Pengaudzoke

Charlie Gillett was very generous with his spare records over the years and I would get LP's or singles in the post occasionally . Once a batch of 45's from Zimbabwe from which this single from Pengaudzoke was included. I presume Charlie bought them on holiday and after listening to them he shared them out with his regular correspondents and friends. This is typical jangly guitar band style with a flavour of African thumb piano which the pop music of Zimbabwe had assimilated.

The Music Of Zimbabwe site says -

"Members have included Daiton Somanje, Josphat Somanje, Clever Somanje, Laison Ngowera, Marefura Mgowera, Lameck Fadwick.

Marondera band Pengaudzoke has been a fixture in the sungura scene since the late eighties. Since then the band has steadily risen to be one of Zimbabwe's top acts, along both the musical lines and popularity of Alick Macheso. Pengauzoke's messages often feature tales of love, poverty, and offer moral lessons, advice, and social commentary.

The band was founded by brothers Daiton and Josphat Somanje who took care of vocals and lead guitar, respectively. Poverty and the harsh reality of farm life led them to take refuge in their music and, eventually, carve out their careers. The band, whose name translates to "what goes around comes around", released their first singles in 1989, and also issued their first album, Kwatakabva Nenhamo, that same year. Despite the departure of the Ngowera Brothers (who left in 1993 to form their own band, the Twin Brothers), their success has carried on. Zvibate Pamhaka was released in 1997 to immense success and widespread critical and mass acclaim. The following year they release a greatest hits album, compiling songs from their first eight albums.

However, this wasn't enough to keep the band together. Lead guitarist Josphat Somanje left the band for a solo career, amid rumours of money disputes. He released his first solo album, Sango, in 2002. Daiton has carried on with Pengaudzoke, releasing Upile in 2002 while playing shows with major Zimbabwean artists such as Alick Macheso and Oliver Mtukudzi. "


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