The Green Arrows

Zexie Manatsa was born in 1942 and grew up in Mhangura, where he started picking tobacco on farms and dreaming of something bigger. His path to that something bigger began, by all accounts, with two justifiably appropriated guitars. The musical education that followed, in the beerhalls and tea parties of Bulawayo's Jairos Jiri Centre, would eventually produce one of the most important and enduring bands in Zimbabwean history.

Zexie and his brother Stanley settled in Nguboyenja and met Fanyana Dube at the Jairos Jiri Centre, forming the Sunrise Kwela Kings in the mid 1960s. Around 1968, after a local businessman named Homela offered them transport and a complete set of instruments to play at his hotel, the brothers broke away, recruited their younger brother Sebastian and drummer Raphael Mboweni, and were later joined by Maxie Mabhena. They named themselves the Green Arrows, reportedly moments before jumping into a freshly painted Volkswagen bus to tour the country. The full classic lineup comprised Zexie on bass and lead vocals, Stanley on lead guitar, Givas Bernard on rhythm guitar and bass, Fulton Chikwati on rhythm guitar and Raphael Mboweni on drums.

Their musical style was rooted in what Stanley called ‘hwahwa’, the Shona word for beer, an urban sound built on traditional songs and Kwela that the band blended with imported pop and funk into something irresistibly danceable. By 1972 they were writing their own material, and in 1974 the song Chipo Chiroorwa, inspired by the wedding of Zexie's cousin Chipo, caught the ear of West Nkosi, the South African saxophonist and Gallo Records scout. Nkosi became their producer, and when Chipo Chiroorwa was released as an album in February 1975 it sold 25,000 copies, earning a gold disc and making the Green Arrows the first African band to achieve that feat in Zimbabwe. The 1976 LP of the same name made them the first Zimbabwean act ever to release a full album.

The hits that followed cemented their place as the country's most beloved band. Dzvinyu, Bambo Mwakwatila, Vaparidzi Vawanda and Tea Hobvu all became household anthems. Musango Mune Hangaiwa spent a staggering 17 weeks at number one on Zimbabwe's pop charts, a record that stands to this day. Their influence on the generation that followed is incalculable. Oliver Mtukudzi, Thomas Mapfumo, James Chimombe, Leonard Dembo, Simon Chimbetu and Lovemore Majaivana all cited Zexie as an inspiration, and bassist Alick Macheso has stated that he learned most of his bass playing style directly from Manatsa.

In 1980 they performed at Rufaro Stadium in Harare at Zimbabwe's Independence celebrations alongside Bob Marley, a moment that placed them at the centre of one of Africa's most historic nights. The 1987 album Tsuro Soccer Star produced anthems for Zimbabwe's four biggest football clubs that still ring out in stadiums today. In 2006, Analog Africa's anthology 4-Track Recording Session introduced their early recordings to a global audience.

Zexie Manatsa died on 20 January 2022, aged 79, after a battle with multiple myeloma. Stanley, his brother and musical partner from the very beginning, had predeceased him in June 1990. Between them, they built something that Zimbabwe will not forget.