By Kundai Marunya
YESTERYEAR urban grooves musician Decibel has rubbished claims that he ditched the late national hero, Oliver Mtukudzi, in 2005 during their United Kingdom tour.
Decibel refuted the allegations following claims by controversial artiste Vimbai Zimuto that he gained entry into the UK during a music tour with Mtukudzi and decided to stay behind.
Zimuto worked for three years as Mtukudzi’s backing vocalist.
“Decibel together with Major E went on a tour of the UK with the late Mtukudzi, but instead of returning to the country, they ran off to live in that country the same way Caps United players did back in the day,” said Zimuto.
“It took years for Tuku to clear his name with UK immigration. That’s why he never repeated the same mistake of taking musicians on his international tours except for those groomed at Pakare Paye Arts Centre.”
The “Madhara” hitmaker scoffed at Zimuto’s allegations describing them as a desperate attempt to gain publicity.
“I went to UK with Tuku in March 2005 and we came back home together. I then travelled back on my own in December of the same year.
“I never went abroad with Major E. I met him there. Where did you get that from?”
Decibel is currently working as a scientist in UK.
The musician said he does not regret leaving Zimbabwe at the peak of his music career.
“It was probably the best move I ever made.
“The Zimbabwean music industry has been poor. It is probably not that harsh to say there has been relatively no industry.
“There was and continues to be a lack of structures to enable talent to be leveraged for economic gains.
“When you consider the time and effort it takes to come up with a good product, one that you cannot sell for that matter, and you have the option to get well paid work on the other hand and the choice is a no brainer,” said Decibel. The Herald
