Welcome Duru (1933–2009) was a South African actor, boxing promoter, composer, musician, politician and a socialite, also known as ''Bra Wel''.

Early life

Duru was born in Korsten (

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

), South Africa, but due to forced removals grew up in the black African township of New Brighton. In 1952 he started an

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group called The Basin Blues, which was the first black African group in Port Elizabeth to record a song in a studio. In 1958 Duru married Dolly Rathebe, one of South Africa’s established blues singers and beauty queen of the 1950s. The couple had two children before their marriage was dissolved after four years.

Composer

Duru composed a number of songs during his lifetime, including ''uNomeva'', ''Sindy'', ''Sithetha ngeBasin Blues'' and, most famously, the protest song ''Wenyuk’uMbombela'' (The Train Song) recorded by

Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte (born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927) is an American singer, activist, and actor. As arguably the most successful Jamaican-American pop star, he popularized the Trinbagonian Caribbean musical style with an interna ...

and Miriam Makeba on their Grammy Award-winning album ''

An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba ''An Evening with Belafonte/Makeba'' is a Grammy Award-winning 1965 album by Harry Belafonte and Miriam Makeba, released by RCA Victor. It was the second outcome of the long lasting collaboration between Belafonte and Makeba, the first being th ...

'' (1964), and later by Hugh Masekela. Duru was incarcerated in

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

in 1965. After serving close to five years, he worked with the playwright

Gibson Kente Gibson Mthuthuzeli Kente (23 July 1932 Duncan Village, Eastern Cape – 7 November 2004, Soweto, Johannesburg) was a South African playwright, composer, director and producer based in Soweto. He was known as the ''Father of Black Theatre'' i ...

on his release. He travelled the country with Kente's group, with productions such as ''How Long (play)'' and ''Sikalo''. Duru died after suffering from a stroke in August 2009.The Herald
28 August 2009. Retrieved July 2011

References

Sources

* Msila, V. (2010). ''The Black Train Rising: The Life and Times of Welcome Duru''. Lynnwood Ridge: Siyomba. 1933 births 2009 deaths South African activists South African male stage actors South African musicians Inmates of Robben Island {{SouthAfrica-musician-stub