HOW BIGGIE TEMBO SOLD OUT IN THE UK

SHARE:

Rise Kagona, a Bhundu Boys founder has spoken for the first time about how lead singer, Biggie Tembo sold the band down the river in the U...

Rise Kagona, a Bhundu Boys founder has spoken for the first time about how lead singer, Biggie Tembo sold the band down the river in the UK.

Kagona told the Sunday News from UK that a furious row over a house purchase was the band’s undoing.

“Gordon Muir, our manager, got 20% of everything that we made. So when the deal with Warner came along, he realised that he wanted a house. But the 20% that he would be getting from the deal would not be enough to buy a house so he tried to convince the group that buying a house was a smart idea. This was something that I was resistant to from the start,” said Kagona.

“I wanted us to invest back home. When we left Zimbabwe all of us were living with our parents. I was living in Mufakose; David was from Bulawayo and so rented one room in Harare while Shaky was also from Karoi and didn’t have a home in Harare. Biggie was from Chinoyi as well.

“So I told them that it wouldn’t make sense for us to buy a house in the United Kingdom because we were there on work permits and Margaret Thatcher could suddenly change her mind and stop foreigners from coming in. Who would carry the house to Harare?” said Kagona.
“I told them that this was our first major deal and we shouldn’t miss the chance to invest back home. They agreed. But one by one Gordon started working on the guys that drink. I myself don’t drink or smoke so I’m always focused. He started taking the other guys to bars at night and telling them how the house would be beneficial to them.

“He told them how they would never have trouble bringing in groupies to sleep with after gigs because they would be no landlords as we had grown accustomed,” said Kagona.

Mankaba and Kangwena were easily swayed but Kagona, Tembo and Chitsvatsva were steadfast, rejecting all of Muir’s advances. When push came to shove, the decision would be decided by a vote, with Kagona’s camp holding all the aces.

However, a day before that crucial vote, Muir got hold of Tembo and over a cold beer in a pub, the fate of the Bhundu Boys was sealed.

“The night before we were to have the vote the manager took Biggie out. At the time we didn’t know what was being discussed there but I was satisfied that my brother would stick by me. On the day that we were supposed to sign the agreement, Gordon all of a sudden called for a meeting.

“I was convinced that the meeting was all about clearing the air. I thought we would go on as agreed but instead called for a vote. That’s when Judas Iscariot (Biggie Tembo) sold us out,” said a still bitter Kagona.

“They had agreed that Biggie would go solo with Gordon as his manager and they would thus split the profits between themselves. Biggie had these songs that he didn’t want to record with the rest of the group and they would bring in another band to play with him,” said Kagona.

Before the ink had dried on the agreement to buy the group a house and Tembo went solo, the Bhundu Boys had already started to turn on each other.

“There wasn’t any trust anymore. We only met for rehearsals and performances. Our relationship didn’t go beyond the stage because whenever we would discuss something Biggie would go and tell the white man (Muir),” said Kagona.

Details of this agreement only came to light when things turned sour between Muir and Tembo, as the gifted vocalist’s solo career suffered a still-birth.

“The years were going past and Biggie kept on asking when he would break out as a solo star. Muir had seen Biggie would not make it alone without the Bhundu Boys. We both needed each other. But he couldn’t tell him that because he had promised to make him a star.”

Things came to a head back home in Zimbabwe when the two were sharing a cottage owned by Oliver Mtukudzi’s then publicist, Debbie Metcalfe. Fists were flung and harsh word exchanged as allegedly Biggie set on the violent course that would see him commit suicide in an asylum in 1995.

COMMENTS

Name

contact,1,events,28,featured,2,Music,397,news,8548,PICTURES,4511,videos,3142,what's on,17,
ltr
item
Mafaro: HOW BIGGIE TEMBO SOLD OUT IN THE UK
HOW BIGGIE TEMBO SOLD OUT IN THE UK
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMSRsRvM3dbUiYq_sWKg83z2nTLR-4P9aDvE0MFWtD-tkxPRRPIMxVPz3EtR_E_N9AXCy01BAK-4PfgEewrKs7omeR12Mv29IAJWef2H9zwbATNSOhx6gtU2Nl1dpXNtBy2hqotneYCw/s320/tembo.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaMSRsRvM3dbUiYq_sWKg83z2nTLR-4P9aDvE0MFWtD-tkxPRRPIMxVPz3EtR_E_N9AXCy01BAK-4PfgEewrKs7omeR12Mv29IAJWef2H9zwbATNSOhx6gtU2Nl1dpXNtBy2hqotneYCw/s72-c/tembo.jpg
Mafaro
http://www.mafaro.co.uk/2018/04/how-biggie-tembo-sold-out-in-uk.html
http://www.mafaro.co.uk/
http://www.mafaro.co.uk/
http://www.mafaro.co.uk/2018/04/how-biggie-tembo-sold-out-in-uk.html
true
4450693294121548032
UTF-8
Loaded All Posts Not found any posts VIEW ALL Readmore Reply Cancel reply Delete By Home PAGES POSTS View All RECOMMENDED FOR YOU LABEL ARCHIVE SEARCH ALL POSTS Not found any post match with your request Back Home Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat January February March April May June July August September October November December Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec just now 1 minute ago $$1$$ minutes ago 1 hour ago $$1$$ hours ago Yesterday $$1$$ days ago $$1$$ weeks ago more than 5 weeks ago Followers Follow THIS PREMIUM CONTENT IS LOCKED STEP 1: Share to a social network STEP 2: Click the link on your social network Copy All Code Select All Code All codes were copied to your clipboard Can not copy the codes / texts, please press [CTRL]+[C] (or CMD+C with Mac) to copy Table of Content