Exquisite singer-songwriter outing from 1976 South Africa with private-press sensibilities. A quirky and intelligent yet deeply moving set from a contemporary of Rhodesian folk outsider John Phillips.
John Oakley-Smith was part of a generation of songwriters from the 1970s, spearheaded by the likes of Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell, who expanded the creative and confessional boundaries of folk music and altered the course of popular music as we know it. Written and recorded in South Africa from 1973 to 1975 and originally released in 1976, Matinees on Saturdays is an obscure classic that weaves intimate and poetic narratives into a melancholic set with flourishes of wry attitude and sharp wit. The album is notable for its subtle yet ornate production with Oakley-Smith's fragile vocals and graceful piano arrangements at it's core.
Born in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1950, John Oakley-Smith migrated to South Africa as a student to pursue an arts degree in Cape Town and later evolved into a key figure of the folk music community that frequented Johannesburg's Troubadour Club and Market Theatre. With support from the independent 3rd Ear Music label, Matinees on Saturdays was a labour of love produced by Oakley-Smith alongside engineer Nino Rivera and issued by a local subsidiary of Warner Bros. Records as a small pressing in South Africa only. The album was his only official release and has been restored and reissued for its 50th anniversary in 2026.
John Oakley-Smith grew up watching profound social and political changes unfolding in Zimbabwe over the course of the 1960s and 1970s. He was a collaborator of fellow-Rhodesian John Phillips and appears on the 1972 session featured on the Songs of Gentleness 1969-1976 box set. Retiring from performance in the 1980s, Oakley-Smith returned to Zimbabwe and dedicated himself to composing music for theatre as well as writing and editing. In his later years, he worked as a high-school music teacher and mentored aspiring young musicians. John Oakley-Smith was the victim of what remains an unsolved murder at his home in Mutare in 2021.
• First vinyl reissue since 1976 release
• Includes double-sided lyric sheet/photo insert
• Black vinyl as well as limited edition colour variants
All Songs Written, Arranged and Performed by John Oakley-Smith
All Instruments and Vocals by John Oakley-Smith
Engineered by Nino Rivera
Cover by Dennis Scouse
Published by 3rd Ear Music
Cat. No. SF17
℗ 1976 3rd Ear Music © 2025 Sharp-Flat Records
