Regarded as one of Zimbabwe's greatest ever guitarists and one of the stars of the early Sungura scene, John Chibadura played what is best described as a mixture of Rumba, Jit and Reggae. John moved to Harare in 1980 and was so inspired by the local musicians that he formed his own band and had an instant hit with his first single 'Upenyu Hwandinetsa'
Backed by the Tembo Brothers from 1983 John had many more hits during his most productive period from 1985 - 1988 with all his albums going Gold in that period. In 1988 John produced his biggest ever hit with his Reggae masterpiece 'Zuva Refuka Kwangu'.
John Chibadura's music has also appeared on many compilation CDs including Roots Rock Guitar Party on Earthworks
We brought John Chibadura to the UK and Ireland in 1998 for his last tour
before his
untimely death in 1999
by which time he had recorded 25 Gold albums. His last gig in Ireland was at The
Travellers Rest in Castlebar as part of the Celebration of the Senses festival.
The pictures on this page were taken somewhere in the mountains near Sligo where
we stopped for some lunch on the journey to Castlebar from Belfast.
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