Benjamin Ball

BIO

Benjamin Ball (real name Benjamin Msane) is a South African singer and songwriter. Born in Durban and raised in Cape Town, he moved to Johannesburg and rose to fame in the early 1980s with his smash hit ‘Flash a Flashlight’, an anthem that rivalled Brenda & The Big Dudes’ ‘Weekend Special’ at the time. Known for his distinctive vocals, his signature sound fuses bubblegum/disco and reggae. ‘Flashlight’ was soon included in a full-length 1984 album, 'Paulina', which went gold, establishing Ball as one of the leading solo acts of the mid-1980s. He has worked with musicians from local bands like Abakhwenyana and the Black Five, as well as producers such as Blondie Makhene and John Galanakis.

Ball continued to record and release albums throughout the 1980s, gradually fading into obscuring in the mid-1990s. After training and practicing as a sangoma (traditional healer) and spending some time in jail, he recently re-emerged with new tracks. In 2013 he released a new single and video, ‘Dancing in Zion’. Currently he is completing a new album, titled ‘Out Of The Bushes’. Some of his tracks, ‘Flash a Flashlight’ and ‘I Need It’ were recently given a house remix by local producer, song writer Dj Bradz. For the past few years, the artist has been living in Mtwalume in rural Kwazulu-Natal, near Port Shepstone and Mzinto – the ancestral home of the Msane clan.