Jacey Bedford's Journal

Tomorrow I'm going up to Richmond - North Yorkshire - to see Zulu Tradition in concert at the delightful Georgian Theatre Royal (an atmospheric theatre built 1788 and still mostly in its original form). It's a girly day out with H, my former singing partner. Looking forward to a mooch around Richmond (small market town with a 950 year old castle), light lunch and (later) early dinner before the show. If the weather brightens up there may be photographs, but the heatwave has broken and today is quite grey.

The show will be a riot of song and dance from these guys.

I wanted to say thank you to those people who who boosted the signal and donated towards the emergency fund for Mzwandile's air ticket home to attend his brother's funeral. We managed to get him home in time for the funeral and back again. I said I'd keep you informed and so here is is and the finances currently stand like this:

Mzwandile's flight cost £753. Through donations from yourselves and from musicians from the Britfolk list we managed to raise £576 in total leaving only a balance of £177 for the Zulus to find - a much less daunting prospect than trying to raise £753.

Donations came from all over the UK and from as far away as Australia, the USA and Eastern Europe. Everyone who donated should now have received their thank-you CD from me of a Zulu Tradition CD

Once again, many thanks. You know who you are.

A huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Zulu emergency fund. Mzwandile send his thanks to everyone, too. And a special thanks to those of you who boosted the signal. It's still not too late if you feel inclined.

The target is £753 for the flight to get Mzwandile home to South Africa for his brother's funeral (and to get him back to the UK again).

Details of what and why are here.

So far we've raised (between us all) £322.10 with another £50 promised and another (unspecified) amount promised.

Thank you CDs are on their way to people who have contributed. Shout out if you've got yours already and like it. I think my favourite track is Ingwe, but I also love their version of Shosholoza. Yes there are still mre thank you CDs available.

Thanks to everyone who has posted cheques or sent a donation by email so far for the Zulu emergency fund to get Mzwandile home to South Africa for his brother's funeral (and back again). It's only been 2 days and we've raised £219.02 so far. Only another £533.98 to go. (The odd pennies are because of conversion rates from other currencies.)

A huge thank you to those of you who have already contributed and also to those who have boosted the signal. You know who you are

So far CDs have gone to Australia, the USA and the Czech Republic as well as to the UK.

I've done a CD cover (here) and a track list. There are sixteen songs on the CD including Shosholoza. And I'm listening as I type. Lovely stuff.

For anyone who wants to check out the original appeal or boost the signal the post is here. It's a really good cause, do help if you can.

In a friendslocked post earlier today, I posted to say that the wonderful group of singers and dancers 'Zulu Tradition' (currently in the UK and based in Huddersfield) just received the bed news that the brother of one of their number has died in South Africa. Mzwandile's brother leaves behind three children, and Mzwandile's mum is distraught and wants her boy home for the funeral.

That's Mzwandile Ngema top left in the picture with the blue background. Front is Bongi Gwala. The other three are l - r Thandanani Gumede, Buhle Mhlongo and Khethukuthula Kheswa.

These Zulus had a particularly hard time with a previous manager a couple of years ago. I can't say much about that because there's a court case ongoing to try and get recompense for them. Suffice it to say that raising the money to get Mzwandile home in time for the funeral is going to be almost impossible for them. I've secured him a ticket with my credit card, and he flies tomorrow morning, early, but the cost is £753 just for the air fare, not counting incidental expenses. They've promised to repay me, but it's going to be hard for them.

The wonderful la_marquise_de_ offered to make a contribution to a Zulu emergency fund to get Mzwandile home (and back again). While I heartily appreciate anyone offering to make a contribution, because the Zulu guys have had a very rough deal. I don't want to beg something for nothing, they wouldn't feel happy about that, and neither would I, however if any of you would like a very fine CD of Zulu singing in exchange for a contribution towards Mzwandile's trip, I would be delighted.

I won't set a price, (send as muich as you like or as little as you can afford), but if it were a commercial release it would not sell for less than £13.50 including postage. I'll pay for the postage and anything you send will all go to Mzwandile. Post me a cheque or pay me by paypal and without giving away who contributed what I'll keep you all informed as to how much we manage to raise. The target is £753, but anything we can raise towards that would be brilliant. My LJ flist is not large, so feel free to boost the signal if you wish.

Post your cheques payable to 'Zulu Tradition' to me, Jacey Bedford at 10 Park Head, Birdsedge, Huddersfield, HD8 8XW. Anyone not in the UK can pay me by paypal. email me on agency(at)jacey-bedford.com for details. Don't forget to include your postal address for a CD by return of post.

You will receive a CD recorded in BB's studio when the Zulus were with their previous manager. (And I hasten to add, it was made before BB and I knew how difficult that relationship was for the Zulus.)  I see no reason why the recording shouldn't be used to help them out now. It's a set of songs that never had commercial release, but here's Shosholoza.as a taster.

You can read more about the Zulus, now working as 'ZULU Tradition', here.

Prompted by anghara 's video of Ladysmith Black Mambazo (and extra guests) singing The Lion Sleeps Tonight here's a version of ZULU singing the same song, 'Mbube' in Zulu. It's a bit more raw than the ladysmith version. Closer to the original, I suspect, without the overtones of 'Wimoweh' which is the Americanised version, of course. ZULU is the group I've written about before. I'm working with them here in the UK. The vid was filmed by my son in law, Ian Kenton, at Wallingford Festival last September. Lead vocalist on this song is Zama Siphengana. The company - only 6 of them - are all genuine Zulus from Umlazi Township (Durban). There's four tracks here if you want to hear more.

I've started working with a theatre, dance and song company called The Mighty Zulu Nation and this afternoon I went along to one of their rehearsals. If I needed reminding (which I didn't) they are beautiful, stirring singers ( a cappella, of course), eloquent storytellers and high-spirited, athletic dancers. I sat there wilth a big silly grin on my face watching and listening.

I'm booking venues for two of their upcoming shows - 'A Zulu Celebration of Christmas' and 'Napoleon Noir' (a play with music).

If you are ever within a hundred miles of these guys make a point of going to see tham.