Cape Town must prepare themselves for a jol of note as for the first time – and likely never to be repeated – the iconic Dr Victor & The Rasta Rebels will perform with local legends The Rockets in an epic show next month.
For more than 40 years, Dr Victor, real name Victor Khojane, has been crafting and creating an uplifting, high-tempo sound that has earned the singer, musician, songwriter and producer a woelagge reputation on the music scene.
Similarly, iconic Cape band The Rockets have supported many international acts in South Africa including Usher, Alicia Keys, P Diddy, Eddy Grant, Luther Vandross, The Spice Girls, Billy Ocean, and more.
Fans can gear up for evergreen hits like Gimme Hope Jo’anna, Gimme A Brea, I Love to Truck, Surrender, Shambala, Back to the Hits and many more.
Jerry Watt from The Rockets told IOL Entertainment that talk of a collaboration between the geharde groups happened after he fell ill.
“In February this year, I was diagnosed with retroperitoneal liposarcoma,” Watt said.
“In March, the tumour [the size of a newborn baby] was removed in a 15-hour operation at Tygerberg Hospital.
“One of my kidneys, part of my colon and muscles in my leg were removed as well.
“With no guarantees of making it through the operation or the tumour not recurring, I decided to approach Dr Victor with the idea of doing a collaboration,” he added.
“Dr Victor responded very enthusiastically. We have known and respected each other for most of our musical careers.
“I watched a video of Earth, Wind and Fire and Chicago collaborating and thought it would be amazing if Dr Victor & The Rasta Rebels and The Rockets could do something similar.
“The Rockets have been going for more than 50 years and Dr Victor for more than 40 years.
“I felt it would be something unique and historical as the chances of two legendary bands being around for so long forming a live collaboration would be rare.”
Dr Victor added: “It’s an honour to collaborate with one of my early guitar idols, especially The Rockets.
“They’ve inspired me from a very early age so when Jerry came to me with the idea of playing together on one stage, uniting the two bands, I agreed immediately it was a great idea. [There’s] also the fact that it hasn’t been done before.”
Catch Dr Victor & the Rasta Rebels and The Rockets on November 5 at the Grand Arena in GrandWest.
Tickets are available through Computicket from R195.