Pius Makokowe - a Versatile Artriste Nurtured in Highfield
While Mbare gave birth to some of Zimbabwe’s greatest township musicians, Highfield nurtured musicians who experimented with various genres.
It was from Highfield where the Great Sounds, the Acid Band, the Harare Mambos, the Black Spirits, the Blacks Unlimited, Bhundu Boys and many others were formed. It was from Highfield where Pius Makokowe, one of the founders of the Great Sounds and the Acid Band hailed. Makokowe was asked by Elias Banda to join him after he and Grant Ndowa, Moses Kabubi, who now plays for Summer Breeze, the late Jethro Shasha, Daram Karanga as well as Eliah Chimwala had split from the Thomas Mapfumo-led Springfields in 1969.
The Springfields had a contract with Mutanga Club in Highfield but the group had poor instruments, which resulted in the club owners targeting them for eviction. Mapfumo spoke to the late broadcaster Dominic Mandizha who supplied the group with new kit but when the club realised that Mandizha was being paid more, they hatched a plan to ditch him.
Banda felt it was not professional and he approached Mandizha with the news but promised him that he would form a new group if given the kit. The Springfields split with Banda taking along five members to form the Great Sounds that became one of Zimbabwe’s most celebrated rhumba groups with its hit songs such as Koni, Anopenga Anewaya and Wotopfuhwira, which is the signature tune on the radio programme Chakafukidza Dzimba Matenga.
“These songs were composed by all the members. An idea was brought up and each member would contribute in shaping up the idea into a song,” said Makokowe, who is a retired soldier.
Makokowe said he was spotted by Banda at Highfield Community School playing a guitar and was invited to be part of the original group.
The group set base at Cyril Jennings Hall for rehearsals but toured the country before the then Salisbury Municipality contracted the group to play at Vito Tavern in Mbare. From Vito Tavern, the group set another base at El Morocco (now Livewire) after the OK Success had gone on a tour of Zambia. Karanga left to join the OK Success and Makokowe too left and teamed up with his brother Charles, Noah Mbirimi, Charles Makokowe, the late Albert Gweshe and the late James Chimombe to form the Acid Band in 1973.
The group was then contracted to play at Tsimba Hotel in Rusape where it stayed for two years before relocating to Harare where it set base at Mutanga Club in 1975.
At the time, Mapfumo had returned to Harare from Mhangura Mine where he had played with the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band.
“Thomas (Mapfumo) used to come in the early hours of the morning and ask us to let him sing. We gladly gave him the platform to do so,” remembers Makokowe who later left to join the late Safirio “Mukadota” Madzikatire. “I wanted something different and in Mukadota I saw an opportunity to be part of the sketches. We toured the country and when the Real Sounds of Africa came, I joined them because they wanted a guitarist who could play pop music,” says Makokowe.
The group had a contract with Nyamanhindi Hotel in Mutare where Cabs later employed Makokowe as a ledgers clerk. When the war heated up, Makokowe was conscripted into the Rhodesian army where he served as a medic and at Independence, he was drafted into the Zimbabwe National Army until 1994 when he retired into farming.
During his time in the army, Makokowe linked up with the army band called Amagigo and undertook studies of theory and practice in guitar as well as music theory. In 1996, Makokowe returned to mainstream music by forming the Shocks Band, which played at New Royal Hotel in Bulawayo. With him in the group were Zexie Gwaze, Joyce Nkomo, Charles Mutanga, Bee Chiradza and Harry Gwaze.
“In fact, the guys who later formed the Cool Crooners started with us. They came to play and we would back them,” says the 56-year-old Makokowe.
Although he is retired, Makokowe is planing to work with the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe in developmental project aligned to music.
Via The Herald
