Lebo's tribute show shocks bandmates

THE show about the late Lebo Mathosa has left fellow Boom Shaka members gaping with disbelief after its opening night at the State Theatre in Pretoria this week.

The show pays tribute to the life and times of Mathosa as a diva during her time with Boom Shaka and as a solo artist.

But Mathosa's former Boom Shaka group members - Junior Sokhela, Theo Nhlengethwa and Thembi Seete - are not pleased with the manner in which Mathosa is portrayed.

"This show is not about Lebo," Seete said.

"It is more about beautiful girls competing to be the best singers on stage, and Lebo was not about competing."

Seete added that Mathosa was more of a teacher and a musician than a competitor.

"There are events in the story which pained me as I watched," he said.

"Lebo was an emotional character and when she met her mother for the first time, she was touched and emotional, yet then you see people making a joke out of that crucial, emotional moment. That is sad."

Sokhela, who was a rapper in the youthful four-member Boom Shaka, complained that band members were not asked to make inputs on the tribute.

"In every project you engage yourself with, research is important," Sokhela said.

"You talk to people who knew the person. Who knows Lebo better than her group members?

"We knew Lebo before she was a musician, and when she was with Boom Shaka, and even when she went solo, she was still part of our lives."

But Sokhela said he was happy that someone had taken the initiative to relive their fellow artist's musical life.

Nhlengethwa said he got a call days before the opening of the show.

"I had hoped to witness the real Lebo, but I found myself watching more of a music concert than a tribute," he said.

The trio, however, feels there is still time to amend the "unfairness" in the show and they are "open" to helping "in making it better".

• Drama Queen features Sindi Nene, Khanyi Mbau, Ayanda Nhlangothi, Siziwe Ngema and Lucia Gumede.

It runs until September 9.