Contrite singer Matthews vows to make up for blunder

Staff Writers

A CONTRITE Ard Matthews has pledged to make up for his bungling of the national anthem Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika(God Bless Africa), at the announcement of the Springbok squad, by using his singing talent to help fellow South Africans learn all the words.

Matthews has undertaken to produce a CD of himself singing the anthem flawlessly. And he is to provide it without cost to those who need it. He will announce details shortly.

Matthews, who recently returned from Los Angeles after nearly 10 years abroad and settled in Umhlanga Rocks, heads to Cape Town tomorrow for the Ard Matthews and Friends Benefit Concert to raise funds for the My Life Foundation.

He didn’t sleep a wink on Tuesday night and at 5.30am yesterday was prepared to apologise profusely on local airwaves.

Over the phone, he repeatedly emphasised the seriousness of “anthemgate” while on his way

from the SuperSport studios where he formally expressed his regret.

“The moment was bigger than me,” the Just Jinjer singer said. “I will spend the best part of my life trying to figure out what happened.”

It was during the naming of the Bok squad for the World Cup, aired on the DStv sports channel on Tuesday night, that Matthews forgot the words to the anthem, stopped, and then pressed on with difficulty.

Minutes later Twitter was teeming with comparisons with Ras Dumisane, who delivered an infamous off-key rendition of the anthem at the rugby World Cup in France in 2009. Headlines such as “Saru between a ruck and a Ard place” took the mickey out of Matthews, 36, and anthemgate had been added to the rocker’s Wikipedia biography.

“I wanted to send (the Boks) off with a bang, not embarrassment,” he says, the wince in the voice audible. “Through all of this, I wanna make sure that, regardless of the jokes, people know that I don’t find it funny. I’m not in a happy place.”

Although Bok captain John Smit has come out in support of Matthews, he feels he let the team down.

Messages urging the nation to give Matthews a break have outweighed negative cyberspace commentary.

Matthews took to Twitter to express his thanks for the “incredible outpour(ing) of forgiveness”.

The attention of many viewers has shifted to the curious headgear the Bok players wore during the SuperSport broadcast, and why the players hadn’t helped Matthews to finish the anthem.