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Woza Weekend!

While we tend to take weekends for granted it is worth remembering that workers struggled hard for centuries for the luxury of two days off at the end of the week. New Zealand was the first country to officially adopt a two-day weekend in 1908, and thereafter more and more countries followed. Today, weekends are a part of life in many cultures, providing opportunities for recreation, family time, relaxation, including partying and listening to music. During the apartheid era, employed black South Africans relished any time in which they could escape from their employers’ hold over them, so weekends off work, if experienced, were especially cherished. This mixtape includes a selection of South African songs which celebrate the weekend, mostly from the apartheid era.

We start off with two of South Africa’s most iconic weekend celebratory songs: eVoid’s ‘Jiving To The Weekend Beat’ captures the sense of fun which the weekend jol promised, while Juluka sang a love song to the coming weekend, a worker viewing the weekend as they would a lover. Many of the songs here follow similar themes, either looking forward to the weekend or simply enjoying it when it arrives. Brenda and the Big Dudes, however, warn against being used by someone simply as their ‘Weekend Special’. As Brenda Fassie sings, ‘I’m no weekend, weekend special’. We end off with Seba Kaapstad’s ‘Friday That’s Good’: “Friday that’s good, uhm, that’s good, that’s good, uhm, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good, that’s good.” Indeed!

  1. Jiving To The Weekend Beat – eVoid
  2. Woza Friday – Juluka
  3. Phelaviki (Let The Weekend Come) – Irene And The Sweet Melodians
  4. Weekend Special – Brenda And The Big Dudes
  5. Friday (Zis’imali Yam) – Peto
  6. Woza Weekend – Respectors
  7. Weekend – Jazz Maniacs
  8. This Weekend (Vocal Version) – The Dynamics
  9. Saturday Night Special – Vairkweru
  10. Weekend – Springbok Nude Girls
  11. Welcome To The Weekend – The Parlotones
  12. Feels Like Friday – Louis And The Jive
  13. Friday Night – Vusi Shange
  14. Saturday Night – Supa Frika
  15. Saturday Fever – Jivaro
  16. Saturday Night – Pacific Express
  17. Saturday Night – Rebecca
  18. Woza Friday – Mapaputsi
  19. Friday Morning – Neville Nash
  20. Ready For The Weekend – MarcAlex
  21. Friday That’s Good – Sebe Kaapstad
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Capital 604 – 1990

Having featured all the South African songs to have charted on the Capital Radio Top 40 countdown in the 1980s we have decided to continue into the 1990s, although we only have compete lists for 1990 and 1991. Capital Radio continued to function until 1996, but we do not have complete chart listings from 1992 until the station closed down.

In order to provide a full reflection of the 1980s songs which charted on the Capital countdown, our 1989 playlist included four 1989 songs which entered the Capital charts in the first two weeks of January 1990. These will not be included in the 1990 playlist, but for the record these were: “Special Star” by Mango Groove, “Dance To Me” by Edi Niederlander, “Matchbox Full Of Diamonds” by David Kramer and “Sorrow (Your Heart)” by Trevor Rabin. Apart from these songs there were 11 South African songs which charted on Capital Radio in 1990, several of which had very successful runs in the Top 40.

“Boyz B Boyz” by MarcAlex and Little Sister’s “Dear Abbie” both spent two weeks at number one while Little Sister’s “Young Hearts” and Cinema’s “The Fire Of Love” spent one week at the top of the charts. All three Mango Groove songs peaked at number two: “Too Many Tears”, “Hometalk” and “Island Boy” (following “Special Star” which had reached number one earlier in the year). “Little Sister” by Little Sister and Jonathan Butler’s “Heal Our Land” both peaked at number 5,   while “Waiting For The Dawn” by Big Sky reached number 17. Cinema’s “Dancing Away With My Heart” only reached number 22, where it spent two weeks.

With the exception of Big Sky and Little Sister, who were newly formed bands, all these artists had charted on Capital in the 1980s, although Steve Louw of Big Sky had been part of All Night Radio, who did not chart on Capital but were around in the mid-1980s. Jonathan Butler first charted on Capital in 1985, Cinema and Mango Groove in 1987 and MarcAlex in 1989.

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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.

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