"Weekend Special" is the debut single by the South African recording group

Brenda and the Big Dudes Brenda and the Big Dudes was a South African recording group formed in 1983. The group's classic line up included Brenda Fassie (Vocals), Desmond Malotana (Keyboards), Dumisane Ngubeni (Keyboards), Job "Fats" Mlangeni (Drums), David Mabaso (Bass) ...

taken from their debut studio album ''Weekend Special'' (1983). It was written by Melvyn Matthews, as was the B-side "Life Is Going On". "Weekend Special" features production by Blondie Makhene (one half of the 1970s duo Blondie & Pappa) and Matthews. The song was released by

EMI Records EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...

as a maxi single titled "Weekend Special", in February 1983. The single was successful commercially and became one of Brenda's

signature song A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. The writer of a ...

s. "Weekend Special" had an extended life in cover versions and remixes, including one by

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

producer Van Gibbs in 1986 that spent eight weeks on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot Black Singles chart. The song's international success led to Fassie touring the United States, Europe, Australia, and Brazil. As a full album, ''Weekend Special'' continues to sell well as a collector's item.

Background

In 1980, Anneline Malebo, one of the singers from the group

Joy The word joy refers to the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune, and is typically associated with feelings of intense, long lasting happiness. Dictionary definitions Dictionary definitions of joy typically include a sense of ...

went on maternity leave. Fassie, a vocalist from

Langa, Cape Town Langa is a township in Cape Town, South Africa. Its name in Xhosa means "sun". The township was initially built in phases before being formally opened in 1927. It was developed as a result of South Africa's 1923 Urban Areas Act (more commonly ...

, who lived with producer Hendrick "Koloi" Lebona, was wooed by Joy's management to stand in for Malebo. Following the return of Malebo, Brenda left the band and joined Blondie and Papa akheneas a backup singer before starting her own band, Brenda and the Big Dudes.

Writing and production

"Weekend Special" was written and produced by a

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, So ...

based songwriter and producer Melvyn Matthews. In 1983, Matthews met his idol Blondie Makhene (one half of the duo Blondie & Pappa) who invited him to an audition. Matthews' rendition of the self-penned song "I Must Be Out of My Mind" impressed Makhene, who teamed up with Matthews leading to the birth of "Weekend Special", which became a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

n pop classic that shot

Brenda Fassie Brenda Nokuzola Fassie (3 November 1964 – 9 May 2004) was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop", the " Madonna of The Townships" or s ...

to fame.

Commercial performance

By the spring of 1983, "Weekend Special" had received enough promotion in townships to catch the attention of DJs, achieving multi-platinum status sales in excess of 200,000 copies as the fastest selling single of that year. It peaked at number 72 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart and remained there for eight weeks. It also topped the charts in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, Europe and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

. In the United Kingdom, it was remixed by

Ian Levine Ian Geoffrey Levine (born 22 June 1953) is a British songwriter, producer, and DJ. A moderniser of Northern soul music in the UK, and a developer of the style of Hi-NRG, he has written and produced records with sales totalling over 40 million. ...

. The song was popular in both underground radios and clubs in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, United States and South Africa. As a full album, ''Weekend Special'' continues to sell well as a collector's item and enjoys enduring popularity among a new generation of music lovers.

Remix

"Weekend Special" received a variety of cover versions and remixes notably by the American singer Van Gibbs of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007) is an American record label distributed by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-based record label of not ...

, whose version was recorded in New York's

Right Track Studios Sound on Sound Studios, formerly known as MSR Studios (Manhattan Sound Recordings) is a photography and movie producing company recording facility in Montclair, New Jersey. Its forebear, MSR Studios, was located in Manhattan, just outside Times Sq ...

and spent eight weeks on the US

chart and reached a peak of number 72. In the United Kingdom, it was remixed by Ian Levine.

Live performance

Following the song's release, Brenda Fassie and the Big Dudes promoted the song in township shebeens to catch the attention of the DJs. Brenda and the Big Dudes performed the song in front of a hundred thousand people who paid R4 each to watch her play at

Ellis Park Stadium Ellis Park Stadium (known as Emirates Airline Park for sponsorship reasons) is a rugby union and association football stadium in the city of Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. It hosted the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was ...

at the second Concert in the Park in a "promotional tour with EMI" organized by EMI to promote the album.

Margaret Singana Margaret Singana (193822 April 2000), born Margaret M'cingana, was a South African musician. She is perhaps best known for her Xhosa song, "Hamba Bhekile". An English version of the song, "We Are Growing" was used as soundtrack to the South Afric ...

and The Rockets were backstage with The Soul Brothers.

Music video

A music video was released later after the song's success. On 26 November 2015, it received 257,860 views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. The video features Brenda and the Big Dudes performing the song in front of hundred thousand people in Ellis Park, Johannesburg in support of the Operation Hunger aid on 12 January 1985. Another video was uploaded on YouTube published on 10 November 2006 featuring Brenda with the Big Dudes singing the song in a club; the video received 174,451 views.

Charts

Weekly charts

References

{{reflist 1983 singles Brenda and the Big Dudes songs