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Harare - Zimbabwe’s legendary musician Zexie Manatsa and The Green Arrows band returned on stage after a long absence on the last day of the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) on May 01, 2005. Manatsa, took to the stage performing the song Munu akanaka hararame (A good person does not survive for long) a song written in dedication for his father. The new revamped Green Arrows featured musicians such as Joseph Alpheus from the original Oliver Mtukudzi’s Black Spirits and Chenze Affan from the Acid Band. Manatsa was also joined by two of his sons, Tendai and Green both members of the band youthful popular band, Afrika Revenge. Some of the songs that took the crowd down memory lane included, Chipo Chiroora, Chimamuna chamimba, Mwana Waenda and Tii hobvu. While singing Tii hobvu, Manatsa walked onto the stage holding a loaf of bread, while the other band members carried tea cups and a tea pot amid cheers from the audience. Pastor Manatsa as he now prefers to be known by his fans is now a devout Christian who said his archbishop had urged him to use his music to spread the word of God. Manatsa was involved in a serious accident in the late 80’s and lost all his musical equipment. This partly contributed to the death of the popular Green Arrows band that was popular in the 70’s and was the first Zimbabwean band to record a long play (LP) album. So popular were the Green Arrows in the 70’s such that when Manatsa got married on August 25, 1979 a crowd of about 60 000 thronged Rufaro Stadium. Some of the performers at his wedding included Oliver Mtukudzi and Thomas Mapfumo. To complement his return, Analog Africa’s Samy Ben Redjeb has released a 20 track compilation album featuring hits by the Green Arrows from 1974-1979.
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