John Kongos
This singing multi-instrumentalist left his native South Africa for London in 1966. After leading a group called Scrub through several unsuccessful singles, he was signed as a solo artist by Dawn Records who released 1969's CONFUSIONS ABOUT GOLDFISH. A transfer to Fly two years later and the services of producer Gus Dudgeon and engineer Roy Thomas Baker gave Kongos a fleeting taste of pop fame when He's Gonna Step On You Again and Tokoloshe Man each bounded to number four in the UK charts. These highly inventive singles and their associated album were blessed with studio assistance from a cast that included Lol Coxhill, Mike Moran, Ray Cooper, Caleb Quaye and Ralph McTell. Kongos’ uncompromising lyrics were born of the socio-political state back home paralleling a flavour of the Transvaal in backing tracks that anticipated the fusions of Johnny Clegg in the '80s. In 1990, the Happy Mondays covered Tokoloshe Man (as Step On), reaching the UK Top 5.