Ronnie Joyce SA single For The First Time / (I’m Crying) What Went Wrong With Us
$
29
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Description
Ronnie Joyce SA single For The First Time / (I’m Crying) What Went Wrong With Us – Smash Records, XMAS859 1984
Producers: Emil Zoghby & John Galanakis
Ronnie Joyce was a child star from the Cape Town fishing village of Kalk Bay. He started performing around Cape Town at the age of 12. Often described as the Michael Jackson of Cape Town, there is no doubt that Little Ronnie – who modeled his singing career around his late American idol – was the most adorable young singer of his era in South Africa.
A few years before moving to the UK to establish the legendary Zomba/Jive empire, he was approached (at age 14) by Clive Calder and Ralph Simon to open for Richard Jon Smith. In 1975 he teamed up with a young Jonathan Butler to record It Takes Two, also scoring an international release with 'Give A Little Love', produced by Calder.
By the 1980s he had shed the child star image (including the 'Little Ronnie Joyce' title) and produced this solo 2-track maxi single, (I'm Crying) What Went Wrong With Us, a good example of his bubblegum's crossover roots. It is American disco-soul injected with a driving mbaqanga bass-line, thanks to songwriting shared by Emil Zoghby, John Galanakis (Banjo, Pure Gold) and N Mathebula.
In 1984 he recorded It All Adds Up with Brenda Fassie released under the name Brenda & Ronnie.
Around the same time, Ronnie Joyce was persuaded to front The Rockets, who were in their prime. They were famous for their memorable performance at the Concert in the Park, held at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg, in 1985.
Sadly this great talent was never able to recreate the fame he found in the 70s. In 2012 he was invited to perform alongside his old sidekick Jonathan Butler, for the first time in some 30 years (also with Lionel Peterson). He passed away soon after this gig, after a long illness.
See all photos.
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