In the mid-1980s, under apartheid, it was unusual and often difficult for Black and white South Africans to share a stage. Mango Groove did it anyway. The Johannesburg band brought together musicians from different backgrounds and mixed pop with the township sounds of kwela and marabi, with pennywhistles, saxophones and trumpets leading the melodies. Fronted by the singer Claire Johnston, the group became one of the most popular bands in the country as apartheid was coming to an end, and their songs are still played at South African celebrations.
Founding and Claire Johnston
Mango Groove formed in Johannesburg in the mid-1980s around bassist John Leyden. The line-up grew to about eleven members. The band included Black and white musicians, which made it a quiet challenge to the racial divisions of the time. Claire Johnston, a teenager when she joined, became the band’s voice and its public face.
The band included veteran musicians from the township jazz era. The pennywhistle player Mickey Vilakazi was one of them.
The sound and Special Star
Kwela was a pennywhistle music popular in South African townships in the 1950s. Marabi was an earlier township style built on keyboard rhythms. Mango Groove brought both into pop. Their self-titled debut album, released in 1989, sold strongly in South Africa. One of their best-known songs, Special Star, paid tribute to the pennywhistle star Spokes Mashiyane.
With horns, whistles and dancers, their concerts were joyful and full of energy. Their rise coincided with Nelson Mandela’s release in 1990 and the transition to democracy. Their music suited the hopeful mood.
Breaks, reunions and legacy
The band took breaks over the years, and members pursued other projects, but they reunited for concerts and new recordings. Mango Groove won several South African Music Awards and remains one of the country’s best-loved groups. The band helped introduce a younger generation to kwela and the township jazz tradition. Mango Groove continues to perform, with Johnston still at the front of the stage.
Mango Groove’s pennywhistle melodies came from township music of the 1950s, played by musicians who had lived through the worst of apartheid. Through the band, a new generation of South Africans learned to dance to them.
