Juluka

Johnny Clegg (2009)

Juluka was a South African band formed in 1969 by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu . The isiZulu word Juluka means "sweat" and was the name of a bull that Mchunu owned.

history

At the age of 14, Clegg met the Zulu street musician Charlie Mzila, who taught him Zulu music and dance for two years. In 1969 Clegg and Mchunu met in Johannesburg , where 18-year-old Mchunu challenged 16-year-old Clegg to a guitar competition.

The two initially played on the streets and on other unofficial occasions as far as this was possible during apartheid . Clegg was arrested several times for these activities and the lyrics of the songs.

The first single was the song Woza Friday released in 1976 , three years later the album Universal Men , on which musicians such as Mervyn Africa and Sipho Gumede participated. The lyrics were influenced by John Berger 's A Seventh Man , Pablo Neruda and Jean-Paul Sartre .

After the group strengthened in 1979 with Robbie Jansen and other musicians, the album African Litany was released in 1981 . The song Impi, about the defeat of the British army by the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana , was banned in South Africa, but became a hit underground. This was followed by a tour of Europe and North America in 1982 and 1983.

The group disbanded in 1985 when Mchunu returned to his family's farm. Clegg founded a new band, Savuka , which became even more successful internationally. In 1997, after a reunification of Juluka, another album was released, but it was unable to build on the success of the first albums.

music

The group's music included elements from Maskanda and Mbaqanga , popular South African musical styles, as well as Western folk and rock music. Various instruments were used, including traditional Zulu instruments as well as guitar, saxophone and synthesizer .

Discography (albums)

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Scatterlings   UK 50 07/23/1983 (3 weeks) Crocodile Love   CH 39 06/29/1997 (2 weeks)

Singles

Scatterlings of Africa   UK 44 02/05/1983 (5 weeks) Impi   UK 87 08/06/1983 (3 weeks)

• 1976: Woza Friday
• 1979: Universal Men
• 1981: African Litany
• 1982: Ubuhle Bemvelo
• 1982: Scatterlings
• 1983: Work For All
• 1984: The International Tracks
• 1984: Stand Your Ground
• 1984: Musa Ukungilandela
• 1986: The Good Hope Concerts
• 1988: Le Rock Zoulou de Johnny Clegg & Sipho Mchunu
• 1997: Crocodile Love

Members (1983–1985)

• Sipho Mchunu - vocals, guitar, percussion
• Johnny Clegg - guitar, vocals
• Cyril Mnculwane - keyboard
• Glenda Millar - keyboard
• Scorpion Madondo - saxophone, flute
• Gary Van Zyl - bass
• Derek De Beer - drums

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sipho Mchunu and Johnny Clegg: Universal men with a universal message Green Left Weekly, November 8, 2000
2. ↑ Online excerpt from 'A Seventh Man' published in 'Race & Class', 1975
3. ↑ ^{a b} Chart sources: CH UK