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A Boney fide Christmas

By Kershin Padayachee

5 Jan 2012

I've never ever dashed through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh. The mere thought of it all terrifies me. To to be quite honest my holiday version of Jingle Bells is normally that of the Scotch variety, if you know what I mean. What luck, then, it was to find that Boney M, the okes who put the jingle in Jingle Bells were making a special Christmas tour to SA - just in time to save the Christmas spirit.

Call it a Christmas miracle if you will. It so happens that my mum's a fan and so, after much hesitation, I decided to embrace some of the silliness of the silly season and headed out with my mum to Grand West to catch the last leg of their tour.

Festive and cheerful mood

We arrived at the Grand Arena to a beautifully lit stage, which was topped by an enchanting fairy-lit Christmas tree. The mood all around was festive and cheerful. The Colletts, 19-year-old twins Bertus and Beyers, did a fantastic job as the opening act.

While their music is not of my own personal taste, I have to give credit where it is due. The okes are clearly talented and the appreciation of the crowd was shown by several rounds of applause. I was also deeply moved by their rendition of the famous aria Nessun Dorma.

A trip down memory lane

Boney M kicked of their show with a beautiful version of the all-time classic hymn Amazing Grace, which was followed by their famous hits Sunny, Daddy Cool and Ma Baker, from their initial studio albums. It was clearly a trip down memory lane for most of the audience who stood electrified as they sang and danced along to each song.

The lead singer, Liz Mitchell, constantly encouraged crowd participation, making her way through the audience, mike in hand, while the new male lead vocalist dazzled the crowd with his acrobatic skills on stage. Boney M saved the best of their hits for last with Brown Girl In The Ring, Rasputin, Little Drummer Boy and Mary's Boy Child proving to be crowd favourites. In-between all the popular songs, we were treated to one of Liz's own personal songs, which she had dedicated to Mandela. Towards the end of the show Liz invited all the kids from the audience up on stage for a sing-along to Jingle Bells and Feliz Navidad. And as the kids sang, magically, a light snowfall fell from above and onto the stage.

Looking around as the show came to an end, I couldn't help but notice how happy people were. The festive cheer was definitely near.

Hats off to Lefra Productions for pulling off such a well-organised and enjoyable event, and thank you Boney M for saving the Christmas spirit.