H

E WASmorethanjusta

musician, hissongsa

backdroptotheturbu-

lent’80sand’90s.Andhe

foughtfortherightsof

millionsofSouthAfricans

throughhismusic.

It’sno exaggeration

thatJohnnyCleggtouchedthelivesofall

whoheardhiswork– a vibrantblendof

AfricanrhythmsandWesternpopthat

crossedallculturesandmusicalbound-

ariesandunifiedMzansi.

Thiswasa manwhojivedwithMadi-

ba,andwhosesongshavebeende-

scribedasa soundtracktoourhistory.

Atconcertshewasa whirlwindoflegs

andarms,hisvoicepowerfulandat

e re m e m b e r

white Zulu”

with the big

brave heart

BY NICI DE WET

timestenderashetradedversesinEng-

lishandisiZuluaboutthecountryand

thepeoplehesoloved.

Hecouldlightupa stage– andnow,

sadly,thatlighthasgoneout.

Aftera lengthybattlewithpancreatic

cancer,themusicallegend,whooverthe

courseofhiscareerreleased 24 albums,

diedathishomeinJohannesburgon 16

Julyattheageof66.

Asthecountryreactedwithanout-

pouringofgriefandaffection,hisfamily

askedforprivacy.Hisburialservice–

heldatWestparkCemeterythefollowing

dayasisJewishcustom– wasa private

affair,withonlyfamilyanda fewband

membersattending.

AmongthemwasSiphoMchunu(68),

his long-time friend and former Juluka

partner.

According to Roddy Quin, Johnny’s

manager and close friend, it was the

singer’s wish to die at his Johannesburg

home surrounded by his loved ones –

Jenny, his wife of 31 years, and their sons,

Jesse (30) and Jaron (23).

“He was at peace with his impending

death and quite relaxed in the days lead-

ing up to it,” Roddy says.

Johnny had been admitted to hospital

but asked to go home to be with his fam-

ily about two weeks before his passing.

“When it happened, they weren’t pre-

pared for it, which is why it’s important

for them to mourn in private,” he adds.

J

OHNNY remained strong

through out his cancer battle,

Roddy says, and his strength and

sense of humour right to the end

is what he will always remember.

He recalls how after Johnny was

diagnosed in 2015 he underwent an

eight-hour surgery and emerged without

half his stomach, his gall bladder and

half his pancreas.

“It’s all been reconfigured,” Johnny

said. “I’m dealing with another parallel

world that I work in with my diagnosis.

Pancreatic cancer is lethal. There’s no

way out of it.”

And yet he refused to allow it to con-

trol his life. Just six weeks after his gruel-

ling surgery he was back on stage per-

forming for the Springbok rugby team as

they launched their new jersey.

“He got better and just did it. He was

HAMBA

KAHLE,

JOHNNY

We

the“w

w

b

Johnny was diagnosed

with pancreatic cancer

in 2015. Before losing

his battle against the

disease last month,

he decided to do a

farewell tour for fans.

72 | 1 AUGUST 2019 http://www.drum.co.za