Every week we ask a well-known SA music personality to give us a list of their top 10 South African songs: This week it is the turn of the highly respected and hugely knowledgeable music fundi, music critic, and SAfm DJ, Richard Haslop, who is still remembered by many for giving the much maligned Scope Magazine the consistently best and most intelligent music section in the country.

Richard sent us two lists, as you will see, but we thought we'd include his letter explaining his choices as well. Over to Richard Haslop:

Hi,

Not enough thought but quite a lot of editing have left me with a dozen Songs With Words (the forwards) and ten Songs Without Words (the backs). As usual, I've cheated (my ten top albums for Business Day once ran to thirteen).

I'm sure that, in choosing my squad of 22 for the first test, I've left out some really important people, and I'm sad that I couldn't find space for a host of favourite songs by Roger Lucey, Syd Kitchen, the Kerels, Alan Jeffrey ('Hopelessly Lost' is an almost completely unheard gem, but, as a fellow selector recently remarked, one good Super 12 doesn't make you a test player), Stan James, Not Even The TV, Koos Kombuis, Bambata, Edi Niederlander and plenty of others.

Ibrahim and Mankunku have been included to provide the pre-match anthems, Freedom's Children served us well in the dark days of the difficult past, so this might be their swansong, and Benguela is there for the sake of the development of South African music in the future.

You'll see, as well, that I got special dispensation from the Board to include alternative versions of Mongezi Feza's great piece by the overseas based Louis Moholo. Sipho Gumede's composition is included as much to remind us of the need to remember past heroes as for any other reason.

I'd like to make it clear that no quotas were applied, and yet we seem to have ended up with a nice mix of style, era, race, gender, religion and the rest. And, in case you're wondering, Piet Botha will kick for goal, as the match is to be played at his home song, Loftus Versfeld.

The first South African song I really loved, by the way, aged about twelve I guess, was 'Mountains Of Men' by my now good friend and your regular contributor David Marks.

Here are those two lists:

SONGS WITH WORDS

• John Oakley-Smith - God Keep The People
• Freedom's Children - The Kid He Came From Nazareth/Hazareth
• Mzwakhe Mbuli - Change Is Pain
• Valiant Swart - Die Mystic Boer
• Mahlathini & the Mahotella Queens - Kazet
• Miriam Makeba - Angilalanga
• The Cherry Faced Lurchers - Shot Down
• Die Gereformeerde Blues Band - Hillbrow
• Ishoba Lembongolo - Icala Lakho Ndoda
• Madosini - Wenu Se Goli
• Piet Botha - Suitcase Vol Winter
• Raymond Mbele - Balela Ekhaya

SONGS WITHOUT WORDS

• Malombo - Mbaqanga Blues
• Noise Khanyile & the Jo'burg City Stars - Groovin' Jive No 1
• Eric Nomvete's Big Five - Pondo Blues
• Dollar Brand (Abdullah Ibrahim) - Mannenberg
• Tananas - Standanyobo
• Reggie Msomi's Hollywood Jazz Band - Midnight Ska
• Benguela - Six Strings And A Bucket
• The Mankunku Quartet - Yakal' Nkomo
• Sipho Gumede - A Song For Johnny Dyani
• The Dedication Orchestra/Louis Moholo's Viva-La-Black - You Ain't Gonna
• Know Me 'Cos You Think You Know Me

Regards
Richard

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