Roger Lucey (born 1954) is a South African musician, journalist, film maker, actor and educator. In the late 1970s and early

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Syst ...

s his early career as a musician was destroyed by

Paul Erasmus Paul Erasmus was a South African Security Police officer who testified to the Goldstone Commission, and later the Truth and Reconciliation Commission about police dirty tricks and violence during the apartheid era. This testimony revealed the exi ...

of the Security Branch of the

South African Police The South African Police (SAP) was the national police force and law enforcement agency in South Africa from 1913 to 1994; it was the ''de facto'' police force in the territory of South West Africa (Namibia) from 1939 to 1981. After South A ...

, because the lyrics to Lucey's

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

s were considered a threat to the

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 ...

State. Although already aware of his anti-apartheid songs, the South African Government's security apparatus only swung into action to destroy Lucey's career after he performed a radical song in a programme on

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

radio. The criminal methods used against Lucey formed part of the testimony given by Paul Erasmus in front of the

South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*su ...

Career

Lucey holds and Master of Arts in Liberal Studies from Duke University,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

Musician, songwriter and composer

Lucey has recorded five albums of his own songs. He has composed music for several documentaries and plays, and has toured Namibia and South Africa playing guitar, keyboard, saxophone, flute and percussion.

Actor, playwright and writer

Extensive work as voice artist on commercials and documentary films. Actor on commercials, both local and international, and performer in films, drama series and plays. Worked with Nicolas Ellenbogen and Theatre for Africa. Writer of two plays for Theatre for Africa; “The High Cost of Living” directed by Andrew Brent, and “Newsroom” directed by Nicolas Ellenbogen. Both premiered at the

National Arts Festival The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Grahamstown, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers. T ...

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London. Makhanda is the largest town in the Makana Loc ...

. Writer of several articles on news related stories. An article on the conflict in Chechnya (published in “Playboy” magazine) was nominated for a Mondi award. Arts correspondent for Cape Etc., a lifestyle magazine based in Cape Town. Wrote a chapter in ''Shoot the Singer!: Music Censorship Today''. Roger Lucey's book, Back in From the Anger, was published in 2012 by Jacana Media. It recounts his experience as a young musician in South Africa during the 1970s and 80s.Roger Lucey, Back in From the Anger. Jacana Media, 2012

Music albums

*The Road is Much Longer (1979), 3rd Ear Records, 3EE 7004 *Half-A-Live (1980) *Running For Cover (1990) *21 Years Down The Road (compilation) (June 2000) *Gypsy Soul (August 2002) *Now is the Time (2015)

References

* * *

External links

* * http://www.freemuse.dk/sw9383.asp * http://freemuse.synkron.com/sw16982.asp * http://www.servinghistory.com/topics/Paul_Erasmus * http://wildeblue.blogspot.com/2009/06/no-more-silencing-roger-lucey.html * http://www.iaspm.net/review/korpe.htm *
Review
of the film ''Stopping the music: Music censorship in South Africa'' South Africa 2002, 54 minutes, Directed by Douglas Mitchell, Produced by Michael Drewett. Accessed 25 June 2008 * https://aoinstitute.ac.za/hidden-years/ * Noam Ben-Zeev, ''Power to Forgive''. Haaretz Daily Newspaper, January 4, 2007 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/culture/2007-01-04/ty-article/power-to-forgive/0000017f-f526-d5bd-a17f-f73eff1f0000 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucey, Roger 1954 births Living people South African musicians

Career

Musician, songwriter and composer

Actor, playwright and writer

Archive

Music albums

References

External links