The funeral of guitarist legend Syd Kitchen, who passed away at Highway Hospice on March 22, 2011, will be held tomorrow (March 27) at St John’s Church in Glenwood.He leaves his wife, Germaine Barnard as well as his daughters Sev and Jasmine. In an interview with the Daily News, Germaine Barnard said her husband would always be remembered for his beautiful music that touched the lives of so many, his sharp tongue and eccentric persona.
Long-term friend and companion, Tony Cox – another guitar legend – paid his tribute: “Syd Kitchen was one of my dearest friends, he was a musician, poet and skrumunkel of note. In the past, he often irritated me beyond belief and then would have me in fits of laughter the next. He was a one-of-a-kind and I can't quite get my head around the fact that he was making me tea just days ago....miss you so bru...”
Photojournalist and publicist Sharon Gill said: “Syd Kitchen was probably South Africa’s most underestimated poet. A brilliant, witty, irreverent, generous, untidy, lovable minstrel who was a musician of the highest order. If anyone deserved a Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of his remarkable talent and dedication, it was Syd - a musician who somehow retained both his integrity and his dignity in a country where too many people would like to give the recording industry capitalists an unceremonial boot up the butt to get their mercenary heads out of the bank statements and into the music. Syd was a legend, and the music world has lost a very bright star.”
A further tribute comes from Roger O’Neill of the Maritzburg Musicians Club: “Syd will be remembered for his extraordinary decades-long musical legacy which included iconic signature songs such as Africa is not for Sissie's. Syd has played at every Splashy Fen since it began 22 years ago. He was a truly South African musician who will be remembered for many years to come. There is a benefit/tribute concert for Syd at Forgotten Falls, Howick on May 15.”
The funeral will take place tomorrow at St Johns Anglican Church, Clark Road, Glenwood. The viewing will be at 12h45 and the service will commence at 13h30.
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