Theo Watt announces that he is leaving The Rockets to pursue a career as a solo artist.

Theo Watt dropped a bomb on the music industry with his announcement that he is leaving The Rockets to pursue a career as a solo artist.

The man who shot to fame with his energetic performances as frontman for the evergreen Cape Town pop/dance band, will be making his solo debut at The Legends Throwback concert on 20 April at the Castle of Good Hope in Cape Town.

Watt joined the group when the legendary Colin “Bones” Delight left The Rockets and was a member for 31 years. He has been a very popular member of the group and was renowned for his Michael Jackson dance moves.

Watt, who recently turned 50, says he will always remain thankful to The Rockets for the opportunities they afforded him and says in his heart he will always be a Rocket. But at the same time, he says he felt the time was right for him to move on.

“We toured with lots of international stars, such as Usher, The Manhattans, Atlantic Star and the list goes on and on. I always wanted to be in music. Bones and the guys always practiced in my grandma’s house in Bonteheuwel, so I always watched them rehearse.

“I always wanted to be like Bones. I wanted to sing and dance like him. At the age of 7 I started to sing, sometimes even with bands at the club. After that I started taking part in Michael Jackson competitions and I won a lot because I could sing and dance.”

Now he is ready to make the big step away from the group that catapulted him to stardom. “I felt I wanted to go on my own because I had the desire to record my own CDs and to put my own personal message in the songs that I am going to write and that I have already finished writing.

“Hopefully that will be finished by the end of the year. I want it to be finished before December because I want to release it by then. I am currently busy recording in my studio at home. I am writing most of the songs, then one or two songs are written by Molly Baron (formerly from The Rockets) and Aubrey Arries (formerly from Tomorrow’s World and Bloodshed).”

He will re-record two of the songs he wrote for The Rockets last CD, Trane van die Kaap and Pappa, for his first solo album. He says music lovers can expect a bit of everything, with Afrikaans and English songs as well as his version of Tommy Saaiden’s Just Ordinary People.

Theo admits leaving The Rockets was a daunting prospect and that it took him a while to come to this decision. “I had to think long and hard but I made the decision on my 50th birthday. I told the guys a month ago ‘listen, no hard feelings, but I feel to do this on my own, to go solo.

“There were no hard feelings, we parted amicably. But if they need me for a show, I will always be available. If they need me for a show I will do it.”

He is convinced that The Rockets will not be shaken by his departure. “When Bones left The Rockets it was a setback and it took people two years to get used to the frontline of me and Marlon Roach. But I know the Rockets will carry on and keep on doing well.

“Jerry (Watt, leader of the group) said he respects my decision and we shook hands. I thanked him and his wife Alison for the opportunity. I mean, I saw a lot and experienced a lot during my time with the Rockets – things I would have never seen and experienced if I was not with the band.”

Now he is ready for a big first night as a solo artist at the Legends Throwback Show. “Molly introduced me to Tony Canham from Qai Music at a gig a while ago. When he told us he wanted to do this show to honour all the legends I decided there and then this is the right thing to do. You know when the time is right for you that you need to grab the opportunity and that is what I did.

“So this will be my first solo performance and I want to tell the fans I am gone from The Rockets but not gone from them. I will keep on doing what I have been doing for the last 31 years.” “

“The Throwback Legends Tour 2019 brought to you by Qai Music” is a five-city tour, with legends such as Felicia Marion from Joy (who had the hit ‘Paradise Road’), Steve Fataar (frontman of the the legendary group The Flames), Wilfred Aploon (aka Will B), Aubrey Arries, Guss Smythe, Herbie Blackfoot, Lindsay Burts, Molly Baron, Theo Watt, Bones Delight (from The Rockets), Sandra Butler, Henry and the Definition Band, Joey Moses, Danny Chetty, Cecil Mitchell (famous for the hits “Dear Schoolgirl”and Straight from the Heart”), Errol Stephanus and Salome.

Tour Dates: The Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town on 20th April 2019, The Werehouse, Durban on 26th April 2019, Ugu Sports Centre, Shelley Beach on 28th April 2019, Boardwalk Casino, Port Elizabeth on 12 and 13 May 2019, The Dome Church, Johannesburg on 18 and 19 May 2019, The NAM Music Festival, Windhoek, Namibia on 25th May 2019.

From this Friday to Monday we are running a pre-Easter special, with pensioners paying R150 a ticket, general admission tickets going for R200, Golden Circle tickets cost R300 and VIP tickets R500.

After Monday ticket prices revert to R250 for general access, Golden Circle tickets at R450 and the VIP experience at R650. Tickets are available at Webtickets and Pick n Pay branches.