Joburg singer brings Luther Vandross back to life
04 April 2016
Timothy Moloi’s tribute to Luther Vandross, the “King of Croon”, at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein on Thursday March 31 was such a hit that Twitter was still abuzz long after the curtain had gone down.
The Mandela Stage was packed to the rafters for the two-hour nostalgic musical extravaganza. The “Always and Forever – a Tribute to Luther Vandross” opening night lived up to its expectations as Moloi, dubbed the “man with a velvet voice”, brought to life some of the late American balladeer’s iconic hits. Celebrities also came out in their numbers to have a blast.
Radio DJ George Munetsi tweeted: “Now I know what I could have missed. Timothy is Luther.” Actress Kabonina Qubeka wrote: “Dear Tim … I looooove You!!!!”
Princess Lulu told her followers: “My fav song … Sing along now The Closer I get to You #AlwaysAndForever.”
Trdu Mackay said Moloi was simply phenomenal. Gavin Prins added: “What an amazing show.”
The unique concert experience was made even more special by the presence of Moloi's family. His parents were in the audience and soaked it all up. His sister, Tumelo, provided backing vocals with Soweto’s Voices Unlimited Gospel Choir.
The Moloi siblings were part of the choir growing up and their deliveries were simply flawless.
Divided into two parts, the concert started just after 8pm, with Moloi popping up on the stage to the sounds of Stop to Love amidst tumultuous vibrations of whistles, clapping of hands and cheers. The audience sang along, with some of the fans even getting up to dance in the aisles. Never Too Much followed. A House is not a Home set the mood for the rest of the evening.
Moloi then stopped to thank his band, the organisers and management and acknowledge his family’s unconditional support and love. He said his parents and sister had always been there for him.
“My mother postponed her operation to be here tonight,” he said.
“This has been a dream of mine for 20 years. Luther was a legend, the best of all time. He was the complete artist who turned popular songs into masterpieces.”
When Moloi brought on Tia Herman for the Nothing Better than Love duet, the audience went wild. What followed was hit after hit, ending part one on a high with the rendition of The Power of Love. A 15-minute break followed and, judging by the conversations in the auditorium and in the corridors, everyone was having a great time.
Love The One You’re With kicked off part two, followed by mega hits such as Always and Forever, Dance with My Father and The Impossible Dream. Endless Love, a duet Moloi performed with Lelo Ramasimong, brought the house down. In fact, Ramasimong, Tia Herman, Kurt Herman and the choir delivered such performances that Vandross would have been very proud of.
Supported by Llewellyn George (music director), Ezra Erasmus (Cito director and lighting designer), Leagan Breda (drummer), Kenny Williams (percussionist), Raymond Green (guitarist), Alvin Hendricks (bassist) and Ayo Solanke (saxophonist), Moloi’s performance was just what the capacity audience came for.
A standing ovation at the end of the show was well deserved.