Rise Kagona: Leader of the Pack – Biggie Tembo (Part 8)

This is part 8 of the interview where A.A.V. Amasi, a Barchester Scholar at the National Film And Television School in the UK ,speaks to Bhundu Boys guitarist Rise Kagona about the musical journey that saw them conquer the international scene.

How come the others thought that you would have got into a fight with him?

I didn’t take nonsense. Biggie was a character and used to bully the others. Even Kenny who was a big guy was scared of him. I remember when we were doing the cover for the True Jit album, they was a Black Zimbabwean guy working with White photographers. The Black guy suggested we jump like you see on the album cover; Biggie gave him a nasty look and asked him “What are you? Don’t tell me what to do”.

From nowhere he just turned nasty to this guy but when the white guy suggested what this guy suggested, he jumped. If you look at the album he jumped. He was my brother but I was so angry with him, I told him “When the White man said the same thing the Black guy had said you jumped.

If the guy is still alive today I am sure he still remembers,” I said to him “Biggie these are our brothers from home. They will help us tell our history one day, but you chose to harass him” He grew up as a Garden Boy, when he spoke about his history growing up. You would not believe that he has just done what he did. That’s the thing about Biggie two minutes he talks about hating white people. The next he is hanging out with them. I didn’t understand where he was.

After that did you see Biggie?

After that he promised the guys “You won’t play anything without me” he was showing off. We arrived in London and all of us used to sing so I said “Anyone that knows how to sing their song lets put it on program”. Even though most of the songs were sung by Biggie and he also played Rhythm. It didn’t make a difference because it was our songs and any guy that could sing Biggie’s part did.

Shakie used to play both the Keyboard and the Guitar, so in some songs he was on guitar and others on the Keyboard. We had been doing this for years and we had to show our professionalism. It was not like we were playing in Zimbabwe where people know only Biggie Tembo. We were playing here where people only know the Bhundu Boys. We did not replace him; we started touring just the four of us.

Did Biggie try to come back into the Band?

When he left the airport, he went back to his house. I don’t know what prompted him to think that he should be in London. The next day I think he thought, “What I have done is wrong”. He went and bought his ticket. He came about three or four days later. He got information about where we were playing. He got a train ticket; I think it was the fifth day.

We just found him in the audience when we were doing sound checks. There, he had a robe like a Superstar, sort of like a uniform. We never had a uniform in the band; I think he just wanted to show himself different from everybody in the band. It was just after we finished the sound check when he came to us “Hi Guys” we were like “Hi Biggie you okay”.

He came on stage and started taking off his jacket. We had done three or four shows without him and realized that we could finish the tour just the four of us. When we were about to start the show he came on stage. I was the only person that could tell him so I said, “Biggie you are not playing this gig. The past three gigs we have done you were went not there, it was a different arrangement. You and us need to talk. A lot has been going on in the Band now this is the time to talk” and he said “ Aha okay but lets talk after the gig” and I said to him “ You are not playing this gig. After we talk then we will decide to continue with you or not’.

He didn’t get it at first; he had the mentality that they can’t do it without me. I am the main man, well Biggie Tembo was Harare not Europe. None of our names were upfront like in Harare. Here, his name was not on the posters. He was always excited because his name was better known, I said to him “Your name is popular back home and here they don’t know you. They only know the Bhundu Boys”. He thought I was joking at first but I was the only person who could tell him because I was the Bandleader anyway.

So what did Biggie do then?

We did the show and when we finished there was an encore. People were shouting for me and we played again one or two songs. He was in the crowd and no one recognized him like they did back home “That’s Biggie Tembo, That’s Biggie Tembo”. He thought that was going to happen here. People didn’t even notice him and only saw the Band.

After the gig he came to us. You know, what they say, “embarrassment beats death”. He comes and says, “You guys played well”. He was looking for a way to talk. I tried to ignore him. We were going to another venue and he came in the car “Can we talk guys” and I told him “We will talk when we want to talk as far as we know you are home. This tour is the four of us. We are going to finish this tour the four of us. You think that the Band cannot do without you. What you have just witnessed there is the Band without you. You were dancing with the crowd whilst we were playing. You saw how they wanted more and on this tour that will happen again and again. We are going to finish the tour and sit down with you. We are going to give you conditions and how we expect you to behave like. A lot of things have been happening all along, but we couldn’t tell you because you think you are untouchable. This, was to show you that without you we can go on”

What did he think when you said that?

