''Universal Men'' is the debut album from

Juluka Juluka was a South African music band formed in 1969 by Johnny Clegg and Sipho Mchunu. means "sweat" in Zulu, and was the name of a bull owned by Mchunu. The band was closely associated with the mass movement against apartheid. History At th ...

, a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n band led by

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and anti-apartheid activist, some of whose work was in musicology focused on the music of indigenous South African people ...

and

Sipho Mchunu Sipho Mchunu (born 1951, Kranskop, South Africa) is best known for his work in the band Juluka from the 1970s to the 1980s. Mchunu's compositions, vocals and guitar work brought Zulu folk styles such as maskanda and mbaqanga to a wider audience b ...

. It was first released in 1979 and has acquired the status of a classic album in the history of South African music. The album explores the experiences of a Zulu

migrant worker A migrant worker is a person who Human migration, migrates within a home country or outside it to pursue work. Migrant workers usually do not have the intention to stay permanently in the country or region in which they work. Migrant worker ...

, caught between his traditional rural background and the city where he lives and works. In addition to Clegg, Mchunu, and other regular Juluka band members, the album features studio musicians including Colin Pratley of the South African

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

Freedom's Children Freedom's Children was a rock band from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1966 and lasted until 1971. Its style was progressive rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock. In the center of the band was songwriter and bass player ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

artists Robbie Jansen, Mervyn Africa and Sipho Gumede of the South African band Spirits Rejoice. Juluka's early albums did not receive much airplay from the

South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

(SABC) at the time because the racially mixed band and fusion of Western and African music were contrary to the country's

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

policy at the time. However the album's release coincided with the launch of

Capital Radio 604 Capital Radio 604 was a radio station that broadcast to listeners in South Africa from transmitters located in the Transkei using Medium Wave (AM) on 603 kHz. Founded by Martin Rattle, the station started transmitting on 26 December 1979 a ...

, the station which broke the SABC's monopoly. Juluka's producer took it to the station, and ''Africa'' became the first local number one on the Capital Countdown.

Track listing

# "Sky People" – 5:08 # "Universal Men" – 4:46 # "Thula 'Mtanami" – 4:11 # "Deliwe" – 5:21 # "Unkosibomvu" – 5:05 # "Africa" – 3:37 # "Uthando Luphelile" – 5:02 # "Old Eyes" – 3:24 # "Inkunzi Ayihlabi Ngokumisa" – 2:58

Personnel

* Mervyn Africa,Liner notes from South African vinyl release, CBS – DNW 2429 keyboards & synthesizer * Johnny Clegg, lead & backing vocals, guitars, percussion & umhuphe mouth bow * Sipho Gumede, bass guitar * Robbie Jansen, flute & saxophone * Gilbert Mathews, drums * Sipho Mchunu, lead & backing vocals, guitars & concertina * Paul Petersen, electric guitars * Colin Pratley, african drums Brass – Duke Makasi, George Tyefumani, Thabo Mashishi Backing Vocals – Anneline Malebo, Bafazane Qoma, Samson Makhunga, Thoko Ndlozi, Umncengeni Ngubane, Umsuthu Nxele, Umvovo Shelembe, Vayisa Mahlaba

References

{{Authority control Juluka albums 1979 debut albums CBS Records albums