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Mango Groove (album)

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Mango Groove
The top half of the album cover is grey; the name 'Mango Groove' appears in black serif type in the upper-left corner. In the lower half of the cover, the band's 11 members are dressed in festive, jazzy clothing. They are smiling and looking at each other as they each strike a different pose.
Studio album by
Mango Groove
Released11 July 1989 (1989-07-11)
RecordedJune–December 1988
StudioAudio Lab
GenreAfropop
Length43:38
LabelTusk Music
Producer
Mango Groove chronology
Mango Groove
(1989) 		Hometalk
(1990)

Mango Groove is the self-titled debut album of Mango Groove, a South African pop fusion band whose sound is influenced by township music. Seven of the eleven songs on the album were released as singles. The album sold extremely well, breaking national sales records and maintaining a high rank in the radio charts for a year. The band dedicated the album to Mickey Vilakazi, a bandmate who died in June 1988.[1]

Although the material won multiple awards from the South African Broadcasting Corporation, including "Best Album", the SABC censored the music video for the song "Hellfire", which had an anti-apartheid message.

Songs

Of the 11 songs on the album, four were previously released as singles: "Two Hearts" in 1985; "Love Is (the Hardest Part)" in 1986; and "Do You Dream of Me?" and "Move Up" in 1987. After the album's release, three of the new songs were also released as singles: "Hellfire" and "Dance Sum More" in 1989, and "Special Star" in 1990. In addition, the version of "Two Hearts" on the album is not the one released in 1985, but a new recording made for the album.

The band made music videos for four of the singles: "Move Up", "Hellfire", "Dance Some More", and "Special Star".

"Special Star"

"Special Star" was co-written by Kevin Botha, Mango bandleader John Leyden, and bandmembers Siphu Bhengu, Alan Lazar, and Mduduzi Magwaza. They dedicated the song to the late kwela musician Spokes Mashiyane (1933–72). The song's penny whistle solo was performed by Mduduzi Magwaza, who, like Mashiyane, also played saxophone.

In France, Totem Records released the song on 7" single in 1989, as the B-side to "Dance Some More". It was released as a standalone single—in France and South Africa—in 1990, after the release of the "Special Star" music video.

The video was directed by a young South African man named Nic Hofmeyr, who had worked in London for three years as a camera operator for music video shoots.[2][3] When he returned to South Africa in 1987 to witness the end of apartheid, he started directing music videos—including the video for Bright Blue's "Weeping"—while aspiring to become a documentary filmmaker.[2] As with "Weeping", Hofmeyr shot the video for "Special Star" in black and white.[2] He explains:

I submerged myself in the black-and-white aesthetic of South Africa's struggle-era photography and film. The fifties photography of Drum magazine, films such as Lionel Rogosin's Come Back, Africa, the African Mirror newsreels, the photography of David Goldblatt, Peter Magubane, Gideon Mendel and others—all served to inspire me, as did the countless anti-apartheid documentaries I'd seen on television while living in the UK.[2]

The video features six female dancers, plus separate choreography for six male dancers (who appear in different shots from the women). The dances were choreographed by Wendy Ramokgadi, who went on to choreograph other Mango Groove videos and concerts—including the video for "Hometalk", the title track of Mango Groove's second album.[4] The Hong Kong Ballet also danced to "Special Star", at a Mango Groove performance in Hong Kong in 1990.[5][6] On 20 April 1992, Mango Groove performed "Special Star" in Johannesburg for the simulcast of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert. The main event was at Wembley Stadium in London, where Mango's performance appeared (live, via satellite) on a large projection screen. The performance was dedicated to Mercury, who died in 1991. In April 2018, Claire Johnston, Craig Lucas (2017 winner of The Voice South Africa), and the Mzansi Youth Choir performed a medley of "Special Star" and "Moments Away" on Dancing with the Stars.[7]

"Hellfire"

The single "Hellfire" was written by Mickey Vilakazi, who was the band's trombonist and eldest member until his death in June 1988. The song's lyrics speak of an interracial love that is misunderstood and forbidden.[8]

The music video for "Hellfire" concerns the Group Areas Act, a racial segregation measure enacted by the apartheid government. The video begins in Alexandra Township in 1989—a time by which the government's "urban renewal plan" for Alexandra had already demolished buildings and displaced or killed many black people. An elderly black man reads a newspaper article about the backlash against the Group Areas Act; he then spots a clipping about kwela musician Spokes Mashiyane. A newspaper photo of a street scene transitions into a sepiatone flashback: Outside a Sophiatown nightclub called The Land Lady, the words "No passes" are painted on the wall. Inside, Mango Groove plays to black and white patrons.

At the end of the video, a caption explains that Sophiatown (a venerable black neighbourhood and cultural hotspot just outside of Johannesburg) was demolished in 1954 to allow for the construction of a white suburb called Triomf (the Afrikaans word for triumph). These scenes were censored by the SABC, changing the context and meaning of the rest of the video.[9]

"Move Up"

"Move Up" was released as a 7" single in October 1987, nearly two years before the album's release. It reached number one on the Capital Radio hit parade.[10] It spent two weeks in Radio Orion's national record chart, peaking at number 27.[11] The music video was taped at Zoo Lake in Johannesburg. In the video, lead singer Claire Johnston sits at a bar as the Mango Groove brass section plays. Bandleader John Leyden walks in, and he and Johnson dance together. A surprised Leyden suddenly appears in the park at Zoo Lake, where he is chased by the brass section. As Johnston sings in different settings, boisterous bandmembers burst into the scene.

