Hey Sean, brilliant vid as always.
I've been a fan of Rodriguez since 1975 when I first heard his song "I Wonder" on a bootleg tape at school. For me that song is probably the weakest song on the album now, but at the time it was mind blowing because of it's subject matter. At that time in SA girls had stars on their b*reasts and all women were virginal saints. It's amazing that the population still kept growing! The following year I managed to get my hands on the full album and it became a large part of the soundtrack of my youth. Even at that time I can remember hearing rumours that he had set himself on fire on stage, that he was blind, that his wife murdered him, that he was in jail, etc. but we never really knew until he was "found" again.
He was a huge figure in the SA counter-culture during the 70's and 80's. The oppressive, ultra conservative apartheid government of the time also kept the white population, especially the English-speaking, under it's ultra-religious censorial thumb. Not a fun time for anyone at all, especially for an engelsman (Englishman) like me who enjoyed "underground" music and the rock n roll lifestyle.
There were three really great albums at the time that spoke to the South African psyche, namely Rodriguez's Cold Fact, Chris de Burgh's Spanish Train and Shawn Phillips' Second Contribution. These were especially relevant to the conscripted servicemen and provided great comfort to many a reluctant and unhappy soldier.
When he came out here, I went and saw him and I can honestly say that there has never been a concert like that one. He came on stage and got a 10-minute standing ovation, before he could even start the show. Not many artists can even dream of such adulation. Maybe if Elvis or Jim Morrison came back from the dead they'd get the same treatment. Just remembering it brings back the goose-bumps. It was a phenomenal experience. As you can see from the photo's below, I sat front row, just left of centre, about 6 feet away from one of my heroes.
There is also another television documentary available as well which I think is more interesting the Searching film. Let me know if I can post it here on this thread. I don't want to detract from your video at this stage.
