Sipho Mabuse
b. 6 February 1950, Cape Town, South Africa. Vocalist, guitarist, keyboard player, drummer. One of the giants of South African township pop, Mabuse began his career in the late '60s, as drummer with the Beaters, a band heavily influenced by the Beatles, Rolling Stonesand, to a lesser extent, South African groups like the Manhattan Brothers and the Skylarks. By the early '70s, township music was increasingly rejecting imported music in favour of indigenous, traditionally-rooted styles, and the Beaters were no exception. A three-month tour of Zimbabwe in 1973 did much to influence this development, with the band becoming deeply influenced by the Afro-rumba style of Harare bands like OK Success. In 1974, their single Harari, became a huge hit throughout Southern Africa and provided a new African sound and name for the band, as the tide of black consciousness rose around them. Harari enjoyed widespread success, despite a number of personal problems, not least the deaths of two leading members. By the late '70s their style had moved away from Afro-rumba towards a more overtly mbaqanga sound. 
In 1984—the same year Hugh Masekela recorded three Mabuse compositions on his TECHNO BUSH album—Harari disbanded and Mabuse decided to pursue a solo career as a vocalist and instrumentalist. His first release, Rise, became a major hit later the same year. In 1985, his album BURN OUT followed suit, selling an unprecedented 230,000 copies in South Africa alone and subsequently being picked up for American release by CBS. The album charted a new path for South African pop, with Mabuse focussing his arrangements on keyboards rather than guitars, in addition to saxophones, previously the great staple of township music. In 1986, he enjoyed substantial success on the British independent charts with the single Jive Soweto; the following year he was signed to Virgin, who released the single Shikisha and the album SIPHO MABUSE. In 1986, Mabuse became a leading figure in the South African Musicians Against Apartheid organisation, which campaigned for greater freedom of movement and opportunity for black musicians.