Will Lutalo be another time lucky?

It depends on the target audience I want to appeal to at that time. There is an audience that likes fields and there are those that like hotels. Those who love outdoor events and those who like indoors. Many people were left out during my concert at Africana and we had a change of plans this year. Our goal is to please every David Lutalo fan. It would be meaningless having a concert and many are left out.

How do you determine the audience?

Those who prefer Cricket Oval are totally different from those who go to Africana. I want to serve all my people; those who want to enjoy my music while seated and those who want to party while standing.

Why did you go to Africana in the first place?

We spent two years under the Covid-19 lockdown and we had to make calculative moves. We did not know what mood our fans were in so we needed to make a good strategy to see if we could make an impact and we did because the concert sold out.

It is believed that two years without concerts, there was a lot of thirst from the public. Why did you underestimate yourself to have a concert in a relatively small venue compared to previously?

For starters, last year’s concert was not mine. A promoter had bought it and it is up to the promoter to decide what they want. Since it was his show, I did not have any say in whatever he wanted.

You always organise your own concerts. Is it because you do not trust the promoters?

What we first look at is the strategy someone is bringing to the concert. Sometimes a promoter can bring a concept to the table and I may even earn double if I organise my own concert. So if you fail to get someone who can execute what you have and want, then why not organise it yourself.

What guarantee do you have that people will show up for your concert?

The guarantee I have is good music. People do not just support us because of our haircuts but because of music. I have been supported not because of one song but because of my catalogue. I have never been disappointed. If my fans supported me when I had just five songs, why not now when I have a variety?

There has been a challenge for artistes in selecting the songs they will perform during their concerts. How will you sieve the best songs to perform during the evening?

I perform all my songs during rehearsals so that I do not get surprised during the show. Someone can request for a song which you are not prepared to sing and you end up getting ashamed. We go through all of them with my band. We are going to do the best we can sing most of the songs that did well on the charts and are loved by the people. There will be less talking and more singing.

You are known to sing songs about women. What do women mean in your life and career?

So much. Not because they give birth to us but they are our sisters, so I give them a lot of priority.

How different is this concert going to be from the previous ones?

You get better with every concert because then you do not repeat mistakes from the previous one. I have the experience to know what to do and what not to do, how to prepare myself, etc.

How many songs do you have in your catalogue and what is your best of them all?

I have about 200 songs and I will tell you that I cannot release a song I do not like. I do not just release a song. I pray to God to give me wisdom when I am writing a song and then pray to Him for the song to be embraced by the public.

Most of your previous concerts were held in January. In fact, you were named ‘King of January’, why the sudden change to September?

With Covid-19, everything changed. I shifted to September because I needed time to prepare for this concert. Let us see if September is also our lucky month.

There was poor time management during your last concert at Africana. What assurance do you give your fans that will not happen again?

First and foremost, we have asked for more time and that has been guaranteed. Then, I will be stepping on stage for my first session at 8pm. I will be doing two sessions which will all be on point. We plan to start the show by 4pm.

At last year’s concert, we saw some artistes being challenged on live performances. Is this show catering for everyone?

Some artistes are good on live while others are good on CDs. Yes, we experienced this during our last show and what I would like to emphasise is that whoever is good on CD will perform on CD and whoever is comfortable on live will also be accommodated.

Is there a song among the 200 that you did not write yourself?

Yes, especially some of the Swahili songs I first did. I got people who knew how to write Swahili to help me. I did the melodies and we revised the language.

You are a very good songwriter yet we have never heard you claim to have written some of the biggest songs. Doesn’t it matter to you?

I do not do it as a business. In most cases, I want someone I have written for to give me credit. Most of the time, I just give out these songs free of charge. 

If you are to charge for a song, how much would you ask for?

It depends on the type of song someone wants. Is it a hit, mega hit, etc. we have to put a lot into consideration.

One of Uganda’s biggest artistes, Mesach Semakula came out and equated you to a legendary artiste known as Herman Basudde. How did this make you feel?

Those artistes were so selective with their lyrics but his emphasis about those great artistes is that you would pick out something you had always neglected and that is also the style I use in my writing. I am so grateful for the compliment from Papa. It is so inspiring.

How would you like to be remembered?

As an artiste who did not play around with his career.

Earlier this year, there was commotion between you and Pallaso yet your track record shows you are never caught up in feuds. What was the problem?

If he had not rectified what I was talking about, I would still be on his case.

What did you want him to rectify?

I told him that he is miles away from where he should be with his talent. No one doubts his talent and to exhibit this, he should keep giving us more songs because we are at a stage where the music industry is being penetrated by people who are not talented. My worry is talented artistes being reluctant.

If we are to go with your analysis, Maddox Sematimba gave us just two albums. Does that mean he is not a great artiste?

He was not the only one in that generation. During his breakthrough years, there were other great artistes such as Chameleone, Bebe Cool and Bobi Wine who covered him.

What do you have to say about artistes having shows or concerts on the same day like the case was with Alien Skin and Pallaso, Geosteady and Maurice Kirya, Gravity and Navio?

Personally, I do not even support artistes having shows in the same month. With us, we first do our research, ask around, look at calendars and choose free months. It is not good at all. Yes Kampala has many people but not everyone is interested in music, not many like several artistes, some are sick, some are travelling, some are broke while others have different problems. So it becomes challenging fighting for the same crowd and you are giving them a hard task choosing where to go.

Are music battles healthy in your view?

Yes. We need them because they keep the industry vibrant so long as they are not physical. 

Concert timeline

David Lutalo is one of those artistes who has been staging concerts every year apart from his early years in his career and the two years of Covid. We look at some of his concerts in his career.

•  In 2015, David Lutalo released his fifth album, Akantu and to celebrate that album he had a concert at Hotel Africana aptly called Ákantu.

•  The following years, Lutalo had a concert called Manya followed by Onsaanula in 2017 still  at Hotel Africana.

•  On January 26 the followng year, Lutalo upgraded to Lugogo Cricket Oval with Woloolo concert.

•  Nakuusima came next on January 25 still at Cricket Oval.

• In 2020, Lutalo went back to Hotel Africana for his Tugende Concert on January 23.

• On September 23, 2022, he had a post-Covid show titled Kabisi Kandagala at Hotel Africana, afraid that the lockdown may have affected his fanbase .