The Team here at #ENTHUSE appreciates rock music, the biggest fans being Stephanie and myself. However I go over the top and open my heart to metal too. I like that feeling of grit, the raw sound. I’m currently in love with Dividing the Element. Magetsi brings out the rockstar in me! They are one of the most slept on bands in Zimbabwe without shadow of doubt.
However in my trip down the crater of the web looking for older Zimbabwean Rock bands, I landed on some treasure. The 70s! The rock scene in Zimbabwe at that time was quite big. With influences from the likes of Jimi Hendrix the bands fused psychedelic rock and the raw Zimbabwean feel. Eye Of Liberty, Dr Footswitch, Wells Fargo, Gypsy Caravan rocked the Rhodesian youths of all ethnicities. This was influenced more by the rise of rock as a protestant movement in America as youths refused to be drafted into the Rhodesian Army. The Zimbabwean war of liberation raged on the notion of universal peace which hippies support got into the Rhodesian youths. Some of them were being drafted into the army and like their American counterparts, they turned to rock.
The band that stands out in that period is Wells Fargo. This groovy band with heavy stuff feel was born 1969. Ebba Chitambo volunteered to drum for the Springfields when he noticed that the drummer was failing dismally. Surprisingly, he had never played the drum before but he managed to pull off quite a show. In the crowd however was a guitarist named Josi Ndlovu. He was in a band called the movers and he convinced Ebba to come to a rehearsal a few days after his feat. Ebba joined and the band soon renamed itself The Movers.
As the band grew, they encountered Hey Joe, a 1968 Jimi Hendrix release. This was a life changing song for them and they quickly infused the sound into their own sets. This was the inception of the heavy feel in the sound. The trade mark that propelled them to prominence. The band then rebranded.
Ebba and Josi wanted the band to be a symbol of courage, ‘standing up to the man’. They then named it Wells Fargo, after a stage coach they saw in a cowboy comic book. The band was then a solid unit. With Never Mpofu on the Bass and Handsome Mabhiza on Rhythm guitar.
The solid unit with all the other band were formidable against their Zambian counterparts which included Paul Ngozi and Witch. The rock scene was bringing the youth together. In ghetto places, white bands were found rocking. The racial lines been blurred. The Rhodesian government found it displeasing. The tracks Wells Fargo churned out did not make the situation better. With provocative titles like Watch Out, the band invited unwanted visits from the authorities during their performances. The situation got so bad that the government had a hand in the Nyamanhindi Resort Festival that had a clash of rock bands from the 26th to the 27th of February in 1972. The authorities hoped that having a crowd of different races in one place in two days would cause chaos and rubberstamp the need for racial segregation. The plan backfired as the people freely mingled and a feeling of love was in the air.
This is the era Wells Fargo thrived in. The censorship of their album by the government restricted their growth. They did not manage to get airplay but they still packed their shows. They became the biggest heavy rock group in Zimbabwe. They ruled the roost but all that changed after the independence in 1980. Bob Marley united a new nation under the banner of Jamaican Reggae with his song, Zimbabwe. Then Wells Fargo changed their sound into the reggae feel. The band finally broke off in 1989. The members are scattered around and are leading different music professions. Handsome Mabiza sadly passed away in 2013.
This is one of the most icon band in our history. Their hits like Coming Home received rare views around the world. We salute them!
Listen to Watch Out and tell us what you think!
https://soundcloud.com/nowagainrecords/wells-fargo-watch-out
