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Alick Macheso

Godwin Muzari Showbiz Mirror
Tomorrow Alick Macheso celebrates his 46th birthday with a bash at Andy Millar Hall in Harare.
The musician has decided to ignore a rough patch in his love life brought by his divorce saga with estranged second wife Fortunate “Tafadzwa” Mapako to celebrate his life and career.
He has invited his family, friends, fellow musicians and fans to the big party. Musicians to grace the party include Sulumani Chimbetu, Peter Moyo and Soul Jah Love.

Dubbed “Baba aShero @ 46”, the bash is likely to be a memorable occasion since Macheso would take time to talk about his life. With the current turmoil in his love life, people would be eager to hear what he would say about Tafadzwa, if he is going to mention her at all.

But, judging from the pressure he has been getting at his shows from fans requesting for the song “Tafadzwa” Macheso is likely to face  the same scenario. People will obviously implore him to say something about the issue. I think he is used to the pressure now and he is likely to find a clever way of going about it without either disappointing his fans or offending his family. It promises to be an exciting night indeed. At his last birthday party, Macheso unveiled his new BMW X5 that was said to be a present from the band. It was an exciting function in the Harare Gardens and, then, Tafadzwa was still the musician’s sweetheart. Life is never predictable.

However, Macheso’s birthday bash is just a sign of the larger picture on the showbiz scene. Artists seem obsessed with this “birthday craze” and they are apparently competing to put up parties to celebrate with fellow musicians, family and friends.

The new craze has swept across genres and it appears there is more to the parties than just commemorating the days these artistes were born. It has something to do with a new marketing strategy for shows. There is nothing wrong with it at all but it is interesting how almost everyone in the industry is interested to grab the opportunity to give a different flair to their shows. The shows with cakes and candles are on the rise.

A couple of years ago, it was only Oliver Mtukudzi who would annually celebrate his birthday at his Pakare Paye Arts Centre in Norton. Although many artists came to celebrate with him, they seemed unwilling to copy the style. Now things have changed.

Just last week, Beverly “Bev” Sibanda and his manager Hapaz Mapimhidze had a joint birthday party at Private Lounge. (Unfortunately memories of the colourful ceremony were cut short after Bev was arrested on Tuesday for going beyond the confines of his raunchy dances. She was arrested two days after the party and she appeared in court yesterday.

Ironically, Macheso’s birthday also comes when he has a case at the courts. Interestingly, the party comes on the very day that the civil court gave as the deadline for paternity tests he requested for the two children Tafadzwa claims he sired.

Well, away from the courts. Sulu has also joined the birthday craze and two weeks ago he had a good party at the Book Café.  Last year Sulu celebrated the birthday at a show that had been arranged for something else but this year he made sure to plan a show solely for the birthday.

Keyboardist and events manager Ronny Bere of Divine Assignments also hosted a party at City Sports Bar last week. Many other artists including Bounty Lisa and Kinnah have done the same. More birthday parties are likely to come this year as the craze sweeps through the showbiz industry. It is the popular show-marketing gimmick among other tags such as “Farewell Show”, “Homecoming Show”, “Album Launch” and the overused “By Public Demand”.