Lucius, Blacks fall out

Legendary musician Lucius Banda and Chileka-based reggae kings Black Missionaries have stopped sharing stage due to differences over who performs first during their joint shows, The Nation has established.

Reports have been rife that the two sides have been embroiled in misunderstandings on who should perform first when they hold joint shows.

In an interview yesterday, Lucius confirmed the supposed ‘rift’, but hinted that a joint performance with the Black Missionaries would only be possible under necessary circumstances.

“We will only be performing them with whenever necessary. We have done a lot of joint shows and we reached a point where we noted they were killing the two bands,” he said.

Lucius explained that the last time the he performed with the Black Missionaries was at Portuguese Club in September.

Arguably, Lucius and Black Missionaries are the biggest forces in live performances.

But, in a separate interview, Black

Missionaries manager Ras Ray Harawa played down the reports, saying all is well between the two parties.

“There have always been such reports over the past years. But there are no issues between us and Soldier. He is like our elder brother who inspires us. In fact, we have a relationship with him outside the musical stage,” said Harawa.

Asked why for the past three months the two sides have not shared a stage, Harawa said: “It is just happening in that way. Mind you, it does not mean we have to be where Solider is performing or vice versa”.

Traditionally, the two sides have a history of holding shows together especially during the festive period.

The Nation has monitored a schedule of musical performances during the festive season and the two sides are not performing together.

Speaking anonymously, a Lilongwe-based music promoter confirmed the rift between Black Missionaries and Lucius, saying there are deep-rooted misunderstandings between the two.

“They have misunderstandings on who should be the first to perform when they hold shows together. It seems the Black Missionaries always want to get the first shot which was problematic with Soldier who argues that the kind of music he does is for old people.

“There are not many patrons who can stay the whole night at a show, unlike the youths who are very energetic and mostly love the kind of music Ma Blacks do,” he said.