It is a successful band with a special origin: massada. Especially in the 70s and 80s they scored hit after hit. Now, almost 50 years later, they are still performing. Founder Johnny Manuhutu is now 73 years old and still going strong.
“It’s all less dynamic than it was 50 years ago,” laughs singer Manuhutu, “but I still feel the fire of the past when I’m on stage.”
Johnny grows up in the woods in Huizen, in what is then called camp Almere. In the camp, which serves as temporary housing for a group of 300 Moluccans, Manuhutu and his brother form his own band, the Eagles. They are their first steps towards success.
The music
In 1951 the first Moluccans, former KNIL soldiers, are brought to the Netherlands. It is said to them and their families that it will be for half a year. They are housed in barracks scattered throughout the country. In Huizen there are 12, with 300 residents, surrounded by barbed wire. Life is hard. Drinking and drug use are common.
“The camp was fun for small children, because you could play everywhere, but the parents were full of frustrations,” says Johnny. “They were not allowed to work and an administrator made sure that they did not leave the site. For five years they could not leave the camp. My father had war trauma and drank to forget. We were beaten and humiliated. It was very difficult. Many young people also sought refuge in drugs, but my brother and I had the music.”
That music takes off and the band is renamed ‘Massada’. In the 70s and 80s, Massada is at the peak of its success. At that time, the band members don’t always have it easy. These are the years of the Moluccan resistance and the independence movement.
“In the early days, Moluccan young people were also in the news in a different way. There were those occupations, the train hijacking. The Moluccan case ran like a red thread through our lives and work. There were tensions everywhere, but we always managed well. We were the ambassadors of the Moluccan cause, in a good way, people were really proud of that. That was a godsend.”
make fans happy
And now Masada is still a household name. The band is still very successful. “We have fans from the very beginning who have traveled with us all these years. That also strengthens you. The big hits, the golden records, it was all beautiful, but the best thing is when you can make your fans happy.”
On October 2, Massada will play in the Victorie in Alkmaar.
Culture Club at NH Nieuws
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