ZA86 by Nigel Wrench

DAT#06 was originally released on 11 February 2015 by The Tapeworm as TTW#86 in a cassette-only edition of 150 copies.

Here is the original press release:

ZA86 is a 25 year old radio reporter’s personal journey in the final, most repressive moments of a hated regime.

The last years of apartheid were the most brutal as a low-level civil war was battled out on the dusty streets of South Africa’s black townships.

Released on 11 February 2015 – the 25th anniversary of the day Nelson Mandela walked to freedom – ZA86 is edited from nine tapes in the unique cassette archive of Turnstyle News, unlocked for the first time from a Cape Town cellar. It takes the listener to a violent world with moments of great beauty. The reporter, far from being edited out, is very much present, as are the thumps and bumps he hears in his headphones.

From a May Day call to arms by Winnie Mandela to the extreme views of white right wingers; from 19 year old platoon leaders to the aftermath of an attack by police and soldiers in Soweto; from the words of envoy Terry Waite to the funeral of a television cameraman and the Band Aid-like pop song released by the apartheid regime, ZA86 unflinchingly documents the disturbing reality of 1986 in South Africa. A journey into the heart of apartheid.

www.za86.org

The Digital Archive of Tapeworm is a repository for audio from out of print cassettes on The Tapeworm.