6 July 2025

Any mention of The Flames – South Africa’s top group of the ’60s – and the names of Steve Fataar, or Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar spring to mind so easily.  But what about Brother Fataar?

Yeah, what about Brother?   The quiet one. The softly spoken one.  And, dare I say it, the “hot” one who sent all the teenage girls into a state of delirium when they played the Luxurama Theatre and other venues around Cape Town..

Sure, there were other Flames members who hardly rate a mention.  Like Mitchell “Baby” Duval and Ederies Fredericks,  but their stay was almost fleeting when compared with Brother Fataar who died back in 1978 all but forgotten by the group’s fandom

It is time to acknowledge his contribution to the hottest band to hit the stages in South Africa from around 1965 to 1970 . . . and what better way to do it today, July 6, his birthday. He would have been 80 today had he not fallen to cancer at the age of 33.

Edries “Brother” Fataar was born in Durban and was one of first to be recruited by older brother Steve to play in the group in 1963.

One person who remembers those early days is Steve’s old schoolfriend, Bing Kinsey, who acted as MC for some of their gigs and adviser/mentor for the young group.

Kinsey, on his blog, The Kinsey Report, recalls that Steve put together the band with Brother, guitarist Eugene Champion and drummer George Faber who quit at short notice before a gig in ‘64.  Steve scrambled for a replacement and the only quick solution was to draft his sub-teen brother, Ricky, who could barely see over the drums!!

When Blondie eventually came along, the final line-up was settled and stayed that way for about five years:  Steve the leader and spokesperson, Blondie the dynamic guitarist, Ricky the oh-so-cute kid on drums. And Brother, the bloke there at the back, on bass.

Bing said this week Brother was always reserved. “He was rather quiet and shy, except with those close to him,” Bing said, “but he had a sense of humour.”

Bing doesn’t remember how Brother ended up playing bass, but “he just seemed to have natural ability, and was often experimenting bass riffs”.

“As he was shy, he tended to stay at the back close to Ricky, but gradually he gained confidence and moved more to the front joining Marnie [Steve] and Eugene/Edries.”

Blondie, from his home in Los Angeles, says much the same this week in remembering his friend: “He was never out front, leading, while I was playing with him. He might have been ‘out there’ before I joined the group but not in my time.  He was just there, quietly going about his business.

“He was a very solid player on stage, very dependable,” Blondie said. “He did what he had to do and he did it well. He provided the rhythm foundation that enabled us to weave our magic around it.

“Apart from his music qualities, he loved looking good on stage. He really fancied himself as the good looking one.

“He was six years older and when we were not performing, he was sometimes something of a mother hen. I was still in my mid-teens in the early days and he was always very loving and caring.  Sometimes it made him worry too much. Yeah, bro’, he was a lekker ou.”

Where did the “Brother” nickname come from? Bing says: “Everybody called him Brother. Apparently when he was a baby Marnie used to call him Brother and everybody followed suit.”

Bing has a special memory of the youthful Brother. “He had two special school friends who were always teasing girls and we called them the Maniacs. As I mention on my site, Brother and I had gone to the movies. After the show as we were making our way to the bus stop, we saw a girl and he whistled at her. That gave me the first line of the song which I finished when I got home. The next day I took it to the band at their rehearsal and they loved it, especially Brother who was thrilled that a song had been written about him.

“He was so genuine, no ego, he loved his music.”

When The Flames disbanded, Blondie and Ricky stayed on in the US. Blondie has toured extensively playing with the Rolling Stones as well as with Beach Boy Brian Wilson who died recently. Ricky is still playing with Bonnie Raitt.

Blondie has been active recently in trying to get the group’s last album, recorded in 1971, released. It got caught up in the legal wrangling of the Beach Boys and was never issued.  Brother performed on the tracks for the album.

Steve returned to South Africa and Brother headed for the UK where the group had been based briefly after leaving South Africa.

Not much has been documented about what Brother did when he went back to the UK apart from the reference in the article about his death that he played with a group called the Rabnoak Band. According to the article, the band toured the Continent and when they headed back to the UK, Brother was denied entry by immigration authorities.  It would appear he then based himself in Amsterdam where he died of liver cancer.

Happy Heavenly Birthday Brother. Your flame still flickers in the memory of some.

[Editor’s Note: Tomorrow, 7 July, Blondie Chaplin celebrates his 74th birthday.]

Click on photos to enlarge.

Some photos sourced on social media. Special thanks to Bing Kinsey for his contribution.