Posted on

Capital 604 – 1989

We end the Capital Countdowns of the 1980s with a bumper year of South African hits, with no fewer than eight songs making the top 5, four of which went all the way to number 1. In order to neatly round up the theme of South African music from the 1980s charting on the Capital countdown, this week’s playlist includes three songs which entered the Capital Countdown in January 1990 but which were released in 1989.

As we look back on the South African artists who charted on the Capital Top 40 Countdown in the 1980s we don’t see any groups who were around at the beginning of the decade but there were several prominent musicians from the 1970s and early 1980s who charted in 1989: Johnny Clegg began the decade on the very first Capital Top 40 performing “Africa” with Juluka and he was there yet again on the final countdown of the decade, this time with his subsequent group Savuka singing “Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World”.

Trevor Rabin, who reached great heights locally with Rabbitt and later internationally with Yes, was still charting in 1989, this time as a solo artists with two singles from his Can’t Look Back album. Neill Solomon began the 1980s with his Uptown Rhythm Dogs, a band that did not survive very long into the decade but he was back in the late 1980s with the Passengers, who charted in 1989 with “Honeytown”. Lucky Dube released albums throughout the 1980s and finally charted on the Capital countdown in 1989 with two songs. Another musician who had been around throughout the 1980s (in fact from the early 1970s), Edi Niederlander, finally made it on to the Capital Countdown with “Dance to Me” from her second album. And David Kramer, who, like Edi Niederlander, was a popular musician on the 1970s folk scene and who had charted on Capital in 1986 was back again with “Matchbox Full of Diamonds”.

As indicated, four South African songs made it all the way to number one where they all spent one week: “Quick, quick” by MarcAlex , “Your Kind” by Pongolo, “Be Bop Pop” by The Spectres, and “Special Star” by Mango Groove (who also reached number 3 – for two weeks – with “Hellfire”).

“Together As One by Lucky Dube spent two weeks at number 2 but he only reached number 12 with his follow-up single, “Prisoner”. “It’s Only Me” by Rush Hour also peaked at number 2. Savuka’s “Cruel, crazy, beautiful world” peaked at number 5 while “Something To Hold On To” – Trevor Rabin reached number 6 and “Honeytown” by The Passengers reached number 8.

Edi Niederlander’s “Dance To Me”, David Kramer’s “Matchbox Full of Diamonds” and Trevor Rabin’s “Sorrow (Your Heart)” all failed to reach the Top 20.

Show Playlist + Poll

–

Posted on

Capital 604 – 1987

There was a healthy variety of South African music in the Capital Radio charts in 1987 from the wistful South African pop rock of Bright Blue, the Afro pop of Sipho Mabuse and Brenda Fassie to the political energy of Savuka and Hi-NRG Euro disco of People Like us, and the novelty studio sounds of Pocket Lips with several other artists making up the 14 South Africans which made the Top 40 countdown.

If there is one particular theme which characterises several of the performers who charted on Capital Radio in 1987 it is a sense of artistic reincarnation combined with renewed creativity. After over a decade performing with Sipho Mchunu as Johnny and Sipho and then more prominently as Juluka and then a short hiatus as a solo singer, Jonny Clegged re-emerged with his new band Savuka and with a far more overt political orientation to deal with increasingly troubled times in South Africa. This is clearly borne out in the song that charted on Capital – “Missing” – which dealt with the disappearance of political activists opposing the apartheid regime. Neill Solomon had a very short period of success on the Capital charts in the early ’80s with the Uptown Rhythm Dogs but in 1987 returned with the Passengers. Cindy Dickinson, who had first made her mark in South Africa as a solo artist and then with Syndicate in 1987, appeared on the Capital charts with People Like Us, who, like Savuka, were as or more popular in parts of Europe than they were in South Africa. Several members of the early ’80s kwela-ska infused band Pett Frogg re-emerged when they morphed into Mango Groove who developed a sound which captured a growing mood towards a more harmonious South Africa.

Also in 1987, Wendy Oldfield left Sweatband to embark on a solo career in which she could move away from a rock sound dominated by the band to explore her own pop-soul sound as a singer-songwriter in her own right, to create what she referred to as “a new kind of Wendy thing”. Also reinventing herself as a solo artist with her first solo album in 1987 was Brenda Fassie who left behind the Big Dudes and began a hugely successful solo career. Meanwhile, Bright Blue, who charted on Capital in 1984 with “Window on the World”, had taken a forced break of two years while Dan Hartman and Ian Cohen served two very reluctant years of conscription in the South African Defence Force. Bright Blue re-emerged in 1987 without former lead singer Robin Levetan but nevertheless with what was to become one of the anthems of the transition to a post-apartheid South Africa, “Weeping”.

Established artists such as Lesley Rae Dowling, Jonathan Butler and Sipho Mabuse continued to chart on Capital, as did Sweatband (still with Wendy Oldfield as vocalist) and new arrivals on the scene Pocket Lips and 909, both of whom developed more in the studio rather than on the stage.

The most successful of the South African songs on the Capital charts in 1987 were Mango Groove’s “Move Up” and Wendy Oldfield’s “The Real World” which both reached number 1. Surprisingly, “Weeping” by Bright Blue spent two weeks at number 2 but missed out on the top spot. Jonathan Butler also peaked at number 2 with “Lies” but lower down, at number 5, with “Holding On”. “It’s Amazing” by Pocket Lips reached number 3.

Savuka’s “Missing” got as far as number 8 while “Tonight” by Sweatband peaked at number 10, as did Lesley Rae Dowling with “When the Night Comes” and “Hold On” by the Passengers (where it spent two weeks). 909’s “What Are We Going to do About Love” and Sipho Mabuse’s “Shikisha” both peaked at number 20 while Brenda Fassie’s “Mr. No Good” only reached number 21 and “Hiroshima” by People Like Us peaked at number 22.

Show Playlist + Poll

–

Posted on

Capital 604 – Darren Scott’s Top 20


Darren Scott is the first guest DJ on Mixedtapes ZA, offering us his choice of South African music; in this case his Top 20 South African songs of the 1980s, including songs from 1979 which were around at the beginning of 1980.

This is the first of our occasional series of Guest DJ mixed tapes compiled by former Capital Radio DJ s.

These are ranked from No 20 through to number 1 on the mixed tape. Enjoy!

If you want to see the play listing prior to listening to the countdown you can view the order of the songs in this week’s poll below.

Show Playlist + Poll

–