Yvonne Chaka Chaka went from idolising Brenda to becoming one of her closest friends and confidantes. She remembers her idol-turned-friend in this archival interview.
All you need is five minutes with Yvonne Chaka Chaka to know why she’s been dubbed the “Princess of Africa”.
Everything about her, from her charm and grace to her undeniable charisma, just screams ‘regal’. Looking every inch a lady in her pink pantsuit, tweed jacket and pearls, she’s perched comfortably on the sofa of her Johannesburg home sipping a cup of coffee when we visit.
Yvonne is mesmerising to listen to, too. She’s a wonderful storyteller who is witty and animated but it’s her knack of mimicking voices and accents that captivates us most.
Smiling broadly as she remembers her friend she says, “I first met Brenda as a teenager because her guitarist Sam – a neighbourhood superstar – used to live in my road and Brenda would arrive in this red and white kombi to pick him up.
“She was already a big star by then so the kids in the road would chase after the kombi hoping for that glimpse of Brenda.
“We’d get lucky and chat to her and demand that she sing us a song – which she always did. She was a people’s person and had an amazing presence.”
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A few years later, Yvonne made it in the music industry herself and found fame with her own hit, ‘I’m in love with a DJ’ and, just like that, she went from being the girl who ran after the red and white kombi to a star in her own right; and from idolising Brenda to becoming one of Brenda’s closest friends and confidantes.
She says, “I was compared to Brenda Fassie and it never bothered me. In fact it felt so good to be compared to her.
There weren’t that many young up-and-coming female stars at the time, but I didn’t like the way the press made it seem as though Brenda and I were enemies. We’d meet at shows and by default we became friends.”
Like true friends they would fight from time to time.
Flashing a naughty smile, Yvonne changes her voice and instantly sounds just like Brenda as she says, “Ja, Ja, the press said this and the press said that. Why are you talking s**t about me?”
Laughing, Yvonne explains, “That’s how Brenda was – that’s what she’d say to me – but it was all good. The next minute she’d forget it; she was never one to hold a grudge.
One of Yvonne’s fondest memories is of Brenda pouring a bottle of beer over her. She says, “She just felt like doing that, so she did. I remember I said to her ‘I’m going to beat you up and nobody will believe you because I’m a lady and you’re naughty! So don’t do that to me again!’”
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Looking nostalgic Yvonne says they used to go out and party together. “I remember going to the Easy by Night nightclub in Joburg, together.
“Then we’d go everywhere, performing in Durban and Cape Town – we just had fun. Theone time we went to a music festival together and Brenda and I decided to wear hot pants – man did we turn heads.”
Their friendship survived all Brenda’s ups and downs as Yvonne stuck by her, supporting her when she needed it most.
Looking a little sad she says, “When everyone had written her off I’d give her money.”
She smiles cheekily and does another Brenda impersonation saying, “‘Don’t f*cken tell me what to do with this money. You gave it to me, you gave it to me. Don’t lecture me!’ and if you threatened to take back your money she’d say ‘No you won’t!’
“Once Brenda had that money she’d tell you any s**t, ‘I’ve got the money, voetsek!’”.
“Everyone was concerned about Brenda’s downward spiral, even Nelson Mandela, as Yvonne explains: “Tata Madiba had invited Brenda and me to tea.
“I got there and we were chatting and sipping our tea waiting for Brenda.
Yvonne does an excellent Madiba impersonation as she tells us what he said: “I wanted to talk to you about your sister (Brenda). I don’t like the things I’m reading about her.”
The last memory Yvonne has of Brenda is of them performing together at a gig just two weeks before Brenda collapsed.
She says, “I remember her drinking beer before her performance and I tried to get her not to drink but she wouldn’t listen.
We performed and I didn’t realise it would be the last time I saw her conscious. I left for Nigeria a few days later and then I heard the news that she’d collapsed. I was so shocked.
“I never anticipated her death. I got a chance to see her in hospital and it broke my heart to see my friend lying there motionless.
Overwhelmed, Yvonne pauses for a minute. As her eyes glisten with tears, she says: “Brenda was such an amazing presence, so talented and so special, but you know, I think she was tired. I think she’s in a better place now.
“‘Black President’ is still one of my favourite tracks.
“Back then they used to call us the Queens of bubblegum music but our music is still standing. You can still chew that bubblegum and it still tastes good.”
© DRUM Archives/2014
