Thread by @SunguraCentral

Biggie Tembo, born Rodwell Marasha in 1958, committed suicide on this day (30 July) 1995.
He was just 36!

Biggie Tembo joined the Bhundu Boys in 1980. The band was called The Wild Dragons at the time. This was the line-up in 1983:
Franco Kaunda, Biggie Tembo, Kenny Chitsvatsva and band leader Rise Kagona

While Rise Kagona was founder/leader, there was no doubt that Biggie had the charisma, high-energy stage performer, and a hell of a songwriter.
"Hasitose" is one of the songs he wrote early in his career.
Biggie’s charisma was an asset, but later was to become a problem

In 1986, the Bhundu Boys arrived in England, ar the invitation of Gordon Muir, a graphic designer still trying to be a music promoter. To Muir’s horror, the lads rocked up with NO musical instruments, literally hours before their first show. Just vibes! 😂

Success came swift: Two DJs, John Peel and Andy Kershaw, gave them loads of playtime. They packed shows. The peak was when they signed for a big record label, WEA. They opened for Madonna in front of 70,000 people at Wembley.
Madonna was huuuuuge at the time! Heaven!

The Bhundu Boys opened for Madonna and shared the stage with Aswad. They had a packed concert program. Flying high!

Being part of a big record label is great. But it has its downsides, as the Bhundu Boys found out. The producers stripped them of their authentic Zim sound, made them fuse English lyrics and foreign rhythms. It didn’t work. Records flopped.

Here’s an example of how the big labels spoiled a good thing, in their failed push to market the Bhundu Boys to a “wider audience”: In 1987, the Bhundu Boys switched their song Nhai Mukoma into an English tune, African Woman. A mess!

Steve Roskilly, the Zimbabwean producer who had first recorded the early Bhundu Boys in Harare, was shocked to hear how the band’s authentic sound had been corrupted. It now sounded foreign.

With things not going well, the old simmering tensions between Biggie and Rise were showing. Rise made Biggie know who’s the boss.

Biggie wanted to return to Zimbabwe, to record there, hoping the band can rediscover its roots. But they didn’t return to Shed Studios. They went to Frontline Studios, run by Debbie Metcalfe. They released a new album, Absolute Jit. It flopped again, and Wea dropped the band

Things got so bad that when Gordon Muir, the man who had first brought the band to UK, visited Harare, Biggie Tembo beat him up. Like, physically, zvibhakera. And Biggie was not called Biggie for nothing. Dude could throw hands! Muir flew back to UK. Done.

The band’s split happened in dramatic fashion, at the airport. The band was going back to UK. They all show up at the airport. Only for Rise to tell Biggie: “David didn’t buy you a ticket. You’re not going”.
They left without him. Biggie bought his own ticket & followed them!

As the band prepped for a London show, Biggie turned up unannounced. Rise told him: “You’re fired”.
When the band had a bust up back at Harare Airport, Biggie had shouted at the band, in public, that they couldn’t make it without him.
Rise was desperate to prove him wrong

Biggie roped in Philip Svosve and the Ocean City Band to back him as he tried to launch a solo career. He even tried acting. But, without the band that had made his career, it was just not the same. Biggie slipped into depression.

What went wrong for the Bhundu Boys? A lot: old rivalry between Rise & Biggie, poor record sales, and money. The band was in debt. They had bought a flat in London. Gordon Muir, sole signatory to the mortgage, sold it. The boys got nothing.

Desperate, Biggie tried his hand at comedy. It failed. He returned to the UK and tried to work with a rock band. It didn’t work either. He returned home, and started drinking so heavily that he had to be taken into hospital.

Biggie converted to Christianity, and enrolled at ZAOGA’s AMFCC Bible School to train as a pastor. He released a Gospel song, “Tinokutendai”.

In 1995, Biggie was admitted to the psychiatric ward. He was kept in isolation, because he was violent.

One night, he tore up hospital clothes and bedsheets, tied them into a knot, climbed up to a small, high window, and hanged himself.

So ended Biggie Tembo, at just 36.

Forever remembered! 🙏🏾

Did you know; when Biggie Tembo wrote “Hatisi Tose”, had just (temporarily) broken up with his wife, Rati.

When they had a bust up, Biggie told the band: “You can’t do without me.”
Rise Kagona told him: “We can do without you.”
They were both wrong!
Here’s Bhundu Boys performing ‘Jekesa’, with Biggie, and performing same song after he left.
It was never the same, for all of them.