Formed in Johannesburg in 1984. James Phillips (guitar, vocals). Lee Edwards (bass), Michael de la Hunt (drums) replaced by Richard Vos.
Released the album Live At Jamesons in 1985.
Recorded The Otherwhite Album in the late 1980s but it was not released until 1992.
Final album was Sunny Skies (1993) released as James Philips and the Lurchers with James Phillips, Lee Edwards and various new members and session musicians.
The Cherry Faced Lurchers developed a cult following in the 1980s and performed live over the years, including the performance of many songs that have not been released on any of their albums.
James Phillips died in 1995 from injuries incurred in a car accident.
Soweto-based musician Sello Twala began his music career as percussionist for Umoja in 1983. He went on to join Harari in 1984 and in 1985 he recorded his first solo single, “We Can Dance” followed by the single “Move Over” and the album I Need Money in 1986.
Further albums included We Miss You Manelow (1987), Soldier (1989), Soldier With a Gun (1989), Thina Sizwe Esimnyama (1989) and Papa Stop The War (1990).
He went on to release several more albums over the next decade and half and made a name for himself as a producer, producing albums for the likes of Brenda Fassie and Chimora.
Durban-born singer-songwriter, guitarist and film composer. A founding member of Urban Creep, formed in Durban in 1994. While still a member of Urban Creep he co-formed the acoustic duo Van der Want/Letcher with Matthew van der Want in 1997. After Urban Creep disbanded in 1998 he relocated, eventually settling in London in the early 2000s where he completed a doctorate in music at the Royal College of Music.
His solo career began with the album Frieze (2007), which was listed in the Sunday Times Albums of the Decade. His follow-up, Spectroscope (2011), was named Mail & Guardian album of the year. Hyperbalist followed in 2013. Both Frieze and Spectroscope featured in the Mail & Guardian’s “20 Best CDs of the Decade by South African Artists” list.
Alongside his recording career he has become a prolific film and television composer. Credits include Claire Angelique’s My Black Little Heart, the BBC TV series Women in Love, the BBC film The Challenger Disaster (2013, starring William Hurt), Ntshavheni wa Luruli’s Elelwani (2013), and the South African box-office hit Kandasamys (2016). His score for Matthys Boshoff’s The Story of Racheltjie De Beer (2019) won Best Feature Film Score at the South African Film and Television Awards, an award he had previously won in 2016. He is a lecturer in screen music composition at the University of Edinburgh.
