APRIL 1990 …Wembley salutes Mandela’s freedom
Nelson Mandela was free. He’d been released from Cape Town’s Victor Verster Prison on February 11, after 27 years as a political prisoner. Two months later, today at Wembley Stadium, the veteran freedom campaigner’s years of principled struggle would be celebrated at the star-packed event titled Nelson Mandela: An International Tribute For A Free South Africa. It would also be his first high-profile public appearance in Britain.
His embrace by the world of popular music had begun exactly six years before, when The Special AKA were in the UK Top 10 with Jerry Dammers’ song Nelson Mandela. Some of those diverted by its upbeat tune and township jive beat were surprised to learn what it was actually about. Imprisoned since 1963, Mandela was the most highprofile member of the African National Congress, the resistance to South Africa’s white minority apartheid regime that kept its black citizens dispossessed and disenfranchised. Dammers also founded Artists Against Apartheid, putting on consciousness-raising events played by The Smiths, New Order, The Pogues and others, the largest of which was the free Freedom
Beat on Clapham Common in June 1986. On that day Hugh Masekela, The Style Council, Elvis Costello, Sade and more had played to raise awareness and call for sanctions.
There was movement in the US too. In 1985 the album and single Sun City was released by the collective named Artists United Against Apartheid. Organised by E Street Band guitarist Little Steven Van Zandt, a wildly diverse group of musicians including Bob Dylan, Miles Davis and Run-DMC protested against rockers making money playing the South African holiday resort in the puppet state of Bophuthatswana.
In July 1988, Mandela’s 70th birthday was celebrated with a gig at Wembley Stadium, when a global audience estimated to number 500 million watched on TV. Simple Minds, Dire Straits, George Michael, Al Green, the Bee Gees and Sting all performed, calling for apartheid to be dismantled and free elections held, though in the US Fox TV removed political utterances from its six-hour edit. In the New York Times, Little Steven wrote that “the show was neutered”.
And, Mandela was still in jail. Eighteen months later, though, his lawyer contacted British producer Tony Hollingsworth, who’d also made the ’88 show happen. Understanding that Mandela’s release was imminent, another Wembley event was needed. Word went out to the music world – Peter Gabriel immediately agreed to play – though there were, inevitably, problems. In February, Mandela decided he didn’t want to make his symbolic first appearance in the country of Margaret Thatcher, who had opposed the isolation of South Africa. This led to respected activist Archbishop Trevor Huddleston threatening to resign as president of the UK’s Anti-Apartheid Movement. Mandela reconsidered.
On April 16, musicians from South Africa, the UK and US played to celebrate Mandela’s freedom: Simple Minds reprised their anthemic Mandela Day; Lou Reed played The Last Great American Whale and Dirty Blvd; Tracy Chapman sang Freedom Now and Talkin ’Bout A Revolution, and duetted with Peter Gabriel on Don’t Give Up; Gabriel sang Biko, his tribute to the murdered political activist, with Ugandan singer Geoffrey
“It was like meeting a king.” TERENCE TRENT D’ARBY
Oryema; Neil Young delivered a loaded Rockin’ In The Free World, and Jerry Dammers performed Nelson Mandela with The Manhattan Brothers. “Nelson Mandela is out of prison now so this song is part of history,” he said, noting that Mandela did not have the right to vote in South Africa yet – nor did any of the musicians on-stage.
With Special Branch officers on hand to guard against assassination attempts, the time for Mandela’s speech was kept secret. When he came on-stage, he was received with an eight-minute ovation from the 74,000-strong crowd, who sang You’ll Never Walk Alone. Having made clear that he did not expect his speech to be edited, he was on-stage for three quarters of an hour, declaring “it will be a proud day… when we are all able to say that the apartheid crime against humanity is no more.”
Interviewed by the BBC that day, performer Terence Trent D’Arby spoke of awe at meeting Mandela. “It was like meeting a king… I’m chuffed to bits.”
Apartheid was officially abolished in 1991, and Mandela was elected President of South Africa in 1994. A 90th Birthday Tribute was held at Wembley in 2008, where The Special AKA’s Nelson Mandela again took pride of place, this time with Amy Winehouse, Queen, Dammers and others on-stage. Mandela died, a globally respected figure, aged 95 in 2013. “A lot of politicians are going to pay tribute to him,” said Dammers, “but if they actually listened to what he said, about freeing people from the prison of poverty, and acted on it – that would be the best tribute of all.”