Claire Johnston had no idea as a shy 17-year-old schoolgirl that becoming the lead singer of a mixed-race band towards the end of apartheid would unite the nation through a catchy blend of pop and township music. Such things were almost unheard of at the time.
As it turned out, Mango Groove became the soundtrack to a nation undergoing massive political and social change, with sold-out concerts featuring marabi and kwela music that has kept fans bopping for more than 40 years.
And in a little over a month’s time, on September 14, the band will perform at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden — their first major Johannesburg performance in five years. The Mango Groove 40th Anniversary Concert: Memories and Moments follows a sold-out anniversary concert at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden in Cape Town in January.
Renowned for transgressing racial boundaries since their inception in 1984, the band performed at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela in 1994, and sold out major venues — including the Sun City Superbowl and the then Standard Bank Arena — six times.
The main feeling I have is one of slight amazement and slight gratitude
— Claire Johnston, lead singer of Mango Groove
“When I joined the band as a 17-year-old schoolgirl, I had no idea it would take me on this amazing long journey. The main feeling I have is one of slight amazement and slight gratitude,” Johnston, 57, told the Sunday Times this week.
"[Mango Groove] exploded in a way we could not imagine ... because of the time in which [the music] was released. And that, of course, was a time when everything was changing in South Africa. [It was] a heavy time, and we were part of that. We were the soundtrack to that time. [Our music] was very unifying for a lot of people back then.”
Some of the band’s notable performances abroad include the "La Fête des Potes" (The Friends’ Party), a Paris concert by French anti-racism organisation, SOS Racisme, and at the Montreux Jazz Festival.
Johnston was the only female band member among seven males when she joined Mango Groove. From 1985 to 1988, John Leyden, Mickey Vilakazi, Sipho Bhengu, Banza Kgasoane, George Lewis, Alan Lazar, Gavin Stevens and Mduduzi Magwaza made up the band.
When two members passed away, singers
Beulah Hashe, Marilyn Nokwe and Phumzile Ntuli joined in 1989.
The line-up now includes Leyden, Johnston, Hashe, Siziwe Ngema, Thomas Selmer-Olsen, Themba Ndaba, Keith Marisheni, Percy Mbonani, Andrew Baird, Sydney Mavundla and Pinkie Moseme.
“I was a schoolgirl and ,suddenly, I was in this very grown-up world experiencing things I had never experienced before. That sort of thing was just amazing. Performing with a band and seeing the effect music had on people [was wonderful]. People getting emotional, and approaching us teary-eyed to talk about the effect of the music, was incredible.”
But the journey has had its challenges. At times, the demands of being a sought-after performer drained Johnston.
While on tour in Melbourne, she lost her voice before a performance. “I remember losing my voice in Australia, probably owing to late nights and lack of sleep, and being given a sleeping pill and shut away in a hotel room. I slept solidly for seven hours, and then woke up to find my voice was back,” she said.
“I lost my voice earlier on in the band for a year when I was 19. We had been touring Cape Town during the festive season. When I got back to Joburg, everything was very raspy. I went to various specialists, who found there were a couple of nodules on my vocal cords. They were taken out six weeks before we began recording, so I was very fortunate. I had been singing all my life, and it was decided [early on] that I would be a singer/actress. For me to have to contemplate that this dream might be over was very painful.”
Johnson wed Mango Groove founder Leyden in 1999, but they separated in 2012. “We got divorced, but it didn’t effect the band. John is still my best friend. [Our relationship] is as solid as ever. [Our divorce] did not ruin everything. The band was too important [for us] to throw [it] away over the marriage not working.
“Children did not happen. That’s a whole long story. It’s a very personal thing that I’m not completely ready to talk about. It’s to do with medical malpractice. I’ve made peace with it, though. My life is good, and [not having had children is] not something that’s destroyed me.”
Johnston regards herself as a hopeless romantic. “My boyfriend and I just moved in together. It’s quite a lovely story. He was my neighbour, and we connected when I looked after his cat during Covid-19 when he was away, and I wasn’t doing anything because the music industry had shut down completely.
“We were friends for a while, and now we live together. I will probably always be a hopeless romantic. He’s in a completely different industry — we are so different. He’s in the world of finance, whereas I’m a creative.”
Johnston says she still feels like a shy teen at times.
“Some things I’ve got much better at over time, but in other ways I’m still that 17-year-old girl who is nervous on stage. It’s funny how we don’t completely lose that. I just love that Mango Groove has been able to help make people happy.”
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