Douglas Vambe  – Primary School Drop-out Who Drummed His Way To World Fame

 Douglas Vambe

 

By Kamangeni Phiri

 

IN 1999, national broadcaster, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, did the unthinkable: they dropped the popular Jerusarema Mbende drums which introduced and concluded every news bulletin on radio and television.

Naturally, the decision caused a public outcry from viewers across the country forcing ZBC to instate the drums within a few days.

The drums, designed and performed by the late legendary drummer Douglas Vambe, had asserted their popularity.

But despite the earlier resistance, ZBC remained resolute on “modernizing” the news soundtrack.

The news signature tune, which many jokingly referred to as “ngundu ngundu” after the sound of the drums, was finally given a tweak in 2016. Renowned guitarist, Clive Mono Mukundu, added some keyboard sounds and guitar work to Vambe’s drums to produce a lukewarm sound.

A joke doing the rounds in most leisure spots in Zimbabwe is that ever since ZBC dropped the late Vambe’s signature tune drums, professionalism on news coverage flew through the window.

“The drums were a natural, indigenous and unique sound. It made one look forward to every news bulletin,” remarked Alistair Sibanda a regular patron of a leisure spot in the city of Bulawayo, “Listening to news on ZTV is now self-torture. It appears the new signature tune came with unprofessionalism. The news readers mispronounce names of local places and people. They also break the queen’s language willy-nilly. What ZBC did in changing the news drums for an exotic sound is repulsive. It’s like trying to rebuild Great Zimbabwe using bricks and cement.”

Vambe was the most celebrated Jerusarema Mbende drummer in the country by a mile. Jerusarema Mbende is a popular traditional dance practiced widely in the north east part of Zimbabwe. It is performed mainly in pairs of a male and female dancer and the dance is popular among the Shona’s Zezuru people of Murehwa, Uzumba, Maramba and Pfungwe districts of Mashonaland East Province.

Legendary drummer Vambe played arguably the biggest role in promoting the enthralling dance and its equally captivating drums to the world.

Yet the man enjoyed neither the status nor fortune befitting of his immense contribution to the arts.

Vambe had not received any material reward since the drumbeat was recorded at the then Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation (RBC) Mbare studios, Harare, in 1961. Nothing, that is, up until 2009 when the government finally gave him a 100ha farm as compensation for his work, 48 years after the drumbeat was recorded.

The drumbeat had been on the airwaves since then until 2016 when it was ‘bastardised’ by the national broadcaster.

Douglas Denga Vambe was born on 8 August, 1938 in Magunje village, Uzumba. He fell in love with the traditional drums at the tender age of four. The drummer claimed he started playing the drums after he heard a voice in a dream instructing him to beat his chest in a certain rhythm.

“The next morning I told my grandfather about that dream and he immediately organised a ceremony and told the gathering that I should play the drums. Since I was a small boy he suggested that I stand on a stool to be able to play the drums.

Once I started playing the drums the crowd went into a trance,” he told local daily, The Herald, in 2013.

Vambe was a first-born child in a family of six. He did his primary education at Chitimbe, Nyamasha and Rukunguhwe schools. Vambe only went as far as Standard three as he had to drop out of school after his parents failed to pay fees. In 1958, Vambe relocated to Harare (then Salisbury) in search of employment and stayed in Mbare’s Jo’burg lines with his brother. He managed to secure a catering job where he worked for only two years before quitting. Vambe left Harare and went to learn about tobacco farming.

But while he was still in Mbare, Vambe had formed a dance outfit called Murehwa-Uzumba Number One Jerusarema. The group used to practice at the Old Bricks section.

One day, during a practice session, a crew from the then Rhodesia Broadcasting Corporation spotted the group going through its paces. The crew, which included Godwin Mbofana, approached Vambe and his colleagues and arranged that they visit his village to see the group perform before a large gathering that included school children, the chief and some villagers.

This marked Vambe’s rise to fame as he, together with three other guys, was later to record the popular drumbeat at Mbare Studios. It took the four a good two and half hours to record. The result was the immortal drumbeat sound which became the signature tune for news bulletins on radio and television for more than five decades.

Vambe brought his drum from Chimanimani in the early 1960s and it was the same drum that he played across the globe up to the time of his death.

In 2002, Vambe performed at the official opening of Nhowe Mission Hospital in Macheke where he was spotted by the American Embassy staff. The staff was impressed by the late drummer’s talents and facilitated a trip for him to hold workshops and perform at several universities in the US.

Vambe’s talents also took him to the United Kingdom in September 2008 after he was invited to perform at the Birmingham International Arts Festival.

Another highlight in Vambe’s illustrious career was when he represented Zimbabwe with distinction at the 2010 Fifa World Cup finals hosted by South Africa. He rubbed shoulders with international celebrities who included the likes of the now incarcerated R&B artist R Kelly and Colombian sensation, Shakira.

Vambe’s biggest moment in the sun fell probably on 18 April, 1980 when he played his drums as the Union Jack was being lowered at midnight, marking the last time Zimbabwe’s erstwhile coloniser’s flag would fly in the Southern African state.

But on the downside, Vambe had challenges in protecting his artistic work or fighting for fair remuneration. He made several futile efforts to engage authorities at both the RBC and its successor, ZBC, to be paid royalties.

He was moved from one office to the other as the national broadcaster avoided paying him. At one time, the late Vambe demanded Z$5 million from ZBC as compensation without any success.

Local daily, Newsday, reported that the late drummer’s efforts hit a brick wall when it was discovered that he had no copyright to the Mbende/Jerusarema beat.

The Uzumba-born drummer’s biggest folly was probably when he forfeited his rights over the news bulletin signature tune by opting for a one off payment.

Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) director, Polisile Ncube confirmed saying the once-off payment was duly settled, although the exact amount could not be ascertained.

Family spokesperson Jerry Gotora hinted his kinsman could have sold himself short.

“The once-off payment was too little to a point that one can say they didn’t want to give him money. Remember, we are talking about a national heritage,” he said.

But the Zimbabwean government recognised Vambe in its own way despite the one-off payment raw deal. His drumbeat was heard at almost every State function. Vambe was also declared a Provincial War Hero, although the announcement came three years late, at the unveiling of his tombstone in 2021.

Vambe was always invited to perform in many cultural festivals within and without the Zimbabwe borders.

He also taught drum-beating skills in schools around his home town of Marondera.

Vambe was the man behind Murewa-based Dombodzvuku Primary School’s success, which won the Jerusarema dance competition on four consecutive occasions.

The genius drummer ensured the longevity of his legacy by grooming popular Jerusarema/Mbende groups such as Ngoma Dzepasi and Jerusarema Crew, among others.

Vambe suffered a stroke and died within a few days on August 1, 2018, a week shy of his 80th birthday. He is survived by a wife, daughter and a grandchild.

Ends.