Heywood & Hopwood Feb 2020

and English lyrics intermixed, but this led
to regular harassment and imprisonment
of the band members and their concerts
being broken up by the authorities.
Wherever they were held, their
performances were often disrupted as
under apartheid legislation known as the
Group Areas Act white people like Johnny
Clegg were not permitted to enter
segregated black townships without
official permits and these were often
withheld. Similarly, black people were
kept out of whites-only areas by night-time
curfews. Due to his political and cultural
stance Clegg became known as the ‘white
Zulu’ although he didn’t care for that name.
Eventually both of Clegg’s bands proved
popular in the black and white
communities, selling enough to win two
platinum and five gold albums and touring
the world with their inter-racial music and
message. So popular were they that in Lyon
they drew such a large crowd that Michael
Jackson was forced to cancel his concert,
claiming ‘they have stolen my fans!’
During a Savuka concert in Frankfurt in
1999 Johnny was joined onstage by Nelson
Mandela who danced as Clegg sang
‘Asimbonanga’ the protest song Savuka
had dedicated to him when Mandela was
in jail. In the United Kingdom however,
things were never good for Johnny.
Because he had been expelled from the
Musicians Union his band were barred
from playing in June 1988 at the Wembley
Stadium Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute.
In 1990, Clegg was still politically and
musically active, telling the New York
Times that their mission was ‘to bring a
whole collection of songs that are about the
South African experience to the world.”
As if all of this wasn’t enough, Johnny Clegg
had a second career as an Anthropology
lecturer at both the Universities of
Witwatersrand and Natal, writing a
number of important papers on Zulu music.
He would build his knowledge of culture and
history into his stage act with Juluka and
Savuka. His work was recognised in 2015
when he was made an OBE.
Clegg’s touring schedule was cut short in
2017 after undergoing critical surgery and
in 2019 he died from pancreatic cancer
having performed his last concert in
Mauritius in October 2018. He was 66
years old. A statement by the South
African government against whom he had
struggled for most of his life captures his
importance : ‘Mr. Clegg’s music had the
ability to unite people across the races’ and
that he had ‘made an indelible mark in the
music industry and the hearts of the
people.’ Born in Bacup, he became a
national hero in South Africa by defying
with joyful music and powerful language
the evils of apartheid policies.
If you have any memories or comments about Johnny Clegg, I’d be delighted to hear
from you and add them to a growing Rochdale archive on the subject. Please contact
Gary Heywood-Everett at garyheywoodeverett@yahoo.co.uk or leave your comments
by text or by recorded message at 07745201263.
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