"Two Hearts"

Mango first released this song as a single in 1985, when the band had a different (and smaller) lineup. It was the first recording they made with Claire Johnston.[12] When they re-recorded it in 1988 for their debut album, they used a slightly different arrangement. The rear album cover describes the song as a "township waltz".[13]

Reception

The album broke sales records in South Africa, and was in the top 20 of Radio Orion's national album chart for a year, peaking at number 2.[14][15] This was the longest that any album had maintained such a rank in the radio station's history. (However, when Phil Collins released …But Seriously a few months later—an album that had some anti-apartheid themes—it demonstrated a similar staying power.)[15]

The South African Broadcasting Corporation awarded Mango Groove OK TV Awards in the "Best Album" and "Best Arranger" categories; one of the singles won "Best Video".[14][which?] The video for "Special Star" won an award at the International Television Fair in New York.[16][which?]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Hellfire"Mickey Vilakazi3:59
2."Dance Sum More"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Jack Lerole, B. George Lewis, Meshak Mtswala3:15
3."Love Is"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Siphu Bhengu3:20
4."Special Star"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Alan Ari Lazar, Siphu Bhengu, Mduduzi Magwaza5:52
5."Under a Lover's Moon"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Claire Johnston, Mduduzi Magwaza3:33
6."Pennywhistle"Mduduzi Magwaza, Siphu Bhengu3:19
7."Move Up"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Alan Ari Lazar, Siphu Bhengu3:21
8."Two Hearts"John Leyden, Jack Lerole, Alan Ari Lazar3:32
9."Too Many Tears"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Alan Ari Lazar3:49
10."Lalissa"John Leyden, Siphu Bhengu4:43
11."Harder"John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Alan Ari Lazar4:07
12."Dance Sum More (remix)" (included only in some CD and digital media releases)John Leyden, Kevin Botha, Jack Lerole, B. George Lewis, Meshak Mtswala5:50
13."Hellfire (remix)" (included only in some CD and digital media releases)Mickey Vilakazi3:54
Total length:52:34


Personnel

Band members

  • Claire Johnston - lead vocals
  • Belulah Hashe - vocals
  • Marilyn Mokwe - vocals
  • Phumzile Ntuli - vocals
  • Mduduzi Magwaza - alto saxophone, penny whistle
  • Sipho Bengu - tenor saxophone, vocals
  • Banza Kgasoane - trumpet
  • Alan Lazar - keyboards, piano
  • George Lewis - guitar
  • John Leyden - bass, vocals
  • Gavin Stevens - drums, percussion

Session musicians

  • Alistair Coakley - additional guitar
  • Jethro Butow - additional guitar
  • Ian Heman - additional drums and percussion
  • "Big Voice Jack" Lerole - vocals on "Dance Sum More"
  • The Siyagida Gumboot Dancers - backing vocals on "Special Star"
  • Nico Carstens - accordion on "Two Hearts"
  • Faith Kanana - additional vocals on "Lalissa"
  • The Soweto Harmonies - backing vocals on "Harder"
  • Bakiti Khumalo - additional bass on "Harder"
  • Isaac Mtshali - percussion on "Harder"[17]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Mojapelo, Max. "When Two Cultures Kiss". In Galane, Sello (ed.). Beyond Memory: Recording the History, Moments and Memories of South African Music. African Minds. ISBN 978-1-920299-28-6. OCLC 966015704. Retrieved 28 July 2017 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ a b c d Hofmeyr, Nic (19 July 2013). "Mystery of the lost Mandela song". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  3. ^ Hofmeyr, Nic. "Nic Hofmeyr". Vimeo. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Mango Groove's First Ever Live Concert DVD" (Press release). 29 March 2011.
  5. ^ Goldstuck, Arthur (6 February 1993). "Global Music Pulse § South Africa". Billboard. p. 42. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
  6. ^ "Mango Groove Heads Down Under". This Week in South Africa. 6. Beverly Hills: South African Consulate General: 340. 1990. Mango Groove have been given the go ahead to perform in Australia for the first time. The band leave tomorrow for concerts in Australia's main centers and for a show in Hong Kong where the Hong Kong Ballet will join them on stage in a specially choreographed routine for the "Special Star" number."
  7. ^ #BehindTheSequins: Claire Johnston & Craig Lucas. m-net.dstv.com (video). 23 April 2018. Retrieved 20 July 2018.
  8. ^ Magoulianiti-McGregor, Nia (2008). "Special Star". Femina, Issues 208–211. Associated Magazines. p. 14 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Viljoen (2002), pp. 304–5
  10. ^ Chilvers, Garth; Jasiukowicz, Tom (1994). History of Contemporary Music of South Africa, Part I. Braamfontein: Toga Publishing. p. 81. ISBN 0-620-18121-4. OCLC 813403874.
  11. ^ "SA Charts 1965–1989 (As presented on Springbok Radio / Radio Orion)". South Africa's Rock Lists. Retrieved 15 July 2018.
  12. ^ The Essential Mango Groove (track list). Gallo Record Company. 2008.
  13. ^ Hauser, Nic (1985). Move Up (back cover). Priority Records.
  14. ^ a b Viljoen (2002), pp. 326–7
  15. ^ a b "Reflecting the Past and the Future". Mayibuye: The Journal of the African National Congress: 43. April 1991 – via Google Books. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  16. ^ Botha, Mark. 9. Southern Africa Today. Department of Foreign Affairs. 1992: 21.
  17. ^ "Mango Groove". Discogs.

References


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