The Leather Omnibus

The Leather Omnibus was a multiracial band comprising students at Rhodes University and residents of Rhini Township outside Grahamstown during the apartheid-era of the late 1980s.

The band played a mixture of covers and original material commenting on the socio-political conditions of the time.

They released one single, ‘Neighbours’ which received airplay on the local campus radio station, ‘RMR’.

The classic line-up was: Leon Lazarus (bass & vocals), Mini Dial (drums & vocals), Brett Lock (guitar), David McCluskey (saxophone), and Nombelelo Futuse (keyboards and backing vocals).

For their final run of gigs in December 1989 at the famous club Jameson’s in Johannesburg, they were augmented by: Chris Letcher (lead guitar), Alan Finlay (keyboards), Vusi Kama (percussion), and Rene Benade (backing vocals).