Tributes continue to pour in for 80s pop music icon, Marc Rantseli. Social media is abuzz with messages of condolences.
Rantseli was part of the musical duo, called Marc Alex which he co-founded with his brother Alex Rantseli.
The 58-year-old succumbed to a brain aneurysm at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto on Wednesday night.
“Quick Quick”
The musical duo rose to fame in the late 80s. Their studio-recorded song “Quick Quick” won the hearts of many South Africans. It reached number 1 on the South African music charts in June 1989.
Marc Rantseli’s brother Alex says they are struggling to come to terms with his passing.
“The family is devastated. For me, I’m really a mess as I speak. As much as we know Marc was not well. His aneurysm just took him like that. When it actually happens it becomes very difficult to take in. So, the family is taking it very hard.”
The duo from from Diepkloof, Soweto also won the OKTV Awards for Best Newcomer in 1988 and their song “Heartbreakin’ Love” went to number 1 on the 5FM and Metro FM charts.
His brother Alex says he will be dearly missed.
“My brother was my brother. Away from everything this is the man I grew up with. We did a lot of things. He was everything, a partner. We have done a lot of things to uplift our family. But when you go back all sorts of things keep coming back like when we were growing up, things we went through, and things he has gone through as a grown man.”
Recording Industry of South Africa’s Lesley Mofokeng says Marc’s passing is a great loss to the music industry.
“Marc together with his brother Alex were pioneers of a young urban pop sound in the early 1990s into the 2000s their music was an expression of aspirations wishes and dreams of young South Africans at the birth of our democracy songs like “Quick Quick” and “Boys be Boys”. We will remember their energy and star power they brought to us.”
The deceased also spent a few years working at the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) advocating for the rights of musicians in the country.
Marc Rantseli of Marc Alex fame passes on – Tebogo Sithathu pays tribute
