The group, Overtone, owes its role in the movie, and the possibility of pop stardom, to a bit of incredible luck, and the generosity of Clint Eastwood's wife, Dina. “Back in March, we were in Cape Town on a two-week engagement, performing our Queen cover show,” said Emile Welman, one of Overtone's tenors. But the 75-seat-supper-club gig wasn't exactly the big time, and for all their ambition and talent, the singers had no inkling their careers were about to make a tremendous leap.
“Of course, we'd seen in the newspapers that Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were in town shooting a film, and on the way to Cape Town, we were joking around that maybe we'd meet them,” said Ruan Van Zyl, Overtone's baritone. Meanwhile, as Overtone was having modest success during its Cape Town engagement and fantasizing about the possibility of a brief encounter with Hollywood royalty, Dina Eastwood happened to pick up a flyer in the lobby of the hotel where the cast and crew for “Invictus” were staying.
“Melissa [wife of the film's producer, Rob Lorenz] and I were looking for something to do on a girl's night out,” Dina said. “I don't know what I was expecting from a Queen cover show ... not much, probably.” But in the theatre that night, as the seven young men of Overtone began their lyrical harmonizing — which sounds like a cross between Ladysmith Black Mambazo and InSync — Dina Eastwood was enchanted.
“I had never seen anything like them,” she recalled. “They had it all.”
The rest is history. Their music feature quite strongly in the movie INVICTUS. They are presently in Los Angeles for the premiere of INVICTUS and also to resord their latest album. Flying back to SA to especially perform in the Christmas Spectacular here in SA on 19^th December at Carnival City's Big Top Arena.
Bookings at Computicket (011) 340 8000 or at www.computicket.com. Groups more than 10 at discounted prices: Christa Coetzee (011) 815 3000 or 073 300 5525. You can also mail her on .
