Andy Brown's widow takes over 'The Storm Band'

Nadine, a widow to the late afro-pop maestro Andy Brown, has taken over The Storm Band.

With indications that a row might soon erupt in the Brown family over the band's takeover, Nadine, a singer in her own right, says she has taken over the band but with a different name.

"I will be leading the band, but The Storm is too difficult a brand to take over from where my husband left off and continue with the legacy hence we are trying to come up with a new name. We will still be performing his songs," said Nadine.

"The band will comprise the same old band members and we will be holding gigs performing Brown's songs here and there."

She also said eventually, the band would perform songs that she would have composed but not leaving out those which Brown wrote.

"We learnt a lot from Brown so we will be incorporating most of the stuff from him. Currently, I am composing songs for the new album that we shall perform as a group," she added.

These developments have emerged when the nation was wondering who was going to take over the late Brown's band with his US-based son Alex declaring that he wanted to revive his father's legacy.

To some, reviving his father's legacy would mean taking over the band. The late Brown had been working with Nadine and daughters Amara and Chiyedza in the band and with Alex on some of his international gigs.

Asked how the late Brown's children with his other ex-wives would feel about her taking over the band, Nadine said she did not foresee any problems because they had decided to work as a family.

"Most of Andy's children are into music and they have worked with their father for many years and for as long as I can remember, we have worked as family," she said.

"If we always worked as a family when the old man (Andy) was alive, I am sure it would make him happy if we continued that way."

Asked whether Alex indicated his intention to take over the band, Nadine said she had not received such news from him.

"Alex never indicated to me that he wants to take over the band and, like I said before, we agreed to work as a family. We are on talking terms with Alex. If ever he wanted to take over the band, I am sure he could have told me about it by now," she added.

The 16-year-old Alex is proud that his late father taught him how to play afro-pop music and vowed to revive his father's legacy but could not be reached to comment on the takeover of the band by Nadine.

"I was lucky that he (Andy Brown) taught me how to play not just afro-pop but Zimbabwean music," Alex said at his father's funeral.

The young man is reported to be hoping to go into music full time and is already rehearsing some of the songs he played with his father.

The band that Nadine is taking over consists of two keyboard players, one bassist, one drummer, one percussionist, one lead guitarist, two backing vocalists and herself as the leader and the lead vocalist.

Hamlet Zhou, the late Brown's younger brother, is also part of the band and he plays the lead guitar just like the way his brother used to do. Recently, Nadine put up a polished performance, belting out some of her late husband's songs such as "Chigaro

Chamambo" and "Mawere Kongonya" at the Independence Gala, a well-attended concert held in Harare from April 20 to 21.

Asked about how she feels when performing her late husband's songs, Nadine said: "I feel larger than life when I am on stage performing his songs and I feel his presence with me. It is like he lives in his music."

Nadine has always been part of The Storm though she has been mistaken for Brown's daughter Amara.

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