Irene van Wyk dies in car crash

Renowned Afrikaans gospel singer Irene van Wyk died in a car accident after she apparently lost control of her vehicle and collided head-on with a truck.
Known by all in the industry as “The Voice”, Van Wyk performed as lead singer and bass player for 1980s all-girl group Chess who had hits with “Down by the [...]

SA jazz legend dies

One of Cape Town’s elders of jazz has died.
Winston Monwabisi Mankunku Ngozi was born in Retreat in 1943 - and his musicality emerged early on, according to his biography.
Mankunku experimented with piano and trumpet before he took up playing the saxophone for which he is now famous.
He will be missed, though his sounds live [...]

DJ Slender dies

I’m not sure how popular DJ Slender (real name Loyiso File) was nationally but he was quite a big deal in Cape Town and thanks to Facebook, I found out that he died this weekend.
And you probably need to be a certain age as well, because the clubs he played at no longer exist.
Most of [...]

Hamba Kahle Ma Miriam

I was privileged enough to see Miriam Makeba perform - it was an amazing experience. She was more than a singer, she had a story to tell and made sure the world heard it.
Thankfully her music will continue her - and Africa’s - story.
UPDATE:
Miriam Makeba’s family have decided to bring her body home for burial [...]

Isidingo star has surgery after car crash - UPDATE

Isidingo star Ashley Callie has undergone surgery after a head-on collision in Johannesburg.
Callie’s family say they are grateful for the support that has poured in since news of the accident broke.
Send your message to Callie and her family by commenting below.
UPDATE 15/02/2008: Callie has succumbed to the injuries she sustained in the accident. It was [...]

Mr Fat dies

This morning I heard that Ashley Titus, better known as Mr Fat, has died in hospital. Fat was a member of Brasse Vannie Kaap. I had heard that he was ill a couple of years ago, but had no idea that he’s been back in hospital again.
I think he kept his personal life private - [...]

Remembering Patrick Mynhardt

Theatre legend Patrick Mynhardt died of “natural causes” at the age of 75 in London, his publicist has confirmed.
He was found dead by an old friend who had been putting him up in London during a two-week run of his autobiographical Boy From Bethulie at the Jermyn Street Theatre.
Mynhardt is survived by his son, Johann, [...]

Remembering Lucky Dube

World-acclaimed reggae singer Lucky Dube has been shot and killed in a hijacking.
The incident took place when Dube went to drop off his son at his uncle’s house in Rosettenville, southern Johannesburg. Two men approached him and opened fire.
Pay your tribute to Dube here.
See our picture gallery

UPDATE: Police have arrested five suspects in connection with [...]