ZIMBABWEAN singers arrived for their concert in Soham in the nick of time on Thursday evening, fresh off the plane from the troubled African country. The Umdumo Wesizwe group, from Bulawayo, wowed the crowd at Brook House Hotel with their unique brand of

ZIMBABWEAN singers arrived for their concert in Soham in the nick of time on Thursday evening, fresh off the plane from the troubled African country.

The Umdumo Wesizwe group, from Bulawayo, wowed the crowd at Brook House Hotel with their unique brand of love songs, traditional Shona-people songs and celebratory dances. A lengthy encounter with immigration officials earlier in the day did not dampen their enthusiasm for performance.

After the concert Nkulu Leko, 25, spoke to the Ely Standard, on the eve of the group's second UK tour.

"Most of our songs are about love, and we sing them in the Shona language, but we also sing about hunger and AIDs," said Mr Leko. "The one thing about music is that it cuts through all boundaries and we hope that even if we are not singing in English people will understand through our harmonies what we are singing about."

Thanks to the vagaries of the immigration system the group had not yet had time to discover the sights of East Cambridgeshire. "So far so good, this is one of the best audiences we have ever had - it is a wonderful welcome," added Mr Leko.

He added that globalisation and travel to other countries in Africa had broadened the group's musical and dance styles, which now include rap, soul and an energetic dance step from Botswana which involves imitating the movements of a gazelle.

INFO: To find out where the group are on tour next, watch a video of their performances, and learn about traditional Southern African imbube music, visit www.umdomowesizwe.com

Zimbabwean a capella group Umdumo Wesizwe, pictured in Soham with their manager and administrator. 2498HD0608