Innholdsfortegnelse for Drum: 70th i Drum English

Oh man, what a labour of love. Going through the DRUM archives to put this book together has been such a privilege. It was like looking at South Africa through the eyes of Henry Nxumalo and the Drum boys and the lenses of Alf Kumalo and every photographer whose picture has graced the pages of the magazine. It was seeing the lives lived by stars such as Nomsa Nene, Yvonne Chaka-Chaka, Miriam Makeba, Dolly Rathebe, John Kani, Connie Ferguson and even the pain of losing iconic celebrities like Brenda Fassie and Lebo Mathosa. It was watching visionaries such as Kaizer Motaung find their feet and make their dreams come true. It made us remember the pain and suffering of those who came before us, and how they refused to bow…

HE WAS South Africa’s ultimate tsotsi – so convincing that he and his team bagged an Oscar for the movie depicting the life of a criminal. Tsotsi put South Africa on the global film radar and became one of the most successful films to ever hit South African theatres. The film changed his life, Presley Chweneyagae tells DRUM. The 2005 crime drama written by director Gavin Hood was adapted from a novel of the same name written by renowned South African playwright Athol Fugard. Presley’s powerful performance received international acclaim and took the local theatre actor from Mahikeng in North West to the world stage. “It will always remain one of those memories that will always be ingrained in my mind,” he says. “I had started my career in 1996…

THERE was never a shortage of stories flooding into the DRUM fiction inbox. They were written with such love and care that it was sometimes hard to choose which ones to feature – but it was always a pleasure to let writers know they’d be published. And then there was the satisfaction of finding real gems who’d become regular contributors – such as Nqobile Ngcobo, who first contacted us in 2016. The now 29-year-old dental therapist from Inchanga, KwaZulu-Natal, sent so many stories to DRUM that not all of them could be published. But she ended up seeing 34 of her contributions edited, illustrated, and printed – and still remembers the very first time. “I went to a mall one day to buy lunch at a supermarket. I saw DRUM…

AS A young woman in Zimbabwe, she’d go through DRUM magazine, telling herself that one day she’d grace its pages. While her mom turned to the recipe section, Afrosoul singer and guitarist Berita headed straight to the advice pages then checked out every celebrity that caught her interest. “DRUM was a big magazine,” says Berita, real name Gugulethu Khumalo. “My mother used to cut out the recipes and prepare what she saw for us. I used to be nosey and always go to the Ask Sis Dolly section to read about people’s relationship problems. Those are my fondest memories and obviously reading up on celebrities and thinking to myself that one day I will also be in DRUM.” Her dream came true when she was first featured in DRUM in…

Afros, weaves, wigs, bantu knots, braids and chiskop – black women’s hair is not just an adventure, it’s also been a political statement for years. It’s always been seen as either too rough, too silky, too big and just generally too much. If a woman wears her natural hair, she’s too untidy. If she relaxes it, she’s unAfrican, when she dares to wear a weave, she’s a slay queen and if she’s got a brush cut, she’s trying to be a man. It’s been 70 years and DRUM has watched women go from Afros, to the hot iron, to the relaxer, the perms, the crimp, the wigs, weaves, plats and back to afros. Our much-loved DRUM Hair special magazine was a must-have to see styles and learn more about haircare,…

MOST people wouldn’t be able to tell you exactly what it is about a cover that they like. Is it the person – usually a celeb smiling brightly – that caught their eye? Is it the words that makes them pick up an edition? Is it the colours? The combination of stories and pictures? It’s probably all of them in some way or the other and that’s what makes putting a cover together such a special thing. It’s a combination of science, creativity and gut instinct with editors and art directors spending a long time trying to get it just right. Over the years DRUM produced many spectacular covers and many iconic ones will live on forever in our memories. In our seven decades we’ve seen newsmakers and celebrities grow…

EVILS OF TSOTSISM I WOULD like to associate myself with those who wrote and blamed parents about the children who become tsotsis. I do not agree with many writers who say that homelessness is the cause, because I can say that many tsotsis are the sons of landlords. Just to stop these youngsters would help unite us Africans. I am also young and see that our parents fail to look after us and teach us that dagga, drinking and the cinema are really evils. Now it spreads to our young girls. Our modern location as far as I can see will be better through these committees which are anti-crime in our locations. Our elders cannot walk in the streets after 6 o’clock for fear of tsotsis. I think now the…

AS a young girl there were only a few magazines that spoke to me and that spoke about the reality that I lived in.DRUM was the sister In ever had. I am the only girl in a household filled with boys and that meant that at home I had no one to feed my teenage curiousity. When I was high school, I would read the magazine and think to myself, one day I’ll write for DRUM. One day I will be become a part of the legacy that has not only represented black culture but gave black people centre stage from the fashion to the magazine covers, inspirational stories and current affairs. I am grateful to the men and women who have worked for DRUM since the ’50s. If it…

