Rock Music in Zimbabwe in the 70s???

Monday, October 03, 2016




To be truly honest I wouldn't ever classify myself as a "fan" of rock music. In fact when I was in college my brother and I walked into the student hangout center at our school one night looking for food, and almost fainted when we found ourselves surrounded by people screaming and shaking their heads. I'm not even going to lie, I forgot about the food, started praying loudly and quickly ran out of the building (lol). One reason why I think I have never felt a direct connection with the rock and roll world is probably because I never grew up listening to it. In fact I don't know very many Africans who did. I was recently so surprised to find out that rock music was one of the most popular genre's of music in Zimbabwe in the 70's!!! I kid you not, in the 1970's there were a number of very popular rock bands. During the last decade of Zimbabwe’s War of Independence, rock music exploded with a message of unity and hope. 

I was pleasantly surprised to find Albert Nyathi a popular Zimbabwean writer, poet and musician presenting a really well done documentary on rock in Zim in the 70's. He actually interviews some of the band members from  Wells Fargo who were at the forefront of the “Heavy Music” movement serving as fuel for the fight during the war for independence. All the interviews are so fun to watch and the delight in peoples eyes as they talk about the music and old times aroused in me a nostalgia for a past I had no idea about!  You can watch the documentary, as well as listen to some of the rock music that was mentioned in the film on our music page. If you know any other Zimbabwean rock bands let us know about it in the comments Enjoy :) 






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