THE MAN, THE LEGEND
Jonathan ‘Johnny’ Clegg was born in Bacup, England to an English father and a Zimbabwe-born mother in 1953. When they divorced, he left England with his mother, Muriel. They returned to her homeland, where she met and married a South African before immigrating to SA when he was seven. Between his mother’s jazz and cabaret singing career and his journalist stepfather, who took Johnny into the townships from an early age, he was exposed to broader cultures and experiences.
As a teen, Johnny became interested in playing the guitar, and struck up a friendship with street guitarist Charlie Mzila, a Zulu apartment cleaner. Under Mzila’s tutelage, Johnny mastered the Zulu language, maskandi guitar and Hlangwini (Zulu stick dancing). He would often go into the townships with Charlie to visit the hostels of migrant workers. Here, he worked on his guitar skills and learnt to dance – this was also where he met his future Juluka bandmate, Sipho Mchunu. At the time, these visits contravened the Group Areas Act, and he was arrested.
While studying anthropology at Wits University in the 1970s, Johnny began experimenting with the idea of fusing Western lyrics with melodies from Zulu music. A first in the world, it got him the attention of producer Hilton Rosenthal, who signed Johnny and Sipho, and they formed Juluka. Because it was against the law in apartheid SA for people of different races to perform together publicly, their music didn’t receive any
airplay. They did private performances which were often raided by the police, but regardless, their shows were so popular they would often be sold out.
Sipho would, in the end, decide to go back home to become a cattle farmer, and in 1986 Johnny partnered with Dudu Zulu to form his second band, Savuka. Their first album, Third World Child, was released in 1987 went on to break international sales records in several European countries. The band experienced great success but in 1993 they disbanded, and Johnny went solo. He was hailed internationally and in his own country for uniting a country through music and dance.
Johnny performed at all four of Nelson Mandela’s 46664 Aids awareness concerts and in 1999, at a concert in France, Madiba himself joined him onstage for his performance of ‘Asimbonanga’. ‘The Impi’, ‘Great Heart’ and ‘African Sky Blue’ hitmaker went on to win many local and international awards, produced several albums and toured extensively in Europe and SA. He was also awarded the Order of Ikhamanga and other prestigious awards for his contribution to music, including being declared a French cultural knight and named a member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
In 2016, Johnny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He embarked on a worldwide farewell tour in 2018 with musicians like his son Jesse, and Sipho. On Tuesday, 16 July 2019, the 66-yearold icon passed away, surrounded by his beloved wife of 31 years, Jenny, and the rest of his family. He was laid to rest in a private ceremony a day later.