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I asked him why the performance was given such a low profile for such a high-profile artiste as I am sure many people would have liked to attend the show if they knew about it. He told me that the organisers were not sure how to go about it.

Since Rozalla was born in Zambia and came to Zimbabwe as a teenager, the organisers thought that, although her late father was a Zimbabwean, there could be problems about her citizenship status in which case they would have ended up paying for a work permit, clearance from the National Arts Council and Zimura licence, a big hassle they did not wish to undertake.
The current Constitution of Zimbabwe does not allow for dual citizenship.

Before that, in May 2011 after Hifa, I had seen a handbill advertising Rozalla Miller, known for her international hit “Everybody’s Free” and the Rusike Brothers, DJs Coolie and Static which stated that they were expected to perform at Hellenics Sports Club in Harare, but this show never took place. This would have been the UK-based Rozalla’s first performance in Zimbabwe in years.

Rozalla comes from a musical family. She is related to Zambia’s Warren Mills who made hits with “Mickey’s Monkey” and is also cousin to Zimbabwe’s Alton Edwards, who has performed with Edwin Starr and Alexander O’Neil. Edwards has also made hits in his own right which include “I Just Wanna Spend Some Time With You” which sold hundreds of thousands of records in 1982. Both Alton Edwards and Warren Mills were signed on to UK-based Jive Records.

Rozalla Miller was born in Zambia in 1965. Her father, a Zimbabwean, had crossed into Zambia during colonial times in order to seek greener pastures. She began performing at a young age in Zambia singing in clubs, at special events and on a children’s TV show.

While still in her teens, she relocated to Zimbabwe with her parents. She lived in Chinhoyi briefly between 1982 and 1983 before moving to Harare where she went with the intention of enrolling at a college to learn elementary typing. However, this was meant to please her parents who were against their daughter singing in a band.

When she got to Harare, she fronted various R&B cover bands which included the Rusike Brothers and Boykie Moore’s band, Grab, before beginning her own recording career. She ended up with five number one hits on Zimbabwe’s national charts.

In 1984, the hit “Party Time”, which she recorded with the Rusike Brothers, rocked the nightclubs of Harare and Bulawayo.
In 1988, an English producer who was based in Wolverhampton and owned Unit Dance Music label, Chris Sergeant, invited Rozalla to London placing her with the Band of Gypsies, a production duo consisting of Nigel Swanston and Tim Cox, who produced her most successful singles and her debut album.

Her first UK single “Born To Luv Ya” became a club hit in 1990, but Rozalla’s career took off when the dance anthem Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good), reached number six in the UK Singles Chart in 1991 after selling more than a million copies.

The single became a Top 10 hit in many European countries soon afterwards and reached the American Billboard Charts top 40 the following year. It was later included on her dance-heavy debut album “Everybody’s Free”, which peaked at number 20 in the UK Albums Chart and went silver.

The album spawned two more sizeable hits in “Faith in the Power Of Love” and “Are You Ready to Fly” reaching number 11 and 14 respectively in the UK Singles Charts. A deal was signed with Sony Records, the same label Michael Jackson was signed to. It was then that Sony thought of ways of promoting the album and a decision to ask Rozalla to open for Michael Jackson’s Dangerous Tour shows was reached.
The first performance was at Wembley Arena in London in 1992, where Rozalla became an instant star.

After touring with Michael Jackson, opening all of his performances on the European leg of his Dangerous tour, and several lesser charting singles, Rozalla enjoyed UK Top 20/US Top 100 success in 1994 with her cover of “I Love Music’” the theme song to the film Carlito’s Way.

Three more dance singles, including a cover of Soul Family Sensation’s underground hit “I Don’t Even Know if I Should Call you Baby”, also reached the upper regions of the UK Singles Chart, but none of these songs managed to come close to the international success of the singles from her debut album.

Rozalla showed a different side of herself by experimenting with different styles of music on the attendant album “Look No Further”, but this change of direction was not appreciated by her disco/dance following and the album sold poorly.

In 1996, a remix of “Everybody’s Free to Feel Good” reached the UK Top 40, but since then mainstream chart success has eluded her in that country. Her 1998 album “Coming Home” saw her reunite with the Band of Gypsies after her contract with Sony had expired, and spawned a USA club hit with its lead single “Don’t Go Lose it Baby”. Without the support of a major label its release went by largely unnoticed, despite being well received by her dance following.

Rozalla enjoyed a hit single in Germany in 2002 with the Aquagen remix of “Everybody’s Free” and in 2003 she entered the lower regions of the UK Singles Chart alongside Plastic Boy on the vocal trance single, “Live Another Life”. This track was included on her first, and only, official compilation “The Best of Rozalla” which was issued soon afterwards.

A Global Deejays remix of “Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good)” became Rozalla’s first major hit single in many years, reaching number seven in Australia in 2009 after it had been used as the theme song to “So You Think You Can Dance”.

The remix became a minor hit in some European countries later that year, but by this time Rozalla was once again experimenting with other styles of music. She issued the jazz/soul album “Brand New Version” in 2009, adding her surname Miller to her recording guise.

Some songs were played on various UK radio stations, including Radio 2 and Jazz FM, and Rozalla promoted the album by performing as the support act for Billy Ocean on his 41 concerts UK tour of 2009.

In May 2009, Rozalla, who is married to medial mogul Alan Brydon, became a patron of the charity All Star Kids.
In 2011, Rozalla signed to Frontline Records. She is busy in the recording studios at the moment. The question is: Will she sell another million records or is it the end?

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