Explosive book on Tuku set for release

Journalist and author Shepherd Mutamba who wrote the book Tuku Backstage, Oliver Mtukudzi’s tell-all biography, first published in 2015, has written a second edition to be published in Zimbabwe on Monday next week.

The new book, printed on gloss paper, is full colour throughout with 188 pictures, nearly all of them unseen before.

The orientation of the book is A4 size landscape with 255 pages.

The first book covered 24 chapters.

An additional 11 chapters have now been included in the second edition that also has three pages of references and Tuku’s milestones.

A comprehensive discography of Tuku’s music is included with a full list of titles of tracks, on every album, and the years of release from 1978 to 2016.

Mutamba said he photographed the entire book over a period spanning nearly a decade when he worked closely with Tuku as his publicist.

The veteran journalist angered Tuku with his first edition which bared the life of the lanky Zimbabwean music superstar’s life to the world.

“Darius T. Mutamba (son) edited the pictures and designed the cover in Harare. Boutique Books of South Africa laid out the book and Digital Action printed it also in South Africa. The publisher is MhotsiUruka and ISBN 978-079747258-7.

“The pictures capture some of Tuku’s key points in music but also familiarise the reader, fan and archivist with some of Tuku’s life experiences as a man, family man, husband, father, grandfather, brother, businessperson and African.

“I reckon the strength of the second edition is demonstrated by the manner that photographs trace and unpack Tuku’s life and colossal music and, in so doing, also elevate music photography in its literary form,” said Mutamba of the second edition.

Almost every chapter is supported by a selection of pictures that express my own point of view as a photographer.

“However, a wide spectrum of pictures, based on Tuku’s creative processes, dominate the book. A chapter titled Photographing Tuku — The Body Language narrates my first-hand experience and the intricacies of photographing Tuku.

“The book shows pictures of Tuku’s intense moments on stage. I interpret his body language to give his fans and readers an understanding of the meaning of some of his gestures, postures and facial expressions when he is communicating non-verbally during a song.

“My close work, of many years, with Tuku, as publicist, gave me a very firm handle on his music, meaning and body language. DailyNews