What would have been a grandeur return of the king of Dancehall Anthony Moses Davis aka Beenie Man to Uganda after 19 years, turned out to be his record-breaking flop of his career. Beenie Man, who arrived in the country on Wednesday, was enchanted and ready to energetically perform for his Ugandan fans at the VVIP dubbed show.
The ‘Show Fi Flop ‘ singer is said to have even done his pre-stage and sound preps prior to the day and was in awe of both the crisp sound and stage set up by Steve Jean’s Fenon events. However, little did Bennie Man know that behind the scenes, his performance would be in jeopardy
For starters, though the organizers, the little known Top Boy Entertainment, had booked Fenon events for the production of sound and stage, they hadn’t remitted any monies to the firm. A source tells us that though Fenon had set up its equipment five days to the event, the organizer had by word of mouth, agreed to pay up on D-Day from gate ticket sells.
This baffled and angered Steve Jean , who threatened that he would switch off the generator and machines prior to the show if he was not paid upfront. Characteristic of his signature natural stammer, Steve told the promoter on phone thus;“me… me… me… I… I… I… have never se… sseeeee… seen this in this thy this in recent time. How do do do you ex ex ex expect me to work minus being paid.”
No one knows what the person on the other side on the line told Steve but minutes later, he ordered his staff to switch off the generator that had been running for four days providing power. This was about now four hours to the show and he stood his ground as fans who were coming to pay met darkness and silence at the rendezvous devoid of the booming dancehall riddims known to that genres fans.
We are told that the promoter got back to his senses and started begging Steve Jean as he reluctantly agreed to switch back on the machines. However, the damage had already been done and thus, most of the anticipated fans begged leave of the stadium. By the time Bennie Man arrived, his fate had been sealed and has since entered the archives of the most dominant international dancehall artiste who’s come back show went scurrying to a total flop in Uganda.
By the time we filed this report, we hadn’t established whether Steven Jean had been fully paid but reliable sources inform us, most of the dimes had been paid by the time he switched back the generator. Beenie Man’s appearance at Club Guvnor later at their Saturday `Night Fever` was a memorable experience and breather from the Friday quagmire.
On Monday, a press release from Top Boy entertainment posted on their social media pages claimed that some of the sponsors sold the tickets behind their backs. “We invested US$300,000 (about Shs1.1Bn) in the concert, but only 753 revellers bought genuine tickets,” read the statement in part. The majority of those who attended the concert, according to the promoter, did not purchase tickets from them. “Despite having 15,500 revelers at the show, only 753 bought genuine tickets. They bought them from our sponsors at a very reduced price,” it read.
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- Mr. Jacko David Waluluka is another unique entertainment and general investigative news writer, a field he has diligently covered for over fifteen years. He’s also the Chief Administrator at The Investigator. He can easily be reached via [email protected]
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