"Tokoloshe Man" was a 1971 UK hit single by

John Kongos John Theodore Kongos (born 6 August 1945) is a South African-born singer and songwriter of Greek ancestry, best known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single "He's Gonna Step on You Again", on which Happy Mondays based their hit " Step On". His other big ...

, released on

Fly Records Fly Records is a British independent record label, established in 1970 by the independent music publisher David Platz, and initially managed by Malcolm Jones from the offices of Essex Music in London. History Platz had been producing records ...

. It stayed in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

top 10 for five weeks, peaking at number 4. Kongos' previous single release was "

He's Gonna Step on You Again "He's Gonna Step on You Again" (also known as "Step On") is a song originally performed by John Kongos, co-written by Kongos and Christos Demetriou, and first released in 1971 by Fly Records. It entered the UK Singles Chart on 22 May 1971 and s ...

", another number 4 UK chart hit. "Tokoloshe Man" was covered by

Happy Mondays Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder ( bass), Gary Whelan (drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Mark Day (guitar). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined t ...

. It featured on the 1990 Elektra compilation album, '' Rubáiyát: Elektra's 40th Anniversary''.

Meaning

The word

Tokoloshe In Zulu mythology, Tikoloshe, Tikolosh, Tokoloshe, Tokolotshe, Thokolosi or Hili is a dwarf-like water sprite. It is a mischievous and evil spirit that can become invisible by drinking water or swallowing a stone. Tokoloshes are called upon ...

refers to the mystical beast of the same name in African mythology, which is thought to terrorise and eat people at night.

References

1971 singles Song recordings produced by Gus Dudgeon John Kongos songs 1971 songs Songs written by John Kongos Fly Records singles {{1970s-single-stub