HE STILL remembers it to this day – the first time he appeared in DRUM magazine. It’s not something that’s easy to forget, at least not for him, says award-winning and internationally acclaimed actor John Kani. “DRUM is only 70? Oh man, it’s so young,” he says with a laugh. “Maybe it’s because I’m not as young.” When he talks of DRUM, he can’t help but gush over what the brand has meant and means for black people. He made his first appearance in the print product in 1975, John (77) recalls. “We [he and celebrated playwright and actor Winston Ntshona] had just come back from New York after winning a Tony Award for The Island. [Photojournalist] Alf Kumalo was waiting for us at the then Jan Smuts airport, now…

WHEN her peers were playing with Barbie dolls and cars, the young girl and her friends were playing her favourite game – Generations. She loved everything she saw on the soapie, the glam lifestyle, the businesses, and the family dynamics. But what she loved the most was watching veteran actor Menzi Ngubane show off his skills as the best villain on TV. So whenever Amina Jack (20) and her friends played Generations as a game, she got to be Sbusiso, Menzi’s character on the show. “As a child, I loved Bab’Menzi Ngubane,” the actress tells us. “Whenever I watched the ’80s shows Kwakhala Nyonini and uBambo Lwami I’d pretend to be him.” The shows played on SABC Encore when she was younger and she enjoyed seeing the older actors, which…

He became one of DRUM’s most legendary writers and many may remember him for his iconic short story The Suit. But Can Themba wasn’t known when he started his journey with DRUM. At age 28 he won £50 for his short story Mob Passion, clinching the first prize in a competition the magazine ran in 1952. Can became one of the DRUM Boys, along with Henry Nxumalo, Casey Motsisi and Todd Matshikiza. He wrote several hard-hitting pieces for the publication, exposing atrocities during the apartheid years. He eventually left South Africa to teach in Swaziland (now eSwatini), disillusioned with the politics of the country. His work was banned back home and by many accounts, he was miserable in Swaziland. He spiralled into alcohol abuse and died at the age of…

IT’S A PARTY that rests on the shoulders of giants. From the era of the first ANC president, John Langalibalele Dube, in 1912, to the times of Pixley ka Isaka Seme and the freedom-fighting years of Albert Luthuli, Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela, it’s a political movement steeped in SA’s history. The African National Congress will forever be remembered in the history books as the party who beat the oppressive apartheid government and gave South Africa its first black president in 1994. When the first democratically elected president took the presidential seat, the country breathed a collective sigh of relief, with many thinking their troubles were over, that it was time for black people to thrive. But over the course of Madiba, Thabo Mbeki, briefly Kgalema Motlanthe, Jacob Zuma and…

FOUR years before South Africa gained its freedom, Dingaan Thobela fought in a bout in the US that should’ve made him a world champion. Even though he won and received no belt, that night changed his life. While most of the country lamented the irony of being in lockdown on Freedom Day 2020, one man was reminiscing about just how special 27 April was for him. And not because of what happened in 1994 Dingaan “The Rose of Soweto” Thobela is known as one of SA’s greatest boxers, having been crowned world champion on three occasions. When he looks back at his illustrious career, though, Thobela singles out the Friday night in Biloxi, Mississippi, on 27 April 1990 as one of the most special. “For me, that was the day…

IT’S been almost 40 years since the first HIV-positive case was reported in South Africa in 1982. Then it was mentioned in hushed tones with sidelong glances and secretive behaviour that matched the fear and stigma associated with the virus. Your status was a source of stress, and even just a bit of weight loss would have friends, neighbours and family wondering if you had the dreaded disease. Thankfully times and attitudes have changed to a large extent. But it’s still not easy to break the news to your loved ones if you do test positive for HIV. It took Nozibele Qamngana-Mayaba (now 29) five years to break the news to her mom. She silently battled depression during that time. When she found out her status at the age of…

THEY may have seemed glamorous in those early days of DRUM. But there’s no denying many of the gangsters who ruled the roost in Johannesburg were nothing more than tsotsis – basically just common thugs. These days criminals come in all forms – there are those who terrorise people on the street, those who clean out government coffers and now even those who say they’re men of the cloth but whose actions are anything but holy. South Africa has had its fair share of trauma thanks to the many criminals who became infamous over the years. We take a look back at some of the crimes that shocked the country, many of which still affect people deeply. 1950-1960 ELIFASI MSOMI, a failed sangoma from KwaZulu-Natal, killed 15 people and was…

