The Sugarman is coming to the Eastern Cape – and that’s a concrete cold fact.
Legendary singer/songwriter Rodriguez, who became the soundtrack of 1970s and ’80s suburban South Africa with his poetic songs and whose life was captured in the Academy-award winning film Searching for Sugarman three years ago, will perform in Port Elizabeth in February.
The music icon’s appearance at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium outer fields on February 3 next year will be part of his South African tour which includes shows in Johannesburg (January 29), Durban (January 31) and Cape Town (February 5 and 6), Big Concerts announced yesterday.
Although he will not appear in East London this time, many local fans remember his 2001 show at a packed Orient Theatre at a time when many still believed widespread rumours that he had died.
In the ’70s and ’80s, Rodriguez was the cult figure for mildly rebellious white youth opposed to apartheid and conscription. The fact that some of his songs were banned made them even more desirable and his Cold Fact album blared across university campuses and army barracks across the land. Lyrics to songs like I Wonder, Sugarman and Forget It became the anthem of a liberal-minded generation.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, was unaware his anti-establishment songs had reached folk-rock super stardom in South Africa. His albums – Cold Fact (1969) and Coming from Reality (1971) – went unnoticed in the US and he sank into obscurity there.
Sixto Rodriguez had begun his music career by performing in bars and clubs in Detroit in the 1960s, but when his albums failed to make an impact in the US, the musician began working construction and factory jobs.
In the late 1990s South African fans sought him out after setting up a website called The Great Rodriguez Hunt, inadvertently leading to a resurgence of his career.
The efforts of two South Africans – Cape Town record owner Stephen “Sugar” Segerman and Craig Bartholomew-Strydom – who traced their musical hero to Michigan, was captured in a poignant documentary called Searching for Sugarman.
The highly acclaimed movie won the 2013 Academy Award for best documentary and catapulted Rodriguez to a new-found fame.
Tickets for next year’s South African tour go on sale tomorrow a at Computicket and www.bigconcerts.co.za. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
Rodriguez returns to wow SA
Legendary singer/songwriter Rodriguez, who became the soundtrack of 1970s and ’80s suburban South Africa with his poetic songs and whose life was captured in the Academy-award winning film Searching for Sugarman three years ago, will perform in Port Elizabeth in February.
The music icon’s appearance at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium outer fields on February 3 next year will be part of his South African tour which includes shows in Johannesburg (January 29), Durban (January 31) and Cape Town (February 5 and 6), Big Concerts announced yesterday.
Although he will not appear in East London this time, many local fans remember his 2001 show at a packed Orient Theatre at a time when many still believed widespread rumours that he had died.
In the ’70s and ’80s, Rodriguez was the cult figure for mildly rebellious white youth opposed to apartheid and conscription. The fact that some of his songs were banned made them even more desirable and his Cold Fact album blared across university campuses and army barracks across the land. Lyrics to songs like I Wonder, Sugarman and Forget It became the anthem of a liberal-minded generation.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, was unaware his anti-establishment songs had reached folk-rock super stardom in South Africa. His albums – Cold Fact (1969) and Coming from Reality (1971) – went unnoticed in the US and he sank into obscurity there.
Sixto Rodriguez had begun his music career by performing in bars and clubs in Detroit in the 1960s, but when his albums failed to make an impact in the US, the musician began working construction and factory jobs.
In the late 1990s South African fans sought him out after setting up a website called The Great Rodriguez Hunt, inadvertently leading to a resurgence of his career.
The efforts of two South Africans – Cape Town record owner Stephen “Sugar” Segerman and Craig Bartholomew-Strydom – who traced their musical hero to Michigan, was captured in a poignant documentary called Searching for Sugarman.
The highly acclaimed movie won the 2013 Academy Award for best documentary and catapulted Rodriguez to a new-found fame.
Tickets for next year’s South African tour go on sale tomorrow a at Computicket and www.bigconcerts.co.za. — barbarah@dispatch.co.za
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