Seven years after the death of music legend Zayn Adam, his biography will be launched this weekend.
Give A Little Love - The Zayn Adam Story will be unveiled on Saturday, three days after the anniversary of his death.
UNISA lecturer Llewellin Jegels wrote the book as part of a thesis he was working on and says: “I wanted to write the biography of Zayn because, firstly, as a young boy growing up on the Cape Flats, I was exposed to his music and, secondly, there are no biographies that chronicle the journeys of our artists and Zayn, to me, epitomised an era in music in the 70s that is unparalleled both locally and internationally.
“That may just be my personal bias but groups like Pacific Express, Spirits Rejoice, Oswietie, The Flames among others produced world-class music but did not enjoy the benefits of international exposure collectively.
“So I had this deep burning desire as a writer, as an academic to create something that speaks to this void in our national archive, the absence of biography dealing with musicians of colour.”
The soul singer and frontman of Pacific Express died of a heart attack at the age of 67.
Zayn’s son, Danyaal Adam, 42, says hy is baie opgemaak: “This is something really special, it’s been a long time since he passed away, it’s been a long and tough journey.”
He says he and his dad only became close in the last few years of his life due to his travels abroad.
“I was part of most of my dad’s productions (in later years). We are grateful for what Llewellin has done. And I’m also going to do a tribute concert for my dad later this year.”
Llewellin, who is the brother of veteran DJ turned politician D’Mitri Jegels, says he also had a special bond with Zayn
“In 2015, as part of a collective, we brought out PP Arnold (she was the first singer to make First Cut is the Deepest famous) and Zayn was going to perform as her opening act as part of the reunion of Pacific Express but, sadly, Zayn passed away on 22 February 2015, a week or two before the start of the concert.
“At the time, I watched Zayn rehearse and recorded him, often followed by a warm embrace when he left or before he started. This brief association only strengthened my resolve to write something, anything about Zayn.
“That something became a masters thesis in 2017 to 2019, which became a full biography in late 2021. The journey has taken five years, but has been well worth it.”
An extract from the book on page 32 reads: “We played in Kensington once just down the road from me. [By then Zayn had moved from Salt River to another area for people of colour, ensconced between two subeconomic areas, Factreton and the more industrial Maitland].
“We were doing that song Slow Down New York City, it was like in somebody’s backyard and driveway and in comes this dude with this machete and he says: ‘Julle mase, ek maak julle almal in julle mase moere, ek stiek julle vrek! And I’m standing there with the mic in my hand and I thought my mother would not allow this.
“This guy started… kapping a main road through the whole crowd there, with so much panga, you know. Eventually, the gig was over because I mean, you don’t argue with somebody with so much drugs, with so much panga!”
The book will be available at the launch at the Salt River Hall on Saturday from 2pm to 4.30pm for R120.
venecia.america@inl.co.za