September 2013
This post was based upon an extended clip from the film that has been taken down due to copyright infringement. The copyright-holder’s own promotional video includes a very short segment right at the beginning that features the kwela band discussed here.
In addition to being the film that really propelled a young Miriam Makeba onto the world stage, Come Back Africa includes a street scene of young kwela buskers – a scene rarely captured on film. In it we see six pennywhistlers and one guitarist improvising around an eight-bar motif that is close to the key of G:
G G C D G G C D G G C C D D G G
Although not in syncronisation with the sound, we can see the guitarist play chords C (0:45, 1:10), D (0:46, 1:11) and G (0:47, 1:13) on what is probably a standard-tuning, commercial (not home-made) guitar with no capo. In contrast with the animated dancing of the musicians, the mixed audience (including some in official uniform) watch, from a small distance, with reserved, middle-class approval. There doesn’t seem to be any financial transaction in the scene – no hat to collect money. Perhaps this is because the scene is being filmed, or perhaps the custom is to donate to the buskers at the end of the tune. The scene appears to be taken close to a grand civic or religious building in downtown Johannesburg. An electric tram passes in the background. Can you help to fill in the missing details? Who are the musicians and where are they playing in Johannesburg?