He thought I was just trying to fix him, but they were issues in the Band like I said before with the house and everything. People were keeping issues inside their hearts and just wanted the Band to go on. Make money and make a living, but at that time. That was the only time to let him know what we thought of his behavior.

So we told him “Look if you want to talk to us. Hold on, we finish the tour. When we finish the tour we sit down and we will tell you what we think and then you tell us what you think. For now, this tour you are not playing” it was just a matter of teaching him a lesson. I wanted to give him a floor and I didn’t want to seem as if it’s coming from me.

I wanted the whole Bands opinion and to come up with the way forward together, including him. I said “Biggie go wait for us in London and we when we finish the tour. We will come down and talk, straighten our grievances. The things that are going wrong in the Band and move forward together”.

He went back to London instead of waiting for us in London. I don’t know what he thought; maybe he thought he had got fired. He went on a plane and went back home. When he got back home, he goes on the radio and said “They treated me like blah blah blah. They did this to me. They did that to me”.

He started making us look bad and acted as if we had fired him. He was telling people back home “The boys fired me because I was posing a threat. I was a better singer. I was a better writer” He even went to Thomas Mapfumo to complain, Thomas has an elder way of speaking and I heard he told him “When youngsters start having issues with a bigger person like yourself, you know they are problems. You look like the older person among them. You should ask for forgiveness” at least he was telling him some sense. Thomas said he cried because he later called me to find out what was going on.

I told him what was going on and he said “I knew something was wrong because the person we know in the Band is Biggie. When youngsters start complaining about their elders, you know something is wrong. Little brothers sit down and work out things with him. I felt a lot of pity for him and I don’t think he will do that again”. Whilst Thomas was saying that Biggie was saying something else back home. We kept quiet because we didn’t want a situation were he says this and we say that. We really wanted him back because he was our brother; besides all the nonsense it was just a matter of sitting down.

Maybe he genuinely thought he was been persecuted?

No, you have to realize that a Band is a collective; it is like a football team. There is always one person in the team who is a scoring machine. However that person is part of a collective they do not dribble from one part of the field to the next, other team members help them. In a band we have got bandleaders, singers, instrument players and they all contribute to good music.

I was more concerned about the Band; I didn’t care if Biggie or anyone in the Band was better known than I was. If I wanted that, I would have put Rise Kagona and the Bhundu Boys on the posters. To me the Band was not about one person, as long as we were together, playing good music and making money. I was happy.

In hindsight, don’t you feel that maybe you should have responded to Biggie through the Media?

When we had the situation, we did not want a media war with him. The White media enjoys things like that, Black people battling each other and besides we were busy on tour so we kept quiet about it. At the same time Biggie was in Zimbabwe saying this and that. As a group we were like ‘Let him have his time and when he is ready he will come back’. My main concern at that point was the survival of the band.

As a Band did you try to get a hold of him?

We tried not to communicate with him because he was home trying to figure out his next move. We had a long tour ahead of us.

Since your Manager was physically beaten by Biggie, What did he make of all this?

He said if we take back Biggie, he would stop managing us?

Would you say that was the cutting off point?

Yes, you could say that, but we were thinking when we finish the tour. We go back home (Zimbabwe) and sit down with him in our African way. There were Elders that could help us iron our differences. I think fame got into his head. He just kept talking about how he got fired and that “We can’t do without him”.

We gave him another chance, there was a Band called the Startled Insects. They were looking to fuse with African Music and our Manager said to them “We have a guy who came out of the Band, you should call him” They called him and he came to record with them (He recorded the album Skins with Startled Insects).

After they did whatever they did, I think Biggie snapped. That is when he had the breakdown, so they called the Manager “What should we do with him”. The Manager told them we were not in the country; I think we were in Australia. He advised them to send him home. I think it was just a breakdown, you know stress. He was probably thinking my boys are doing this and I am doing that.

Did you ever see him again?

When he was in the hospital. I wanted to see to him and reassure him that I am there for him. I drove to the hospital with that intention. On the way I just kept questioning myself “what if he sees me and gets worse?” I got to the hospital; it was just after visiting time. They didn’t let me in but as I was standing by the gate, I saw him he didn’t see me. I saw him he had gone very big you know, maybe from the tablets and that was the last time I saw him.

A.A.V. Amasi is a Barchester Scholar at the National Film And Television School. His contact details are [email protected] or http://www.chauya-chauya.co.uk