They say you haven’t quite lived if you haven’t visited the Rainbow. And the loyal customers, who still party up a storm at the monthly Sunday headline concerts, or simply pop in after work for a quart and its famous chicken, will certainly agree. If you ever wanted to really feel the spirit of ubuntu, you’ll find it at 23 Stanfield Lane.
Story Debbie Reynolds
It all began back in December 1981 when colleagues Ben Pretorius and Billy Mthembu decided Durban needed a jazz venue. On his travels around Europe, Ben had encountered the Rainbow Room in London, but he’d also fallen out of love with South Africa and its apartheid government.
His plan was to leave the country, but Billy’s partnership and the friends he had made in the township of Clermont convinced him to stay, even though he was not entirely happy with the idea of opening what was then only the country’s second venue in a white area to cater for black people. He was allowed to operate on the condition that he sold food and only sorghum beer. In typical Ben style, he refused because of the racist connotations of the sorghum beer industry and instead would get up at 4am every morning to prepare lunch parcels to sell at the nearby taxi rank.
His stubbornness paid off and in 1983 the Rainbow was granted a full liquor licence and presented its first commercial concert headlined by Philip Tabane and Malombo.
Two years later, the Rainbow moved to a former boxing gym in a building owned by legendary landlord, the late Bill Ward.
It soon became known for its stance against apartheid, staging several protest concerts and illegally allowing patrons of all hues to pass through its doors. Neil’s first Rainbow experience was at a Sunday concert in late 1995, working as a sound technician for the late Chris Parkin’s Soundcrew. He still remembers “the goosebumps – the incredible vibe”. The next year Rainbat, a collaborative project between the Rainbow, Soundcrew and the BAT Centre, was launched and a little later Neil took over as project manager. It was at the BAT Centre that he met arts volunteer Nicola, who in June 1999 became his wife.
In that same year, “tired of the politics” at the BAT Centre, where he had successfully run the Battle of the Bands project, and admitting that times were tough, Neil took a salaried job.
“I applied for a job as a manager of the Rainbow because Ben was spending more and more time in the Transkei with his flyfishing business, Ufudu Flyfishing Experience,” says Neil. “I was rejected because I had no food and beverage experience.”
That soon changed after he worked at various Durban venues, including Y2K, Bargo and Transafrica Express.
“Ben’s wife, Pam, asked if I would help organise a surprise 50th birthday for him at the Rainbow,” says Neil. “It was a great party with around 400 people and after a few shared bottles of wine, Pam suggested to Nicola that we buy the Rainbow.”
It was 10 June 2001 and all Neil and Nicola had to do was to find the finance. “We put all our savings and every little bit we could together, but could only come up with 60% of the asking price. Then Ben invited us to tea and said he would finance the extra 40% over three years.”
After a few months learning the ropes and the special Rainbow culture, the official hand-over concert by the late Busi Mhlongo on 2 September 2001 set the tone for the years ahead. “It was her gift to us and it was a cash injection that helped us through the bad times, particularly with 9/11 happening nine days later.”
Today, the Rainbow is a solid business which operates mainly as a tavern with a headline concert once a month – always on the last Sunday of the month – featuring top acts from the late Sipho Gumede to the African Jazz Pioneers, Paul Hanmer and McCoy Mrubata to current young guns like Bokani Dyer and Shabalala Rhythm. They have seen their 12 staff members flourish with them and put their kids through school, and they have made friends who have literally saved their lives.
“The Rainbow has certainly kept us grounded and we’re eternally thankful for what it has given us. We are part of the ubuntu of our clients,” says Nicola, who includes their daughters Emma, seven, and Zoe, five, on that list.
Neil says that while they will probably be around for another 10 years, he would like to hand over the reins to the next generation. “We are merely custodians of the Rainbow and one day I would love to pass on the honour to someone who will love and honour it as much as we do.”