15 Facts About Johnny Clegg

In 1986, Johnny Clegg founded the band Savuka, and recorded as a solo act, occasionally reuniting with his earlier band partners.

Johnny Clegg was born on 7 June 1953 in Bacup, Lancashire, to an English father of Scottish descent, Dennis Johnny Clegg, and a Rhodesian mother, Muriel.

Johnny Clegg moved with his mother to Rhodesia at age 6 months, and his parents divorced soon afterwards.

Johnny Clegg grew up in Yeoville, then a predominantly Jewish inner city neighbourhood of Johannesburg.

Johnny Clegg encountered the demi-monde of the city's Zulu migrant workers' music and dance.

Under the tutelage of Charlie Mzila, a flat cleaner by day and musician by night, Johnny Clegg mastered both the Zulu language and the maskandi guitar and the isishameni dance styles of the migrants.

Johnny Clegg was first arrested at the age of 15 for violating apartheid-era laws in South Africa banning people of different races from congregating together after curfew hours.

The band, which grew to a six-member group by the time it released its first album Universal Men in 1979, faced harassment and censorship, with Johnny Clegg later remarking that it was "impossible" to perform in public in South Africa.

Those lyrics often contained coded political messages and references to the battle against apartheid, although Johnny Clegg maintained that Juluka was not originally intended to be a political band.

Together with the black musician and dancer Dudu Zulu, Johnny Clegg went on to form his second inter-racial band, Savuka, in 1986, continuing to blend African music with European influences.

Johnny Clegg's touring schedule was abbreviated in 2017 after he underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer, and Clegg performed his last concert in Harare, Zimbabwe on 3 November 2018.

Johnny Clegg's song "Life is a Magic Thing" was featured in FernGully: The Last Rainforest.

Johnny Clegg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015, which ultimately led to his death on 16 July 2019.

Johnny Clegg died in his Johannesburg home surrounded by loved ones and was laid to rest the following day in Westpark Cemetery in Johannesburg.

Johnny Clegg was survived by his wife, Jenny, and his two sons, Jesse and Jaron.