I FIRST saw Johnny Clegg (pictured) and Sipho Mchunu perform as Juluka in the student hall of the then University of Natal-Pietermaritzburg in 1982, when I was an agile teenager capable of what I believed to be an impressive repertoire of amaZulu dance moves. Since then, my muscles have stiffened and my knees collapsed. But that has not stopped me going to his shows.
Now 60, Clegg has, I discovered a few weeks ago, also slowed down somewhat. No more high kicks and calf-slapping or thumping spears and shields. Just a bum on a bar stool with an array of musical instruments. Fortunately, his voice and music are as powerful and moving as ever.
Clegg and his band, comprising Andy Innes (guitar), Bongani Masuku (vocals) and Barry van Zyl (drums), performed An Intimate Evening With Johnny Clegg — Rare Unplugged Performances, at the Bay Harbour Market in Hout Bay last month.
It is on again at The Baxter in Cape Town from September 18 to 22, Rhebokskloof Wine Estate in Paarl on September 14 and the Hillcrest Quarry Summer Concert in Durbanville on September 15. Clegg will also perform A South African Story in the Teatro at Montecasino in Johannesburg from November 29 to December 1.
Unplugged includes storytelling by Clegg, during which he describes how he learned to speak Zulu and love the music and dancing of the amaZulu. He talks about how he took up anthropology because he enjoyed learning about people and hearing their stories, and how these stories are retold in his music.
He explains that Juluka’s debut single, Woza Friday, released in 1976, was inspired by an expression he encountered while working on a chicken farm. Clegg also talks about the influence of the mines and migratory labour in his music, and how the song, African Sky Blue, referenced the miners’ fear that, when they go underground, they will not see the sky again. And, of course, there’s Asimbonanga (We haven’t seen him), Clegg’s 1987 song about Nelson Mandela and other struggle heroes.
Fascinating, moving and, at times, funny, Unplugged reminds you just how long Clegg has been around and how interwoven his music is with the history of South Africa. I enjoyed his anecdotes, which gave the songs context and provided insight. There were moments, however, when he rambled on a little too long and I wished he would sing more. Music is what Clegg does best. He might be 60, but his voice is as strong as ever and his songs are as lively today as they were when I fancied I was an amaZulu dancing girl, not a sentimental Umfazi Omdala (Old Woman).
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