ONE of Zimbabwe’s finest musicians to emerge after the country gained independence from its former colonial master, Britain in 1980, Paul Matavire aka Dr Love has died.The vibrant musician whose limit was the sky died at the age 44 on Thursday night at his farm in Rutenga, Masvingo.
A family member in Harare who preferred not to be named confirmed the death of the blind singer whose deep lyrics earned him the nickname ‘Dr Love."
Matavire became blind after suffering from glaucoma as a child. Glaucoma is increased pressure in the eyeball that causes blindness.
“He has had been unwell for sometime, but of late he was feeling better and it really came as a shock to hear that he had died. He is said to have died at his farm in Rutenga,” the relative said. She said funeral arrangements would be announced in due course although it was expected he would be buried at his farm along the Masvingo-Beitbridge highway.
Matavire rose to prominence in the 1980s when he joined the Jairos Jiri Band based in Bulawayo at Jairos Jiri Rehabilitation Centre.
The band played jit and rhumba music and recorded most of its songs with Gramma Records and ZMC.
A spokesperson at Gramma, Silvanos Mutizwa, said he learnt of Matavire’s death over the radio.
“We have been robbed of a gentleman whom we worked with amicably for a long time,” said Mutizwa.
An administrator with the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (ZIMRA), Mary Jaure said the country had been robbed of a talented performer who did a lot to uplift the arts industry. “He was one of the pioneer members of ZIMRA and everybody knows that he was such a talented artist. It is a great loss to the country,” said Jaure. Matavire, who at the time of his death had more than 13 albums under his belt, would be remembered for his songs that were rich in social commentary.
His last project released in 2004, Zimbe remoto, was a duet with South African mega star, Freddy Gwala.
During the peak of his musical career, Matavire toured the world and produced hit songs like Dhindindi Full Time, Chapuka Ndipe Mwenje, MaU, KwaChiundura and Nhamo Yeusavi that made him.
However, their success was interrupted by Matavire’s one-year incarceration on rape charges. The band commemorated his 1991 release with the song Back from College, which chronicled his experiences in jail.
A beneficiary of the land reform programme, Matavire was now more into farming. He was reported to be seriously ill from an undisclosed ailment last month and was admitted at a private clinic in Masvingo from February 11 to February 15.
