Peter Moyo, the son of the late sungura music star Tongai Moyo will tomorrow hold his debut full concert at Midlands Hotel in Gweru since the passing of his father. Peter will share the stage with Morgan and Tendai Dembo, sons of sungura legend Leonard Dembo who are also following in their father’s footsteps and have teamed up with the Barura Express to resuscitate Dembo’s music legacy.
While the young Dhewa used to stand in for his father when he was hospitalised, this time around, Peter is his own man. Peter told the Daily News that he was ready to take over his father’s place and revive his sound. “I am now more than ready to take over from where my father left. This week we have two shows lined up for Gweru and Kadoma. We promise fireworks.”
Peter was thankful to all the people who attended his father’s burial and memorial service. “Words fail me. I am grateful to my father’s friends; they helped my family throughout the funeral and memorial service. My father’s friends have embraced me as their son and it is so gratifying.” The young Dhewa said stepping in his father shoes would be a mammoth task as he still has a lot to polish and improve on.
“I promise to work hard for the band so that it is kept intact. I have the privilege of working with all the band’s instrumentalists, people who used to play with my father. What this means is that the Utakataka sound is still intact, save for my father’s voice. “I will have to work and polish my act, and in the long run eventually replace my father. My father was a star and it is my hope that I also turn into a star,” said Peter.
Peter said whenever there was a death like that of his father, there was bound to be nice things said about him and bad things as well. “It is natural that there are bound to be rumours, but as a family we have resolved to stay steadfast and continue to live the life of love and oneness my father had taught us. Each family has problems and my family has its own problems, but people should not blow them out of proportion,” said Peter.
He said his primary focus now was to consolidate the band. “I am lucky in that I have a platform already created and it is a strong base complete with a song repertoire that can stand any test. “My father had hit songs, I can capitalise on while working on new songs of my own. I am lucky in that I already had been working with the Utakataka band members and nothing is really new in terms of operations,” he told the Daily News.
Peter said nothing has changed in terms of management of the band. He said Shiga Shiga and him were managing the affairs of the band and there was no substance to reports in some sections of the media that Moyo’s nephew was in charge. “I am managing the band with Shiga Shiga. Nothing has changed. This is the official position, any other information regarding this should be treated with the contempt it deserves,” said Peter.
The death of Tongai Moyo has seen a number of pledges coming in as those close to the late sungura star pledge to finance the band and keep it on the roll. This is being done in goodwill as they seek to propel Peter to acceptable heights. During the time Dhewa was still battling with cancer, Webster Shamu, the Zimbabwe Union of Musicians’ patron pledged to keep the band’s outfit afloat by sponsoring it.
Last week, during the launch of Dhewa’s documentary video, Tongai Moyo: The Show Goes On, businessman and a close friend to Utakataka band, Esau Mupfumi said his company had put aside the band’s two months’ salaries so while the group finds its feet. “My group of companies will pay Tongai’s band wages for two months and this is just a simple gesture to a departed friend,” Mupfumi said of his father. (DailyNews)
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