Lucky Philip Dube

Life: 1964 -2007 Career: Musician Lucky Philip Dube was born on the 3rd of August in 1964. After a few failed pregnancy attempts by his mother Sarah, Lucky came into the world. Giving birth to a boy was considered a blessing and his mother considered his birth so fortunate that she aptly named him 'Lucky'. His birth took place on a small farm outside the town of Ermelo, a dry, unspectacular area some 150 kilometers west of Johannesburg. Born into a single parent family, times were tough for a black boy born into poverty and with the Group Areas Act and the Pass Laws of the time, many families relocation was restricted, therefore children grew up not knowing their fathers at all, as they were often forced to leave home to find work in the cities. Lucky's parents had separated before he was born. His mother was the only bread winner in the family and was forced to relocate to find work, leaving Lucky and his siblings Thandi and Patrick to be cared for by his grandmother. Unfortunately for Sarah, work was scarce and survival became her objective as she took a job as a domestic worker, barely able to send money home for her children. With a father who drank heavily, Lucky is somewhat relieved he did not get to know his father when he was younger as he is certain it would have influenced him and swayed his career. To this day Lucky has only been drunk once, as a young boy, after being tricked at a party. So awful was the experience that he now swears off alcohol, cigarettes and drugs completely. Lucky began working at the age most western children enter school. He worked for a few years before joining a school himself out of neccessity to provide for the family. He began by working in gardens around the white suburbs in the town. Although a clearly under-priviledged child and despite being taught in Afrikaans, Lucky excelled at school and although his situation at home was dire, he started finding a new reason to attend school - music. As part of the choir, he was a natural performer and when the choir master walked out of their practise one day, Lucky was forced to take on the role as the choir leader, even being placed third in an inter-school competition, something that had never happened to the choir before. His popularity amongst his teachers and peers grew dramatically and Lucky was now finding school to a safe haven in his life. By chance one day Lucky stumbled across some musical instruments at school in a cupboard and his curiosity was piqued. He and some friends decided to start experimenting and before long they had arranged times to meet and 'borrow' the instruments. The formed what was to be Lucky's first official band - The Skyway Band, and genuinely believed that they would find stardom. Unfortunately that all fell apart when they were discovered playing the instruments by a teacher who locked the instruments away from then on. But Lucky was now 18 years old, and although still in school due to starting late, he had found his passion. 1982 was to become an important year in Lucky's life. He was 18 years old and still in school. Nevertheless, it was then he joined his first real band. His cousin Richard Siluma had formed a band called 'The Love Brothers' and when Lucky arrived in Newcastle where Richard lived, he wanted to join them. Lucky had already formed a reputation as a strong singer and the group allowed him to join. They began touring around the district playing community events and school halls. The Love Brothers played a traditional Zulu music known as Mbaqanga, and this genre was to become Lucky's future for a while. It is also one of the most influencial musical styles in South Africa, blending uptempo rhythms with social commentary. Two of the more famous Mbaqanga groups are the Soul Brothers and Mahlathini and The Mahotella Queens - both musical ambassadors for South Africa. Richard Siluma had taken a job packing the warehouse of the record company Teal Records. Through hard work he moved through the ranks from driver to sales representative to eventually record producer. He then turned his attention towards the band he had originally formed - The Love Brothers. They got together with the view to record and Lucky signed with Teal Records, which later became Gallo Record Comany - which to this day is still his record company. The album was recorded during Lucky's school holidays and Lucky made his first trip to Johannesburg to begin working on it. The album, although recorded with The Love Brothers, was released as 'Lucky Dube and The Supersoul' and Richard produced the record. Lucky was the lead singer but did not write any of the material on that first record. The second album came soon afterwads and Lucky was far more involved with the writing. It lead to a increase in record sales and Lucky began to earn some decent money. By his third album he could actually afford to purchase some instruments as well as a recording desk. Already the sales figures were beginning to hit gold status and people had begun to notice him. His mother showed great concerns for the uncertainty of a life made of music and Lucky swore to complete school. He also made the important decision to learn English in order to handle the record executives and media with more confidence. His fourth album was now released and Lucky was beginning to save some money, looking to the prospect of moving out of home.