James Phillips

Jameson's was a bar in Commissioner Street in Jo'burg's central business district, it had a Kruger liquor license – one of a small handful issued by the onetime president of the Transvaal at the turn of the 20th century, a license that transcended the racially divided and time-restricted liquor laws of the day. Young (mostly white) South Africans mixed with their counterparts of colour; everyone got trashed together. It was like the bastard child of Sophiatown. It was the new South Africa in twisted embryo.

IN 1995 Shifty Records released a career retrospective compilation Made in South Africa. In 1997 the same label released Soul Ou, a collection of demo tapes of mostly new songs that Phillips had planned to perform at Grahamstown in 1995. These stark, unaccompanied recordings show that Phillips was still evolving as a songwriter and player, and are regarded as some of his best work.

Phillips and the Lurchers continued to evolve and maintained a reputation as a compelling live act. By the early 1990s Phillips was concentrating on the piano rather than the guitar and his compositions became more sophisticated. His lyrics were sometimes more personal, but other songs showed that he continued to remain relevant and vital even as South Africa moved towards democracy – a transition which had left some of Phillips's contemporaries with little to say. In 1994 he released the Sunny Skies album – recorded with an enlarged band that featured a horn section and several highly regarded guest players. Once again the album was released by Shifty, but a deal was negotiated by which BMG Music would undertake promotion and distribution. Despite BMG's efforts (allegedly hamstrung by Phillips's own disinclination towards promotional work), sales remained poor.

1989 saw the controversial Voëlvry Tour which featured musicians who sang in Afrikaans and had been inspired by the Bernoldus Niemand album. Phillips and an expanded Lurchers line-up were added to the Voëlvry bill under the name "Bernoldus Niemand en die Swart Gevaar". Phillips had always regarded the Niemand alter-ego as a side project and had abandoned the songs on the Niemand album. He was now performing to the biggest audience of his career, but under another name and singing songs that he no longer considered part of his repertoire.

Jameson's made The Cherry-Faced Lurchers, it was the moment at which a rather ramshackle band pulled itself together. By July 1985, when Lloyd Ross of Shifty Records put Live at Jameson's down on tape, they were an extraordinarily tight three-piece with a repertoire of songs exceptional for their strength.

Away from Jameson's Phillips was putting the finishing touches to another project that of his alto ego, Bernoldus Niemand, and his Wie is Bernoldus Niemand? album (1985). Targeting the monolithic Afrikaner "cultural establishment" the album was promptly banned by the SABC, although the song "Hou my vas Korporaal" would become an anthem for the anti conscription movement. In its time it was utterly new, inspiring "alternative Afrikaner" performers like Johannes Kerkorrel and Koos Kombuis who would spearhead the Voëlvry boerepunk movement some years later. James in fact was invited to join the Voëlvry bandwagon for a successful, if controversial, tour of the country in 1989.

Also at this time South African government were wielding ever-tightening control over the media, especially radio and television. In particular songs by local musicians were often subject to heavy scrutiny before being added to radio station play lists. The expectation of censorship made record companies nervous about spending money on local artists who might make any kind of social or political comment. Some companies went as far as running their own censorship departments that would vet songs and artists before a recording budget was assigned. By 1980 the security forces were starting to keep an eye on any performers considered "subversive" and would spy on such performers and sometimes disrupt performances or impede careers.

In 1980, shifty released the EP "Fridays And Saturdays". Corporal Punishment had a recording released, but sales and exposure were negligible and the band split soon afterwards.

As the political landscape continued to get darker as the 1980s dragged on so too did Phillips's lyrics with songs like "The Branch" (a song about the viciousness of the security police) and 'Detainees' (about the various death's in detention during the time) these songs show Phillip's anguished concerns during this time of apartheid's darkest oppression.

Phillips grew up in the conservative East Rand mining town of Springs, the son of a Presbyterian minister. He finished high school at Witbank High in 1976. Phillips discovered Rock n Roll and perhaps significantly the protest music of Bob Dylan; the course of his life changed dramatically, in the late 1970s he formed his first band, Corporal Punishment with friends Carl Raubenheimer and Mark Bennet. Corporal Punishment was defiantly South African from the start. Instead of doing the usual thing, playing rock covers in the local bar, they chose to sing about their own universe and all its strange and brutal ironies. Using the lyrical brashness of the punk rock movement, without adopting the fashion, their songs were often menacingly sarcastic political statements. Lyrically they often touched on South African topics, notably the milieu in which young, white, South African men found themselves at that time. This milieu was dominated by conscription, Calvinism, suppression of political debate and intolerance of non-conformism.

James Phillips (22 January 1959 – 31 July 1995) was a South African rock singer, songwriter, and performer.