Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse (often spelled or nicknamed “Hotsix” in some old-school references and throwback posts) — the legend himself!
That name-drop ties perfectly into the Durban nightlife nostalgia we were chatting about. Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse, the king of township pop and Afro-disco, actually played Slippers Boogie Palace at the Los Angeles Hotel back in the 80s with his band Harari (and sometimes solo vibes too). It was one of those epic crossovers where Jozi/Soweto legends would hit Durban’s hottest spots and blow the roof off.
- Burn Out (that 500,000+ selling monster from the early 80s) — pure dancefloor dynamite, everyone was spinning it.
- Jive Soweto, Shikisha, Zanzibar — classics that would have had the Slippers crowd going wild.
- Harari (the band he was part of before going big solo) brought that funky, synth-heavy township jive sound that fitted right in with the roller-skate disco energy downstairs at Slippers.
People still post about it in those Durban retro groups — flyers, grainy photos, stories of seeing him live there before he became the national treasure he is today (Order of Ikhamanga and all). He’s still active, doing gigs (including Durban Jazz Festival appearances and shows at places like The Chairman), but those 80s LA Hotel nights are pure golden-era Durban legend.
