That certainly gels with my experience of Rodriguez. I grew up in Port Elizabeth and the first Spur to open there was the Maverick Spur in the cinema centre in Rink Street. That must have been about 1970 as well. Well, I think they only had two tapes that they used to play – Cold Fact and some JJ Cale. We often used to stop in there for coffee after movies and I don’t recall ANY other music being played there.
Hi David,
I’m an ex-SA now living in New Zealand.
The first time I heard it was in East London, on cassette tape in a Kombi belonging to a Tukkies student who hung out at the Spur in Newlands. He was on holiday in ‘Slum’, working at the newest Spur (Cheyenne Spur, I think). Of course this doesn’t prove your contention, but it does add pretty substantial circumstantial evidence.
Info …having finaly got to watched the Sugarman Doco I have some true facts for you regarding Cold Fact
My name is David Diamond born Kenilworth Cape Town 1954 Now living in Sydney Australia since 1995
As a young man in 1970 I worked for Spur Steakhouses starting as a casual table cleaner and progressing to a young manager, during the early years when firstly there was only Dean Street Newlands and during the initial expantion years… Sea Point, Belville, Stelenbosh, Strand St. ETC….
One of my duties was to find music for the Spur, during an afternoon off from a subsidery project of Alan Ambor’s, Yankee Kitchens, I wondered into a small record shop in Wynberg next to the old Capitol “Bioskope” This shop had a “SWOP” box for 50c you could swop a record or buy a second hand one for R1.00 ….I found Cold Fact (USA Copy) and took it to Golden Spur Newlands…. The students went crazy for it.
The very next week later there was a franchise meeting and the record was playing in the background…
Well you guessed it, within 48 hours Cold Fact had become the Spur Antham, playing non stop in all stores.. from ” Ikey land to Martie land” , and everywere inbetween from Wynberg to Sea point……
In 1980, I took over Naughtys Moonlight Grill on the Main Road Sea Point which soon became one of “the in late night” hangouts with Midnight grill & Watney Girls. I played Cold fact and After the Fact over and over again. We had late night entertainment as was the rage in thoes days, Josh Sitole ex Quella kids, Milles, Stephen, Barry etc all of whom used to late night jam and a track from Cold Fact was always requested.
So now you know how ColdFact came to be heard in South Africa.
SugarMan.org 
That certainly gels with my experience of Rodriguez. I grew up in Port Elizabeth and the first Spur to open there was the Maverick Spur in the cinema centre in Rink Street. That must have been about 1970 as well. Well, I think they only had two tapes that they used to play – Cold Fact and some JJ Cale. We often used to stop in there for coffee after movies and I don’t recall ANY other music being played there.
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Hi David,
I’m an ex-SA now living in New Zealand.
The first time I heard it was in East London, on cassette tape in a Kombi belonging to a Tukkies student who hung out at the Spur in Newlands. He was on holiday in ‘Slum’, working at the newest Spur (Cheyenne Spur, I think). Of course this doesn’t prove your contention, but it does add pretty substantial circumstantial evidence.
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Info …having finaly got to watched the Sugarman Doco I have some true facts for you regarding Cold Fact
My name is David Diamond born Kenilworth Cape Town 1954 Now living in Sydney Australia since 1995
As a young man in 1970 I worked for Spur Steakhouses starting as a casual table cleaner and progressing to a young manager, during the early years when firstly there was only Dean Street Newlands and during the initial expantion years… Sea Point, Belville, Stelenbosh, Strand St. ETC….
One of my duties was to find music for the Spur, during an afternoon off from a subsidery project of Alan Ambor’s, Yankee Kitchens, I wondered into a small record shop in Wynberg next to the old Capitol “Bioskope” This shop had a “SWOP” box for 50c you could swop a record or buy a second hand one for R1.00 ….I found Cold Fact (USA Copy) and took it to Golden Spur Newlands…. The students went crazy for it.
The very next week later there was a franchise meeting and the record was playing in the background…
Well you guessed it, within 48 hours Cold Fact had become the Spur Antham, playing non stop in all stores.. from ” Ikey land to Martie land” , and everywere inbetween from Wynberg to Sea point……
In 1980, I took over Naughtys Moonlight Grill on the Main Road Sea Point which soon became one of “the in late night” hangouts with Midnight grill & Watney Girls. I played Cold fact and After the Fact over and over again. We had late night entertainment as was the rage in thoes days, Josh Sitole ex Quella kids, Milles, Stephen, Barry etc all of whom used to late night jam and a track from Cold Fact was always requested.
So now you know how ColdFact came to be heard in South Africa.
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Hi David during your time at Watney’s do you remember Wendy Evans and or Lynn King? Both worked at Watney’s.
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I did not work at Watneys… I owned Naughtys accross the road
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Hi !
Here a great French review of “Searching For Sugar Man” :
http://www.planetgong.fr/article-searching-for-sugar-man-genie-retrouve-114046852.html
And here my French music band on stage with a cover of Sugar Man :
Thank you and enjoy !
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