Spirit of a great heart
PHOTOGRAPHS: ANTIONE DE RAS, GALLO IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES, GETTY IMAGES/ HELENE PAMBRUN/PARIS MATCH/GALLO IMAGESour feet. I’m in my red Converse
sneakers, the ones that say ‘I may
be middle-aged but I am still in
fashion’. The audience screams and
stamps and claps. We hear the first
few bars and don’t need an invi-
tation. We’re his ultimate backup
vocals– sharingeverystepof this
2017 FinalJourneytour.
Johnnyintroducesa Zuludance
troupefromJoburg,sonsof people
heknewinthehostelswhenhe
wasstartinghiscareer.Hejoinsin
at theendof theirperformanceand
thecrowdcheers.A photographic
montageonstageshowsJohnny
as a smallboy,inhisZuluregalia
withJulukaintheearlydaysand
withSavukaa decadelaterlater.
Hetellshisstoriesagain.He
comparesthedarkdayswhenhe
firststartedperformingtothedark
dayswefacenow.Theaudienceis
quiet.Weknowwhathemeans.
Hethanksusallforcomingand
quipsthatwemustbetheones
whohaven’tgonetoAustralia.The
audiencelaughs.
Hehassungallthesongswe
knowbuttheshowkeepsgoing.
Whatwillthefinalebe?I can’t
imagineanythingbetterthanwhat
we’vealreadywitnessed.Hestarts
strumming.It’s‘Asimbonanga’.
Theaudiovisualdisplayis up
againandit showsJohnnyin
a zebra-printjacket.ThenMandela
joinshimintheframeanddoeshis
Madibadancetothesongwritten
abouthim.I feeltearful.I look
aroundat theaudienceandwonder
if othersfeelas I do.Wewalk
backtothecaranddrivehome,
remarkingonwhatanincredible
nightit was.I amnotsurewhat
asimbonangameans,soat home
I lookit up.Literallytranslated,it
means‘wecan’tseehim’.Whenev-
er I hearthatsong,I willalwaysbe
remindedof thatimageof Mandela
onthatstage.Thepictureis faded
butweCANstillseehim.Thank
youforthatgift,Johnny.✤onathan‘Johnny’Clegg
wasbornin Bacup,England
to anEnglishfatheranda
Zimbabwe-bornmotherin
1953.Whentheydivorced,
heleftEnglandwithhis
mother,Muriel.Theyreturned
to herhomeland,whereshemetand
marrieda SouthAfricanbeforeimmigrat-
ingto SAwhenhewasseven.Between
hismother’sjazzandcabaretsinging
careerandhisjournaliststepfather,who
tookJohnnyintothetownshipsfroman
earlyage,hewasexposedto broader
culturesandexperiences.
Asa teen,Johnnybecameinterestedin
playingtheguitar,andstruckupa friend-
shipwithstreetguitaristCharlieMzila,
a Zuluapartmentcleaner.UnderMzila’s
tutelage,JohnnymasteredtheZulu
language,maskandiguitarandHlangwini
(Zulustickdancing).Hewouldoftengo
intothetownshipswithCharlieto visit
thehostelsof migrantworkers.Here,he
workedonhisguitarskillsandlearntto
dance– thiswasalsowherehemethis
futureJulukabandmate,SiphoMchunu.
Atthetime,thesevisitscontravenedthe
GroupAreasAct,andhewasarrested.
Whilestudyinganthropologyat Wits
Universityin the1970s,Johnnybegan
experimentingwiththeideaof fusing
WesternlyricswithmelodiesfromZulu
music.A firstin theworld,it gothimthe
attentionof producerHiltonRosenthal,
whosignedJohnnyandSipho,andthey
formedJuluka.Becauseit wasagainst
thelawin apartheidSAforpeopleof
differentracesto performtogether
publicly,theirmusicdidn’treceiveanyairplay.Theydidprivateperformances
whichwereoftenraidedby the police, but
regardless,theirshowswere so popular
theywouldoftenbesold out.
Siphowould,in theend, decide to go
backhometo becomea cattle farmer,
andin 1986Johnnypartnered with Dudu
Zuluto formhissecondband, Savuka.
Theirfirstalbum,ThirdWorld Child, was
releasedin 1987wenton to break inter-
nationalsalesrecordsin several European
countries.Thebandexperienced great
successbutin 1993they disbanded, and
Johnnywentsolo.Hewas hailed interna-
tionallyandin hisowncountry for uniting
a countrythroughmusic and dance.
Johnnyperformedat all four of Nelson
Mandela’s 46664 Aidsawareness concerts
andin 1999,at a concert in France,
Madibahimselfjoinedhim onstage for
hisperformanceof ‘Asimbonanga’. ‘The
Impi’,‘GreatHeart’and‘African Sky Blue’
hitmakerwentonto winmany local and
internationalawards,produced several
albumsandtouredextensively in Europe
andSA.Hewasalsoawarded the Order
of Ikhamangaandotherprestigious
awardsforhiscontribution to music,
includingbeingdeclared a French cultural
knightandnameda member of the Most
ExcellentOrderof theBritish Empire.
In 2016,Johnnywas diagnosed
withpancreaticcancer.He embarked on
a worldwidefarewelltour in 2018 with
musicianslikehissonJesse, and Sipho.
OnTuesday, 16 July2019, the 66-year-
oldiconpassedaway,surrounded by his
belovedwifeof 31years, Jenny, and the
restof hisfamily.Hewas laid to rest in
a privateceremonya day later.J
THE MAN,
THE LEGEND
26 Fairlady/September 2019