History Music / JohnnyClegg

Johnny Clegg (June 7, 1953 - July 16, 2019) was an English-South African musician. He was the leader of two now-disbanded bands, "Juluka", meaning "sweat", and "Savuka", meaning "we have risen" or "we are victorious". He later continued touring with a different band, which was either nameless or simply named "The Johnny Clegg Band". His music is an unparalleled type of Western pop/rock combined with traditional Zulu music. While never achieving high popularity in the US, his music was considered controversial in Apartheid South Africa, and is well-liked in South Africa today. He also has a huge following in France, of all places, where he is known as Le Zoulou Blanc (The White Zulu).

Johnny Clegg (Born June 7, 1953) is an English-South African musician. He is the leader of two now-disbanded bands, "Juluka", meaning "sweat", and "Savuka", meaning "we have risen" or "we are victorious". He continues touring with a different band, which is either nameless or simply "The Johnny Clegg Band". His music is an unparalleled type of Western pop/rock combined with traditional Zulu music. While never achieving high popularity in the US, his music was considered controversial in Apartheid South Africa, and is well-liked in South Africa today. He also has a huge following in France, of all places, where he is known as Le Zoulou Blanc (The White Zulu).

* CriticalResearchFailure: Savuka's first concert in France was at a ''jazz'' festival.
--> '''Clegg:''' We don't know what the heck we had to do with jazz, but of course we said we'd do it.

* NoExportForYou: Several live albums are only available in South Africa. ''New World Survivor'' and the solo version of ''Third World Child'' are extremely scarce because of this. Good luck finding as much as a download or YouTube video for some of the songs, forget an actual CD.
** Inverted and subverted simultaneously with ''The International Tracks'', an album of songs prior only released internationally but not in South Africa.

* TearJerker:
** "Boy Soldier", a song about ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.
** "Thamela (Die Son Trek Water)" also qualifies if you know the translation.
** "Touch the Sun" if you know the story.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Subverted. ''New World Survivor'' is a collection of cut songs from Savuka, which were given a ''very'' limited release.

->''Hold me close, Africa''

->''Remember me''

->''African music, wherever you're from''
->''You'll never lose it -- the rhythm is strong''

* CongoWars: "Congo" references several of the problems left in their aftermath. The song itself was meant as a pick-me-up to those in the DRC.

* WordSaladLyrics: "Uthando Luphelile". To the point that some of ''English'' lyrics can't be transcribed.

* RealLifeWritesThePlot: One (Hu)'man, One Vote was written in memory of the assassination of anti-apartheid activist Dr David Webster, which took place when ''Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World'' was being recorded.

* AlbumNameDrop: "Foreign Nights (Working Dog In Babylon)" serves as this for ''Heat, Dust and Dreams''.

* OneWomanSong: "Deliwe". Technically "Magumede" too, although it's a tribal song and not romantic.

* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where The Hell Is Phelamanga]]: Of all the obscure places mentioned in songs, this is the only only one that doesn't actually exist. It's mentioned in the song "Scatterlings of Africa" in the line "On the road to Phelamanga". It's generally presumed to refer to a place where all truth comes from and prevails, akin to a type of Heaven.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Work For All'' began to talk about problems in a more direct manner than the albums before it. Among them are the common violence in the KZN and South Africa in general ("Bullets for Bafazane", "Gunship Ghetto", "Mdantsane (Mud Coloured Dusty Blood)"), the decision between self and country ("December African Rain"), water shortages ("Walima'mabele"), protests ("Mana Lapho"), internal displacement ("Baba Nango", Mdantsane (Mud Colored Dusty Blood)") and the fight for work ("Work For All").

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Work For All'' began to talk about problems in a more direct manner than the albums before it. Among them are the common violence in the KZN and South Africa in general ("Bullets for Bafazane", "Gunship Ghetto", "Mdantsane (Mud Coloured Dusty Blood)"), the decision between self and country ("December African Rain"), water shortages ("Walima'mabele"), protests ("Mana Lapho"), internal displacement (" Baba Nango", Mdantsane (Mud Colored Dusty Blood)") and the fight for work ("Work For All").

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Work For All'' began to talk about problems in a more direct manner than the albums before it. Among them are the common violence in the KZN and South Africa in general ("Bullets for Bafazane", "Gunship Ghetto", "Mdantsane (Mud Coloured Dusty Blood)"), the decision between self and country ("December African Rain"), water shortages ("Walima'mabele"), protests ("Mana Lapho"), and the fight for work ("Work For All").

** "Boy Soldier", a song about ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin.

* [[WhereTheHellIsSpringfield Where The Hell Is Phelamanga]]: Of all the obscure places mentioned in songs, this is the only only one that doesn't actually exist. It's mentioned in the song "Scatterlings of Africa" in the line "On the road to Phelamanga". It's generally presumed to refer to a place where all truth comes from and prevails, akin to a type of Heaven.

* OneWomanSong: "Deliwe"

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Subverted. "New World Survivor" is a collection of cut songs from Savuka, which were given a ''very'' limited release.

* TheApardheidEra: Roughly half of the songs released before 1994 are about it in one way or another.

Juluka:
''Universal Men'' (1979)
''African Litany'' (1981)
''Scatterlings'' (1982)
''Ubuhle Bemvelo'' (1982)
''Work For All'' (1983)
''Stand Your Ground'' (1984)
''Musa Ukungilandela'' (1984)
''The International Tracks'' (1984)
''Ya Vuka Inkunzi - The Bull Has Risen (Name in South Africa)/Crocodile Love (Name Internationally)'' (1997)

Savuka:
''Third World Child'' (1987)
''Shadow Man'' (1988)
''Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World'' (1990)
''Heat, Dust and Dreams'' (1993)
''Live and Rarities'' (1994)
''In My African Dream'' (1994)

Solo:
''Third World Child'' (1985)
''New World Survivor'' (2002)
''One Life'' (2006)
''Human'' (2010)

* DarkerAndEdgier:
** "One Life", his first widely released solo album. It includes many more allusions to sex than Savuka did, and includes one of two swears in any of the songs. (In Zulu, however. The word is "demmet", which translates to "damn it").
** "Crocodile Love" is also this considering it was made after Savuka was disbanded.

* NoExportForYou: Several live albums are only available in South Africa. "New World Survivor" is extremely scarce because of this and the fact that only 2000 or so copies were made. Good luck finding as much as a download or YouTube video for some of the songs, forget an actual CD.
** Inverted and subverted simultaneously with "The International Tracks", an album of songs prior only released internationally but not in South Africa.

* RareGuns: "Woman Be My Country" has the lyric "I no longer carry an Armalite". In 1980s South Africa, an AR-15 would be much more scarce than in modern-day America. Considering how much more expensive it would be compared to an AK-47, and the fact that the AR-15 uses a completely different size of round, one would be AwesomeButImpractical at best.