MR ROSES HITS RIGHT NOTES: With love songs and mesmerizing dance moves

ANNIE ZULU writes

GORDON David Hoare better known by his stage name ‘Mr Roses’ is a stylish and musically talented Zambian artist, who shot to prominence in the music scene when he released his hit single ‘Roses’ in 2017.

The song has since seen him racing up the airplay charts in Zambia, showcasing him as one of Zambia’s exciting, fresh and talented new discoveries.

His musical sounds are alternative soul, soft rock and country music. Gordon is regularly asked to perform both acoustic and with a full band at all manner of events- weddings, parties and concerts, among others.

The Sun recently caught with him.

Who is Gordon?

Gordon:  My real name is Gordon David Hoare, I am a Zambian Musician. Initially my stage name was ‘The Voice’, but as a musician when you have a hit song, fans call you by that name, so my fans call me ‘Mr Roses’ because of my ‘Roses’ song. I also have a band for live music called Gordon Hoare and the brothers where we play soft rock and country music.

I was born on July 20, 1991, in a family of three, I had two sisters but unfortunately one of them died in a road accident three years ago, and her name was Rebecca.

I am mixed race, my mum who is also late was a black Zambian and my dad is a white Ngoni man.

I finished my Grade 12 at Nampundwe High School in 2010 and I was entertainment prefect back in the days. I used to dance a lot.

What kind of Music do you do and who are your producers?

 Gordon: I am into rock and country music, I am trying to bring something new and unique to Zambian music. I am currently working with different studios, but my main producer is DJ Dro.

How did you realize your singing talent?

Gordon:  : I was quite young when I discovered I enjoyed singing. All I know is that I started singing in my childhood days, I use to sing and entertain my late baby sister, coz I didn’t want her to keep her eyes on TV, I wanted her to keep her eyes on me instead. So she would eventually switch off the TV and start watching me.

What and who inspired you to start singing?

Gordon:   When I was a kid, I used to like cartoons a lot, so I tapped some humour from Aladdin the cartoon. There was actually a time when I was singing one of the songs from the cartoon which goes like…. ‘I can show you the world shining, shimmering, and splendid’ (singing) in class. I was in my third grade by then. The teacher was in front teaching and she heard someone singing, then she asked…. ‘Who is singing while I’m teaching?’ So the girl who sat next to me whispered to my ear ‘I know it was you, should I tell the teacher? I told her ‘no please’ then she said ‘if I don’t tell the teacher are you going to sing the song for me after the lesson?’ and I was like yeah…… sure. So to me, singing has always been my passion, it’s something which I enjoy doing.

Tell us about your hit song ‘Roses’ and what inspired you to do the song?

Gordon:  : ‘Roses’ is a love song, it tells a story of love from various angles.  For example, it talks about a simple guy who is really in love with a girl, but he has nothing but unconditional love to give the girl. It also gives hope to a girl who’s been hurt before that it is possible to love again. The song basically describes how I understand love.

On what inspired me to do ‘roses’, I think the song was inspired by American’s Step-up movie. There is a party of the movie where a guy walked to a girl and started showing her his dance moves. I loved that clip and I just thought of being creative and I came up with a song from that.

What are some of the challenges you have faced in your musical career?

Gordon:   Negative competition among Zambian Musicians is the biggest challenge. People think when you sing a good song, then you are trying to make them look bad. It’s not been easy and it only gets easy when fans accept you and love what you do.

Opportunities for musicians in Zambia are very limited, there were times I walked from Garden House where I stay to town and to Chelston with my guitar looking for deals. At some point I became more depressed and started smoking, then I figured out that I was even becoming weaker, I couldn’t move longer as I used to.

And also I think not making it to Dreams and Talent yapa Zed finals made me feel like singing was something that wasn’t making sense to me anymore. It made me feel demoralised but I held on to my dreams because I knew what I was… a star.

Who is your favourite musician?

Gordon:   I love Eminem. He was my first motivation, I was that kid who looked up to him when I was very small and my friends at school would call me Eminem. But locally, I have a number of musicians that I love…. like Alpha Romeo, Chef 187, John Chiti and Mampi.

What is the most devastating thing that has ever happened to you?

Gordon:  : I think my little sister’s (Rebecca) and mum’s deaths really hit me bad.  Rebecca always had my back. She was my hero and I wish she was my here. I really miss her a lot that sometimes I even see her in my dreams. My Mother on the other side was the most beautiful and kind woman. She was just like a rose and I miss her too.

What is your message to youths about depression and drugs?

Gordon:   Ahaa… in fact I am writing a song about that.  Personally I have tried drugs before and talking from experience, drugs are not a solution for depression. They only make you a coward and grow old before your time.

We are all frustrated and we all don’t have everything that we want, but drugs is not the way to go.

Bravo to all young people going through challenges don’t resort to drugs. When you are going through a tough time in life and you don’t do drugs, it doesn’t mean you are a coward, it actually means you are brave.

To the youths on drugs…You need to find peace within yourself and don’t look for it outside of you. No matter how difficult things are, you just have to remain positive, because if you don’t do that, your life will never be positive.

Where do you see yourself in the next few years?

Gordon:   I see myself more successful in my music career. I see myself travelling more and singing songs of love, peace and healing to my fans around the world.

What’s your message to your fans?

Gordon:   To my fans….I don’t do drugs. I don’t have to get high for me to do something good on the stage. All I need is for you guys to give me a one love signal. My fans are enough for my motivation on stage, I just need to see someone pay attention to what I am doing, and then I am motivated.

I love my fans and it’s in my nature to entertain them. Even if I don’t want to,  I’ll still do it. I entertain people by not even trying. So my fans should expect more beautiful songs from me.

Your last words?

Gordon:   I am a happy kid, because that’s how God made me and that is how I want to present myself to the world  so that people can have that beautiful spirit in them by just looking at me. I would also like to thank my manager Mr Felix Munikwa a.k.a Mr Signal, DJ Miller of Millennium Radio, DJ Virus from Hone FM, Smooth IK from ZNBC and everyone else who has been with me on this journey.