The Sunday Mail
It is easy to think of music superstar Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi as a snob. Tuku does not appear to be the kind of person one can easily engage in conversation.
And it is true that it is hard to chit chat with the man. For reasons best known to himself, he avoids the media glare, and this makes some think he is arrogant.
To get a better understanding of the man, this writer decided to follow the living legend for five consecutive gigs with the mission being getting insights into what kind of person he is, not on stage – but off it. Focus was on his interactions with band members and associates.
What I found was that his approach both in public and behind the scenes is rather the same: the musician by and large prefers to keep to himself.
This is particularly so in the moments before the superstar appears on stage. The “Wenge Mambo” hit-maker meditates.
Naturally, that means he doesn’t want to talk at that time.
Attempting to start a conversation at that point can be quite a humbling experience. As he meditates, he fine-tunes his guitar with the help of an “Intellitouch Traditional Chromatic Tuner”.
This is a state-of-the-art, low-power digital signal processor that analyses the pitch of a guitar and displays it on the PT10XL tuner’s large, digital crystal display for easy reading.
He gently sways, lifting a limb here, nodding his head there as he moves to music that the rest of us cannot hear.
And sometimes he starts to hum or mouth the lyrics of some of his songs.
Through this, his band members sit serenely, waiting for the nod that signals everything is in order.
They will have long gone through their sound check. They know what is required of them by the music granddad. Silence.
Satisfied, Tuku then signals (usually to Sam Mataure) that he is ready and the band goes on stage.
Tuku’s long-serving drummer-cum-band manager, Sam Mataure, says the singer treats every show with equal importance. “He is an incredible man who is very much dedicated to his work. He always makes sure that he gives his all for a show, whether big or small. His inspiration comes from the fans and he works on making them happy every time,” says Sam.
“What you see when he performs at a corporate function is exactly what you will see at any other gig. The approach remains the same.”
The “Todii” singer missed a joint show with South African star Ringo Madlingozi in Bulawayo in February this year due to ill-health. Resultantly the show promoter incurred loss following this last-minute withdrawal. Tuku promised he would make good on no-show.
But the promoters of the gig seemed uneasy even after these reassurances.
One of them, Nkululeko Sibanda, said: “Tuku called us after missing the Ringo show.
“He promised a compensating gig in the near future, but being a busy man that he is, I doubted he was going to find a slot for us.” However, he last week, supported by dendera crooner Suluman Chimbetu, Tuku held a big show in the City of Kings as compensation.
“To be honest, I can’t believe how swiftly he has addressed this predicament.
‘‘Tuku is indeed a gentleman. He does stick to his word.
“The group is currently holding farewell shows and they decided to give us one of the gigs,” said Nkululeko.
The farewell gigs were held in Bulawayo and Harare.
Tuku was expected to have left the country on an international tour last Friday, to perform in South Africa, the United Kingdom and North America.
My conclusion: Tuku is no snob.
He is a serious musician who prefers that his work speaks for him.
Oh, and he is also a gentleman.
