Marc Latilla's Discoteque-Connector: REFORM! in May

After our multiple HANSA quart drinking Worker's Day excursion into Vosloorus we're back

at our home base of Kitchener's for our regular monthly dose of REFORM!

Thu 12 May

Kitchener's Carvery

Cnr De Beer & Juta str Braamfontein

9pm

R20 cover

With Marc Latilla & Charles Leonard playing 50s-80s soul/funk/raregroove/radiopop/reggae/girlgroups/townshipswing

Our cover price has increased to R20 due to additional security costs. Our previous R10 fee was way too low anyway!

Funny, I remember the first proper club I ever went to on New Years Eve 86/87 had a cover of R14. As it wasn't licensed, all

drinks were free. You only paid for your mix which was 50c. If you drank beer or straight whiskey all night you paid nothing!

Sure, it was watered down rotgut, but you could drink as much as you wanted.

The club was called HEAVEN in Marshall street (later became what is fondly referred to as the old DOORS). Technically though, I'd been to one club before Heaven called BOOBS DISCO in Hillbrow. I was 12 (I know, I know...long story. I was tall for my age though) and a bunch of us hitched there from Kensington drinking BLAU and tequila on the way. It was a Sunday night and we got in with comps. The music was utter rubbish! I think we sat in a dark corner for half an hour and decided to hang around Hillbrow instead before walking back to Kensington and passing out. I may have gone to Plumb Crazy in town before Heaven but I'm not sure. It was another Sunday night and we got to see e'Void and the Working Girls live. It was literally just the three of us there. The bands played as though it was a full house.

Another thing on prices: In Vosloorus last week we paid R13 for a quart (750ml bottle). The going rate for a regular beer (340ml) is around R16-R18 in greater JHB & Sandton (sometimes even more if you hit the real upmarket clubs)

We had so much fun that we're working on another trip to Vosloorus in the future

(it's a township on the East Rand) and should have some advance warning

next time around so we can get a bit of a crew together.

Here's a track by e'Void. They were an african inspired pop/rock band from Johannesburg in the 80s and were quite popular. It was the height of apartheid so SA was cut-off via sanctions from the rest of the world and the cool 'white' music of that time was inspired by a small local scene that was inspired by hard to come by imported music from UK and US and numerous generation mix tapes. If ever there was a white band that embraced african music and filtered it into their sound it was them (and Johnny Clegg - but that was our parents music and a bit naff) 'Shadows' was one of their big hits from around 1984-1985 and is mildly nostalgic today. The album it came off was recorded in 1983.