Fassie's ex launches solo album
2007-06-28 12:26
Gaborone - The former boyfriend of the late South African pop legend Brenda Fassie is looking to step into the controversial diva's footsteps with the launch of his debut album.
Ludwe Maki has long struggled to emerge from the shadow of his lover, who was known as "Madonna of the Townships" and was South Africa's biggest-selling star in the 1980s and 1990s, since her death three years ago.
In an interview with AFP in Botswana, Maki acknowledged that the woman for whom he once sang backing vocals had been a major influence on his ten-track album entitled Hamba Nezindaba (Zulu for "Go With The Gossip").
"I have a lot of influence from Brenda. I have stayed with her longer than any other person. I sang for her in the studio, and in performances," said Maki. "She influenced me in many ways."
The tempestuous eight-year relationship between Fassie and Maki was a staple of the tabloids in South Africa.
Remained close to Fassie
It finally ended in 2002, two years before Fassie's death, after she declared that she was a lesbian and drug addict.
Maki revealed he had remained close to Fassie and paid her a deathbed visit when she lapsed into a coma after an asthma attack caused cardiac arrest.
"I was called by journalists who believed that my presence beside her during those last hours could help prolong her life," added Maki.
"They requested me to go and play a CD beside her and keep on talking to her, with the hope that when she is filled up with those sweet memories, she would quicken up, but she did not."
Fassie, who shot to fame in the early 1980s with the smash hit Weekend Special, could count former president Nelson Mandela among her fans.
Both Mandela and current President Thabo Mbeki danced along to her performance in 1999 at the first handover of power in South Africa between democratically-elected presidents.