Legendary Detroit psych-rock cult artist Rodriguez makes a rare UK performance

6 June 2009 @ Barbican, CLICK HERE for more details

Legendary Detroit singer and songwriter Rodriguez has had one of the oddest career trajectories in popular music. Rediscovered a decade ago working on a Detroit building site, he was apparently unaware that one of his own albums had become not only a cult classic, but for people on the other side of the world, in South Africa, a beacon of hope and revolution.

1970's Cold Fact was the debut album of Sixto Diaz Rodriguez, born in 1942 in Detroit, Michigan. Its mixture of honesty and social comment excited those in the know, without attracting mainstream sales; his second album, Coming From Reality, was recorded in London but also disappeared almost without trace. But while his music career languished, the Rodriguez legend was growing on the other side of the world. In South Africa and, to a lesser extent, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Australia and New Zealand, Cold Fact had become a major word of mouth success, particularly among young people in the South African armed forces, who identified with its counter-cultural message. But Rodriguez was not aware of this - nor were his whereabouts known.

Rumours even circulated that he had died. In the late 1990s journalist Craig Bartholemew found Rodriguez alive and well in Detroit; subsequently he embarked on a triumphant South African tour, filling 5,000 capacity venues across the country. In the following years, the northern hemisphere wised up to this major talent; his classic Cold Fact has been re-released by Light In The Attic who are re-releasing his 1971 follow-up, Coming From Reality (known in South Africa as 'After The Fact') on 19 May. This is only his second UK visit since his re-emergence.