Johannesburg band formed in 1983 with Vernon Matzoupolos (tenor sax), Winston Nyaunda (alto sax), Harvey Roberts (tenor sax), Themba Sehoete (bass), Jimmy Florence (keyboards) and Steve Howells (drums).
Released the EP Switch It On And Wind it Up and the single “Thugs” in 1984.
Thereafter they travelled to England to make a go of it there but after a year they broke up mainly because from the outset Winston Nyaunda had not been allowed into the UK.
The band reformed in 1992 with some of the original members. Released the album Organic! in 1996.
Formed in Johannesburg in 1982, morphing out of Empty Set. Megan Frost (guitar), Richard Frost (drums, synthesisers), Susan Arbor (vocals), Paul Goodwin (sax), Gary Rathbone (guitar), Steve Howells (drums). Seventh member Zeev Takatshov worked on putting together visuals for
their performances.
The band had three central tenets to their performances: no solos, no songs longer than three minutes and thirdly, everyone had to contribute across the board during performances, hence the swapping of instruments. They believed that their music and stage performance should be a collective effort.
They released the album Urban Camouflage on cassette in 1983, after which Jimmy Florence joined on keyboards. Shortly after that Gary Rathbone went to the UK to avoid the army but ran out of money. When he returned a few months later Jimmy Florence and Steve Howells had gone on to form The Dynamics. Megan Frost, Richard Frost and Gary Rathbone went on to form Urban Camouflage which subsequently became The Spectres.
After The Dynamics broke up in 1986 Winston Nyaunda (alto sax) formed Winston’s Jive Mix-Up with Adam Reinecke (guitar), Sipho Shange (keyboards), Reggie Mfega (bass), Jannie van Tonder (trombone), former Dynamics band member Steve Howells (drums) and Mellissa James (violin).
They were a popular live band at venues like Jamesons in Johannesburg. In 1989 they recorded a self-titled album with Shifty Records.
It was only released on cassette but has since been made available digitally. Former Dynamics band member Harvey Roberts made a guest appearance on tenor saxophone on two of the tracks, “Wait awhile” and “107”.
