ROZALLA: THE QUEEN OF RAVE FINALLY BECOMES NUMBER ONE!
BY JONATHAN DAHL
Long before she was belting out one of the most euphoric anthems of all time, Rozalla was a rising star in Zambia, fronting R’n’B cover outfits like the Rusekie Brothers and Boykie Moore’s band GRAB (named after the first letter of each member’s name – proper DIY). At just eighteen, she packed her bags, shifted to Zimbabwe, and dropped her debut album Spirit Of Africa. Not bad for someone still barely out of school.
It was during those early grafting days that fate gave her a nudge. While belting it out on a kids’ TV show in Zimbabwe, Rozalla caught the ear of UK music producer Chris Sergeant. He liked what he heard, gave her the “fancy a trip to London?” line, and Rozalla thought: “Why not?”
By ’89, she’d inked a deal with Sergeant’s Unit Dance Records (soon scooped up by Sony) and got thrown into the studio with early house wizards Tim Cox and Nigel Swanston – aka Band Of Gypsies. It was in those sessions that lightning struck. One track stood out with lyrics so positive you’d think they’d been written on a sunrise – Everybody’s Free (To Feel Good).
Released in 1991, it tore through clubs, peaked at No. 6 in the UK charts, and went on to become Rozalla’s career-defining banger. Fast forward to August 2025 and it’s still shifting tickets, still rinsed at festivals, and still uniting ravers from Bristol to Bali. Brothers and sisters, Rozalla had arrived.
But she didn’t stop there. Her debut UK album Everybody’s Free spawned more hits – Faith (In The Power Of Love), Are You Ready To Fly?, Born To Luv Ya, Love Breakdown – and had her hand-picked by none other than Michael Jackson to support him on fifty dates of his Dangerous UK Tour in ’92. Talk about levelling up.
Second album Look No Further brought This Time I Found Love, You’ll Never Love The Same Way Twice, and even a soundtrack slot on Al Pacino’s Carlito’s Way. She even gave R.E.M.’s Losing My Religion a rave-friendly spin. Third record Coming Home followed in ’98 with more floor-fillers.
As the 2000s dawned, the charts got taken over by boybands, girlbands, and the conveyor-belt of X Factor. Like many ’90s stars, Rozalla found herself booked for a couple of club dates a week. Ever the grafter, she retrained in beauty therapy but never ditched the mic. A rework of Everybody’s Free with David Anthony smashed the clubs, and she even popped up on ITV’s Hit Me Baby One More Time smashing out her anthem and covering Blue’s Fly By.
By the late 2000s, nostalgia kicked in. Rozalla was back on stage at 90’s Baby and We Love The 90’s, toured with Billy Ocean in 2009, and dropped Brand New Version. Then in 2015 she landed on the US Dance Billboard at No. 5 with If You Say It Again – proving the Queen of Rave still had it.
Awards followed – including Zimbabwe’s Star FM Lifetime Achievement gong in 2021 – plus a duet with Scottish singer Allan Jay (Breaking My Heart) and a new album Turn On The Light in 2024.
And now, in 2025? Rozalla is still tearing it up. She bagged her first-ever UK No. 1 on the Heritage Chart with Can You Hear Me?, worked with legendary producer Phil Harding’s new project PPG3.0, and celebrated another club hit with Alive (teamed with Carl Nicholson), launched with a mad party at Cyberdog in Camden.
So what’s next? With Rozalla, expect more uplifting, positive vibes – because this diamond hasn’t lost her shine. Thirty-four years since Everybody’s Free, she’s still the life and soul of the party. What a legendary woman indeed.
