Johnny Clegg bids fans goodbye with final tour

On Saturday, Clegg will start his global farewell tour with a concert in Cape Town before playing other South Africa venues and then on to London, France, Dubai, the United States and Canada.

The 64-year-old, who is famed for his multi-ethnic collaborations, told AFP that the decision to bring down the curtain on live performing came after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2015.

"It has been a rewarding career in so many aspects... to be able to unite people through song, especially at a time where it seemed impossible," he said.

"I want to give my fans some kind of conclusion... (showing) that the journey I started when I was 14-years-old is coming to an end now.

"My shows are very physical, a lot of dancing, and I have to be strong to do that."

Clegg's cancer is in remission after he underwent chemotherapy.

"I  would like to present a final farewell while I am still capable of doing it," he added during an interview in Johannesburg.

Clegg said that the "Final Journey Tour" would be an autobiographical trip through his musical career since he was a boy.

It is a journey that saw him endure harassment from apartheid police under white-minority rule, when he was targeted for playing with black musicians.

In contrast, his music - and activism - attracted a worldwide fanbase that packed venues such as the Royal Albert Hall in London and across France, where he remains a huge national star.

Evading race laws

Clegg's fascination with Zulu dance and melodies began in the dingy blacks-only migrant workers' hostels in Johannesburg in the 1960s - where he sneaked in to join traditional dancers. 

He secretly rehearsed with dance tropes though his presence as a white person was outlawed by apartheid.

"We had to find our way around a myriad of laws that prevented us from mixing across racial lines," he remembers.

He turned professional in 1979 when his mixed-race band Juluka released the album "Universal Men".

Its blend of Western pop with Zulu melodies, concertina and guitar made him a symbol of anti-apartheid opposition and endeared him to his earliest fans.

"The people were intrigued by our music," he said.

His band also used Zulu humming, choral singing styles and energetic foot-stomping traditional dance.

"The humming gives it a very strong connection to the land and the people," he said.

He credits the 1982 song "Scatterlings of Africa" as the tune that catapulted him and his band to stardom as it topped charts in France and England.

"Nobody knew exactly what the music was about, but something about Africa," he said.