John Edmond (born 18 November 1936) is a

Rhodesian Rhodesia ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state, unrecognised state in Southern Africa that existed from 1965 to 1979. Rhodesia served as the ''de facto'' Succession of states, successor state to the ...

folk singer and retired soldier who became popular in the 1970s for his Rhodesian patriotic songs. He reached the height of his fame during the

Rhodesian Bush War The Rhodesian Bush War, also known as the Rhodesian Civil War, Second as well as the Zimbabwe War of Independence, was a civil conflict from July 1964 to December 1979 in the List of states with limited recognition, unrecognised country U.D.I. ...

where he was sometimes known as the "Bush Cat".

Background

Edmond was born on 18 November 1936 in

Luanshya Luanshya is a town in Zambia, in the Copperbelt Province near Ndola. It has a population of 117,579 (2008 census). The town is situated in an area which was under Chief Mushili of the Lamba people. Luanshya was founded in the early part of the 20 ...

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

(modern day

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

) to a family of

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

descent; during his childhood, he and his parents moved between

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and Central Africa. He went to school in Luanshya, Northern Rhodesia;

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland; and in South Africa at Christian Brothers College in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. He displayed a natural talent for music at an early age when he was given a mouth organ as a birthday gift from his grandmother at age three. John mastered the instrument within half an hour. As a

Boy Scout A Scout, Boy Scout, Girl Scout or, in some countries, a Pathfinder is a participant in the Scout Movement, usually aged 10–18 years, who engage in learning scoutcraft and outdoor and other special interest activities. Some Scout organizatio ...

, he played the

bugle The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...

and was in the local Scout bugle band. While at school in Edinburgh, he was chosen to sing in the St John's Boys' Choir. He was regularly featured in lead roles at Christian Brothers College in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Edmond was lead drummer in the college's pipe band. He went on to win the South African Junior drumming championships at the Royal Scottish gathering at Wembley in 1953. After college, Edmond was employed at the Roan Antelope copper mine. After some time there, Edmond joined

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

's Royal Rhodesia Regiment at

Bulawayo Bulawayo (, ; ) is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, and the largest city in the country's Matabeleland region. The city's population is disputed; the 2022 census listed it at 665,940, while the Bulawayo City Council claimed it to be about ...

. He served with the 3rd Battalion on the Congo border, in

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

and Southern Rhodesia. During this time, he bought a guitar at a trading store and met Bill Coleman while in the army. After learning to play the guitar with Coleman, Edmond formed the Bushcats Skiffle Group in 1958 along with two friends from the army, Eugene van der Watt and Ian Kerr. The group was a success among its peers and progressed into cabaret and rock 'n' roll. After his military service was up, Edmond went to England to study computers and moved to South Africa during the mid-1960s. He became famous in Rhodesia during the Bush War with his album ''Troopiesongs''. He was also a composer, writing such hits as " The UDI Song". After the war, and Zimbabwean independence, he continued to record albums such as ''Zimsongs'' and ''Zimtrax''. In 1982, Edmond's label RAM published ''The story of Troopiesongs and the Rhodesian Bush War'', a collection of lyrics for ''Troopiesongs'', in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

. Since 1987, Edmond and his wife Theresa have owned and maintained a resort in South Africa named "Kunkuru". The resort is located in the Bela Bela area. Edmond also has his own record label, Roan Antelope Music (RAM).

Discography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmond, John 1936 births Living people White Rhodesian people Entertainers from Bulawayo People from Luanshya Rhodesia Regiment personnel Rhodesian composers Rhodesian drummers Rhodesian guitarists Rhodesian singers Rhodesian people of British descent South African folk singers South African male composers South African guitarists Male guitarists 20th-century South African male singers 21st-century South African male singers Great Highland bagpipe players Rhodesian military personnel of the Bush War Bagpipe players Afrikaans-language singers of South Africa English-language singers from South Africa

Background

Discography

See also

References