IN MY AFRICAN DREAM; THE BEST OF JOHNNY CLEGG & SAVUKA (EMI). Or, if you can afford it, the better, wider-ranging, 12 minutes longer, but more expensive and now deleted but available on Amazon, JOHNNY CLEGG: ANTHOLOGY (Connoisseur).
Although born in Rochdale, Lancashire (England), Clegg grew up in South Africa. His family were middle class but, from childhood, he hung around the townships and spoke the Bantu language (Ndebele) as easily as English. In his teens he started playing guitar, jamming with Zulu musicians, palling up and forming a partnership with Sipho Mchunu. Eventually they formed a band.
This was during the darkest days of apartheid, when the ANC were underground and Nelson Mandela was securely locked up. To form a multi-racial band was itself a challenge to authority. Every time they recorded a song, every time they played a gig, they were committing a political act, making the statement that the races could work together in harmony.
Clegg was called ‘the white Zulu’, which could be embarrassing but, in this case, was completely appropriate. Clegg genuinely felt as much at home with black African culture as white, perhaps more so. He was not, and never has been, a cultural imperialist.
Lyrically Clegg is, by turns, romantic and political, often at the same time. Even when tackling historical events or everyday life he remains romantic and political. His songs frequently work on several levels –a love song is also a tribute to the imprisoned Mandela, a song praising the beauty of Africa is about the spirit of the Zulus under apartheid –so much so that it’s easy to see texts in his songs which don’t actually exist.
Musically Clegg writes (oh god, I hate to use this phrase) catchy tunes. Every one of the 16 tracks on this cd are memorable, full of great hooks and rhythms. He electrifies Zulu music and approaches rock from an African angle, just as his songs often mix English and Ndbele, to create something recognisable but original. His voice is expressive but serviceable at best (perhaps I may be being unfair but I'll let it stand), but the harmonies are wonderful.
It’s 66 minutes of music that every rock fan should have in their collection, for ideological reasons, yes, but also because it is simply superb music. In an industry full of posers, pretentious, self-inflated egos hiding minimal talent, Clegg and his fellow musicians are the real thing -talent, integrity, and commitment, who worked in a society that hated everything they stood for.
And they, and people like them, won.
POST SCRIPT
Since writing the above I have just discovered a brief video clip on Clegg's own website of him on stage with Nelson Mandela (yes, Nelson Mandela) dancing (swaying, really) behind him. At the end, the two men walk off with their arms around each other.
And, just so there's no doubt about my feelings, I believe that Nelson Mandela is one of the finest human beings to have ever walked the face of this earth.
Although born in Rochdale, Lancashire (England), Clegg grew up in South Africa. His family were middle class but, from childhood, he hung around the townships and spoke the Bantu language (Ndebele) as easily as English. In his teens he started playing guitar, jamming with Zulu musicians, palling up and forming a partnership with Sipho Mchunu. Eventually they formed a band.
This was during the darkest days of apartheid, when the ANC were underground and Nelson Mandela was securely locked up. To form a multi-racial band was itself a challenge to authority. Every time they recorded a song, every time they played a gig, they were committing a political act, making the statement that the races could work together in harmony.
Clegg was called ‘the white Zulu’, which could be embarrassing but, in this case, was completely appropriate. Clegg genuinely felt as much at home with black African culture as white, perhaps more so. He was not, and never has been, a cultural imperialist.
Lyrically Clegg is, by turns, romantic and political, often at the same time. Even when tackling historical events or everyday life he remains romantic and political. His songs frequently work on several levels –a love song is also a tribute to the imprisoned Mandela, a song praising the beauty of Africa is about the spirit of the Zulus under apartheid –so much so that it’s easy to see texts in his songs which don’t actually exist.
Musically Clegg writes (oh god, I hate to use this phrase) catchy tunes. Every one of the 16 tracks on this cd are memorable, full of great hooks and rhythms. He electrifies Zulu music and approaches rock from an African angle, just as his songs often mix English and Ndbele, to create something recognisable but original. His voice is expressive but serviceable at best (perhaps I may be being unfair but I'll let it stand), but the harmonies are wonderful.
It’s 66 minutes of music that every rock fan should have in their collection, for ideological reasons, yes, but also because it is simply superb music. In an industry full of posers, pretentious, self-inflated egos hiding minimal talent, Clegg and his fellow musicians are the real thing -talent, integrity, and commitment, who worked in a society that hated everything they stood for.
And they, and people like them, won.
POST SCRIPT
Since writing the above I have just discovered a brief video clip on Clegg's own website of him on stage with Nelson Mandela (yes, Nelson Mandela) dancing (swaying, really) behind him. At the end, the two men walk off with their arms around each other.
And, just so there's no doubt about my feelings, I believe that Nelson Mandela is one of the finest human beings to have ever walked the face of this earth.
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