IT WAS 1976. Thousands of children had taken to the streets in the fight against the education system, schools were burning and the sound of gunshots was becoming the norm. Schools were ghost towns and that meant teachers didn’t really have anything to do. Renowned South African actress Connie Chiume was one of those teachers in Orlando then. So when she saw a poster calling for auditions for a show, Sola Sola, she decided to take a chance. “When I got there, I could see a different world. I saw men and women amaphaphayo (vibrant) and they were singing and moving around. You could see they knew each other and I’m just standing there alone. But when my chance came, I gave it my shot. Because it’s something that I…

He’s one of the most well-known faces in Mzansi, thanks to the many years he played Sibusiso Dlomo on Generations. But DRUM has been writing about Menzi Ngubane long before Ngamla made him a household name. We were there when he played Jerome in SABC1 show Gaz’lam and a corrupt teacher at Supatsela High in Yizo Yizo, and we followed him as his star rose and shone brightly on the small and silver screens. In our 9 January 2003 edition – when Amina Jack would’ve been about two or three years old – Menzi shared this advice to aspiring actors in DRUM: “If you want to do it just for the sake of fame, then you’re making a big mistake. Most people often think acting is a hobby but for…

COVER girl, music icon, global ambassador, actress, award winner, storyteller, Princess of Africa… There are so many ways to describe a woman who’s been making her mark for more than 35 years – and DRUM has been there for every milestone. And we’ve celebrated her from the days of Thank You Mr DJ, to I’m in Love With a DJ, Umqombothi and Every Woman Needs a Man, seeing how she’s evolved with every album and song. A great number of things have happened in Yvonne Chaka Chaka’s life since she found fame, including getting married, having kids and creating lifelong legacies in the music and TV industries. The 55-year-old remembers being part of the DRUM family as all these changes happened in her life. She’s been on the cover several…

SHE’S 95, feisty and has a memory as sharp as a tack. Her hair may be snow white but her voice is strong and clear. She’s survived a lot, Ma Lillian Diedericks tells us from her home in Gelvandale, Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha). She lost loved ones, was forced from her home and was arrested and jailed for treason. That’s why Ma Lillian is fierce about the Covid-19 protocols she wants observed in her home. “I went through a lot. I’m a survivor – I can’t die from Covid.” She’s still strong, doing her own gardening and tending to her home, with assistance from her nephew and his family. Ma Lillian was a founding member of the Federation of South African Women, the activist organisation that arranged the Women’s March…

FROM the days of style queens Miriam Makeba, Cynthia Shange and Jacqui Mofokeng to today’s fashionistas, including Somizi, Bonang and Loot-Love, fashion never went out of style in DRUM magazine. South African fashion has come a long way from the days of Sophiatown, where it was influenced by the rise of jazz and the blues. These days it’s edgy and ever-changing. Even the regulars of cultural fashion, which include imibhaco from amaXhosa and xibelani skirts of the Tsonga cultures, have been modernised. We take a look at some of the styles and trends over the years. The classy 1960s Silk, floral prints, over-the-shoulder dresses and stiletto heels – these are some of the style trends that women in the ’60s made classy and fashionable. Women’s trousers came in a variety…

ONCE upon a time there were two men who were known far and wide for their football prowess. They were a dream team and often struck fear into the hearts of their opponents just by running onto the field. Kaizer Motaung and Percy Moloi were a team not to be messed with at Orlando Pirates. But one of them was a little restless. He wanted to branch out on his own to see just how much he could accomplish. And so Kaizer Motaung left Pirates and went off to form his own team in January 1970. It wasn’t long before the two were up against each other later that month, and the excitement in the township was unmatched. Pirates won 6-4 and the Soweto Derby was born. For more than…

DRUM has always loved love. Whether the bride and groom were saying “I do” or “Ndiyavuma”, or “Ndithanda lo” or “Ndi khou tenda”, love has always been a big part of what this magazine celebrates every week. We’ve been there for the romance, the baecations, the lobola negotiations and the beautiful membeso ceremonies. We’ve watched ordinary South Africans and celebrities alike fall in love once, twice, even half a dozen times, and have celebrated each new relationship. We’ve seen brides and grooms decked out in beads, lace, pearls, ibheshu, isicholo, dashikis and shweshwes, and watched husbands-to-be wring their hands in nervousness until they get a glimpse of their soon-to-be-wives. We’ve heard the songs of celebration and seen the most lavish of cakes, the best dombolo and the most delicious-looking chicken…

SHE died at 26. Her short life was full of suffering and pain and there’s hardly any moments of joy recorded. She was used, abused and put on display for wealthy Europeans to laugh at. Her name was Sarah Baartman and she deserved better. The Khoi woman was put on display and exhibited as a freak show attraction in 19th century Europe just because of her buttocks. Now her body shape is seen as the ultimate thing one to work towards. A big booty, small waist and just enough boobs to have a cleavage are seen as body goals and Instagram is filled with women showing off their hourglass shape. But this wasn’t the case when Sarah, also known as Sara or Saartjie, lived. She died on 29 December 1815,…