909

Johannesburg based group formed in 1985 with Cecil Mitchell (lead vocals), Mark Kahn (guitar), Les Goode (bass), Johan Laas and Pete McClea (keyboards), Neil McKellar (drums), Terry Hunt (drums). Additional vocals: Lionel Peterson, Mark Kahn and Suzy Bunce. Bones Delight (vocals) joined in 1989.

They released the singles “What Are We Going To Do About Love” and a cover of the Led Zeppelin song “Whole lotta love” in 1986.

Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim: Formerly known as Dollar Brand; changed his name when he converted to Islam.

South Africa’s most renowned jazz musician. Pianist and composer who has released numerous albums. He grew up in Cape Town and was involved in the South African 1950s jazz scene.

He released the anthemic “Mannenberg” in 1974.

He was strongly opposed to apartheid and spent two lengthy spells in self-imposed exile in the United States, on either side of a short period back in South Africa in the mid-1970s.

African Jazz Pioneers

An ensemble of jazz musicians formed around saxophonist Edmund ‘Ntemi’ Piliso which he formed in 1981 to revive the big African jazz sound of his early 1950s Bra Ntemi and his Alexandra All Star Band.

The 1981 line-up included Ntemi Philiso, Wilson Silgee, Kippie Moeketsi, Timothy Ndaba, Shep Ntsamai and Stompie Manana.

They performed in and around the Johannesburg area (but also further afield such as Botswana in 1986) throughout the 1980s and were invited to perform at the Culture in Another South Africa festival in Amsterdam in 1987.

The line-up changed regularly according to who was available and who wanted to stay with the band at any particular time but Ntemi Philiso was a constant until his death in December 2000. After which the band continued to perform and record.

Their first fully fledged album was African Jazz Pioneers released in 1989, followed by Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival (1991), Sip ‘n’ Fly (1993), Shufflin’ Joe (1996), Afrika Vukani (1999) and 76 3rd Avenue (2004).

Afronaut

Formed in Soweto in 2019, embracing an Afropunk aesthetic.

Fumane Mahane (lead vocals), Thulasizwe Nkosi (guitar) and Zakhele Mangwanyane (violin). Nkosi had formerly been a member of thrash punk band TCIYF.

Afronaut released their debut single “Birdhouse” in November 2020 and debut EP Africans From Outa Space in December 2020.

All Night Radio

Formed in Stellenbosch in 1983 with Steve Louw (guitar, vocals), Nice Burge (vocals), Rob Nagel (bass, harmonica) and Richard Devey (drums).

Released the single “Breaking Hearts” and the album The Heart’s The Best Part in 1984.

In 1986 they released the singles “Here Comes The Night” and “Reign OF Fire”, both of which were included on the album The Killing Floor released in 1987.

After touring The Killing Floor the band broke up. Steve Louw went on to form Big Sky.

Amampondo

Formed in Langa in 1980: Dizu Plaatjies (drums), Mzwandile Qotoyi (drums), Michael Nkululeko Ludonga (drums), Xola Mlambo (marimbas), Mandla Lande (marimbas), Blackie Zandisile Mbizela (marimbas), Simpiwe Matole (xylophone, marimbas) and Thembi Nyandeni (vocals, dancer).

Their first album release was Uyandibiza in 1983, followed by Searching For The Missing Link (1986), Feel the Pulse of Africa (1989), State of Emergency (1990), An Image Of Africa (1992), Intsholo (with the Solid Brass Quintet in 1995), Drums For Tomorrow (1997), Inyama (1997) and Vuyani (2000).

Amersham

Johannesburg band formed in 1995:

Initially started by Adam Lomas (lead vocals, guitar) and Nathan Waywell (bass, vocals) who began as a duo. Marc Bentel (guitar, vocals) and Tim Trotter (drums, vocals) joined to complete the full band.

They began by releasing several EPs: Pickled (1996), BOB The Remixes (1997), Upside Downside (1998) and Matchbox (1998). Meanwhile they released three albums: Wearing Thin (1997), Revolving Doors (1999) and 12 Songs (2000).

They broke up in 2000 and Lomas and Bentel went on to form Starskii.

In 2020 Amersham reformed and released three singles over a few months: “Happy Face”, “Cute As A Button” and “Dilemma”.

Ami Faku

Port Elizabeth-based musician who rose to fame when she competed in The Voice South Africa in 2017. Although she did not win she was a very popular contestant and used the exposure to launch a recording career, releasing the single “Babuyile” in 2018.

In 2019 she released the album Imali and collaborated with Sun El Musician on the single “Into Ingawe”.

In 2020 she won the Female Artist of the Year Award at the South African Music Awards.

Andre de Villiers

Grew up in Cape Town. Started out in the mid-1960s with Coloured Rain, then in the late 1960s formed Hammak, in 1972 Stallion and in 1977 the Gas Band.

His solo career kicked off in 1976 with the “Country girl” single and Country Gas album. He went on to record several more singles and albums in the 1970s and first half of the 1980s.

Angie Peach

Real name Angie Hazimarcu. After Peach broke up she went solo, releasing the song “The spell” in 1982. It met with limited success on South African radio.

She contributed vocals to Via Afrika’s song ‘Caprivi Strip” (1984). She also did some collaborative work with Robbie Robb in a band called Angie and the Affections and appeared on SABC performing a song called “Do you”.

In 1984 they released a single “That boy” which failed to make an impression. She released the song “I come undone’ on the 4 for Africa EP in 1985 (along with Tribe After Tribe, Via Afrika and Ella Mental).

In the mid-1980s she left South Africa, hoping to work on solo album in Australia. However, her planned album did not get off the ground but she carried on performing with others. She became the backing vocalist for Savage Garden.