Unpublished interview: The Mahotella Queens
Audio 28:59
The Mahotella Queens on stage.
© Andrew Lepley / Redferns / Getty images
By: Joe Farmer Follow
32 mins
Fifteen years ago, a choir of three twirling South African singers delighted the spectators of the Angoulême "Musiques Métisses" festival, which was celebrating its 30th anniversary.
The instigator of this event, Christian Mousset, invited Hilda Tloubatla, Mildred Mangxola and Nobesuthu Mbadu to come and present their repertoire to the French public who have become fond of Southern African sounds since the end of apartheid.
The Mahotella Queens were a great success and the interview they gave us today arouses as much reflection as nostalgia.
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It was in the mid-1960s that the Mahotella Queens were born. They are then at the service of Rupert Bopape, producer within a recording firm called Mavuthela Music Company. Thanks to him, many artists will find light and recognition. He also created at the time a collective of musicians capable of carrying with dignity the South African cultural traditions. He called on a conductor, Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde, and formed the Makgona Tsohle Band. For nearly 10 years, the chants of all these virtuosos brightened up a popular daily mistreated by the segregationist regime in Pretoria. In 1972, dissensions arose between the various protagonists of this adventure, however full of promises. Unity is shattered and hope for success evaporates.
The Mahotella Queens, during the Rio Loco world music festival, in 2010, in Toulouse (France). © REMY GABALDA / AFP
The Mahotella Queens will continue to walk valiantly despite the liberticidal weight of South African politics. At the turn of the 80s, the mood changed. The international community is indignant, admittedly still timidly, at the atrocities in southern lands. Music, the universal language par excellence, relays the messages of struggle and protest. South Africa is gradually becoming the target of all humanists across the planet. During the concert in support of Nelson Mandela, held at Wembley Stadium in London in June 1988, dozens of musicians launched a message of resistance and called for the abolition of apartheid. For the occasion, Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens meet on stage in front of a crowd of 72,000 spectators.This media exposure convinces them to sustainably pursue their common artistic commitment.
The Mahotella Queens in Charlton Park (England), July 24, 2015 © C. Brandon / Redferns via Getty images
In 1997, Simon Mahlathini Nkabinde was 60 years old.
His declining health no longer allows him to perform concerts with the ardor of yesteryear.
He throws in the towel and will leave the boards for good on July 27, 1999. The Mahotella Queens, who have become acclaimed personalities in the free world since the end of the travel restrictions demanded by the South African authorities, will take to the road and tirelessly deliver messages of tolerance through their songs.
In March 2006, they were passing through Paris to express their joy at being the ambassadors of a Mbaqanga culture still little known to the general public.
They were delighted to be able to express themselves freely in front of the microphones of the French media, including those of RFI.
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