpretation,” he told The Guardian newspaper. “On the house and virtually every other aspect of the Bhundus, I’m well down financially.” – H-Metro Reporter/The Guardian.