“Just bring your dancing shoes,” said world music superstar Johnny Clegg from a hotel room in Quebec.
Oct. 26 at the Keswick Theatre is most likely the last time you’ll be able to see him perform in person. This is the South African singer/songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and activist’s “The Final Journey – Farewell World Tour” because of an ongoing battle with pancreatic cancer.
Although the cancer is officially in remission, Clegg said there are days when fatigue, and neuropathy in his feet, slow him down. But today he’s “feeling pretty good.”
Clegg described “The Final Journey” as “an autobiographical show” covering four decades, with video and anecdotes. Some of the songs that introduced his brand of cross-cultural Afropop to American audiences are “Dela” from the movie “George of the Jungle,” “Scatterings of Africa” from the movie “Rain Main,” and “Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World” from the movies “Opportunity Knocks” and “Career Opportunities.” Also, Jimmy Buffett’s legions of Parrotheads got an earful of Johnny Clegg when Buffett recorded “Great Heart” in 1988.
“I open doors by touring live. I’ve always worked from the bottom up,” said Clegg, whose career accolades include Officer of the Order of the British Empire.
The farewell tour has also been an opportunity for the 64-year-old Clegg to travel and perform with his son, Jesse Clegg, a rising rock star in South Africa that’s been opening the shows and backing him on stage. Father and son co-wrote the song “I’ve Been Looking” on Clegg’s forthcoming new album “King of Time.”
The brutally strict racial segregation of apartheid may be long gone from South Africa – in those years, Clegg frequently found himself a target of persecution while performing with his interracial bands, Juluka and Savuka – however, he said, corporate corruption in his home country poses a serious threat to political integrity and cooperation.
“The ANC (African National Congress) itself is about to implode,” he reported.
After the tour winds down, Clegg will continue working toward completing his autobiography, which he said will be coming out in June 2018. As long as his health holds up, Clegg plans to collaborate with other artists, continue song writing and maybe write another book.
