Tobias Areketa: The Tribute

Aptly themed “Tobias Areketa: The Tribute”, the show will bring together eight musicians and some of the best performers in country, including Victor Kunonga, Andy Brown, Rocqui, Willis Wataffi, Alexio Kawara, among others, who will do renditions of the late social commentator such as the all-time hit Baba naAmai.
Organiser of the show and daughter to Areketa, Bybit, said the tribute show is meant “to rekindle his legacy as one of the outstanding artistes in the country”.
“It’s something that I have always wanted to do although this        is going to be a once-off thing. I feel he was extremely talented and       this should present an opportunity to his many fans to get to reminisce on the best of him,” said Bybit. “We are also going to use the tribute performances to mark the 21st anniversary of his passing on.”
Areketa died in 1990 aged 31.
According to Bybit, though his father’s biography is still sketchy, he realised his music talent after joining a group called Mufakose Marimba Band which used to perform at Rutendo Hall in Highfield while he was still attending the Highfield Community School. Through his outstanding performance with the group, his elder brother, Joshua, who by then was already a musician, took him to join the Fantasy Band, which was based in Kwekwe.
Fantasy was comprised of Joshua himself, Anisto Saveto, George Chidziva and Wiseman Gwata. Susan Mapfumo also joined the group and it released hits such as Ndiyaniko akaunza mari? and Makeyi.
However, in an unfortunate incident in 1979, Tobias spent almost a year in hospital nursing wounds he sustained from a horrific accident in which he sustained a serious leg injury. While in hospital, he composed the song Trouble, which he later recorded after the group was renamed Brave Sons and was being led by Safirio Madzikatire. The song became an instant hit and won the silver disc medal.
In 1980, Tobias left the Brave Sons and joined Thomas Mapfumo’s Blacks Unlimited. He toured various countries in the region with the Blacks Unlimited before they went on a tour of Europe.
While in England, they recorded one of Mapfumo’s all-time reggae hits, Mugarandega, on which Tobias did the English lyrics.
When he returned from the European tour, Tobias formed his own band, Shazi, which means friends. His first single with the group was the chart topper, Baba naAmai. He also released other singles such as Ndazvipira, Samaita, Hauzoswela and an album called Mavambo.
Tobias Areketa: The Tribute show will be held at the Alexandra Sports Club this Saturday starting at 6pm. Admission is US$5.