How hit ‘Sister Bethina’ upstaged All Blacks’ haka
● Song delights fans at Loftus after cheeky request
Loftus Versfeld is probably the last place one would expect to hear Mgarimbe’s timeless house hit Sister Bethina.
Somehow, the song took centre stage just before the kick-off of the SA and New Zealand Test in Pretoria on Saturday afternoon – much to the bemusement of fans.
However‚ this was a slick move planned by Algoa FM programmes manager Baydu Adams and deejay Denvor Apollus.
Adams‚ who has a gay alterego called Bradshaw and has also featured as Brenton and Bredley on Kyknet’s KLOP‚ wrote an open letter to SA Rugby pleading with the organisation to counter the haka, or Kapa O’Pango, with a song to shock the system.
His plea was well-received by SA Rugby and Apollus shocked the fans with the classic hit.
The facial expressions were priceless‚ so were some of the reactions, but the shift to a different music taste was highly welcome.
Adams‚ who was at Loftus, and the previous week was at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth for the Test against the Wallabies‚ said the letter to SA Rugby was purely out of jest and he was happy that it responded in the affirmative.
“I was so shocked and I realised I had to put it on video to record that it really happened,” he said.
“The deejay did say he’d have to find a clean version of the song‚ which he did,” Adams said.
“It was a fun thing that we did and next thing‚ they were playing the song.”
Apollus said Adams’s letter‚ which he turned into a twopart video‚ surprised them but they realised it was a fun challenge that was worth undertaking.
While the crowd did not give the Kapa O’Pango the silent respect it deserves‚ Sister Bethina was greeted with silence in some parts and dancing and cheering in other sections of the 52,000-seat arena.
“When Baydu’s letter came across the desk‚ we were like, ‘what’s this?” Apollus said.
“But we decided to give it a try. I also realised I know the song well and I had to edit it because it has a swearword when it starts, but it was magnificent.
“There were pockets of people who’s expressions were: ‘what is this? But you could see some realised the song was awesome and also some sort of answer to the haka.
“Apart from everyone singing Ole‚ Ole‚ Ole‚ it almost felt like an answer to the haka [Kapa O’Pango] at the start of the game.
“I felt really magnificent but it also was a team effort.” –