By Norman van den Wildenberg 
On Friday evening, the legendary Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London was entirely dedicated to South African alternative punk music. What began as a special double bill of Die Heuwels Fantasties and Fokofpolisiekar developed into a night that was anything but nostalgic. This was not a look back at earlier work, but a living and fiercely energetic moment in which two bands presented themselves as leading figures of the South African punk scene. Yes, South Africa took over London…
Around the London venue, an atmosphere already hung early on that felt more like Cape Town or Pretoria than West London. Afrikaans was heard everywhere in the venue, almost every song was sung word for word, and the front rows quickly turned into a permanently surging mass. At the same time, the audience proved to be remarkably international: the entire South African scene had travelled from across the United Kingdom to London, some even from the Shetland Islands, specifically for this joint show by two of the most important bands in the South African alternative punk scene. But visitors from France and the Netherlands also travelled to London for the South Africans.
As we know, both groups are closely connected, and the musical contrast on Friday night was clearly laid out. Die Heuwels Fantasties delivered their melodic, sometimes almost dreamlike form of alternative punk rock, while Fokofpolisiekar later in the evening went almost nonstop full throttle with raw, energetic punk rock.
The link between the two bands also goes back a long way. Die Heuwels Fantasties was formed in 2007 when Hunter Kennedy and Johnny de Ridder wanted to continue making music during a sabbatical from Fokofpolisiekar. Kennedy then invited Pierre Greeff to join, whom he had known from earlier years. Eventually the project grew into a kind of Parliament-Funkadelic of the South African alternative punk scene, where musicians constantly appeared in each other’s projects and collaborations.
Even before Fokofpolisiekar would fully blow the venue apart, Die Heuwels Fantasties first delivered a performance that immediately got Shepherd’s Bush Empire moving.
From opener “Hoor Jy My” there was instantly a warm, euphoric atmosphere in the room. Pierre Greeff proved to be in excellent vocal form and received loud reactions from the audience from the very first minutes. “Somer In My Keel” then immediately added pace to the set, while “Beloofde Land” turned the venue into one large choir.
What stood out most was how naturally the newer material fitted into the set. Both “Elsie”, “Hoe Nou” and “Nie Môre Nie Nou” sounded as if they had been part of the repertoire for years. “Hoe Nou” in particular had a strikingly direct impact live, partly thanks to the strong playing of Hunter Kennedy and Fred den Hartog, who constantly added extra dynamics without the sound becoming cluttered.
One of the highlights came halfway through the set with “Klein Tambotieboom”, for which guest singer Francois van Coke stepped on stage. His presence immediately added extra energy to the room. The song gained a rougher edge live than on record and formed a perfect bridge towards the later Fokofpolisiekar performance.
“Shangri-La”, originally recorded with Tresor, also worked excellently live and took on a dreamlike quality between the heavier songs.
The band played tightly but with ease. Sheldon Yoko kept everything rhythmically solid, while Fred den Hartog supported Greeff with additional vocal parts. The harmonies between band and audience during “Mejuffrou Sonneblom” and “Ballade Vir ‘N Enkeling” worked particularly well in the excellent acoustics of Shepherd’s Bush Empire, which did however struggle at times with the volume.
Towards the end, the band once again shifted up a gear. “Maksimum Volume”, from the latest album “C’est La Vie”, sounded loud, direct and highly effective live. This was followed by crowd favourites such as “Leja” and “Sonrotse”, with almost the entire audience singing along word for word.
With “Nora Vlok”, originally recorded with Appel, and closer “Pille Vir Kersfees”, the set came to a fitting end: energetic, emotional, and clearly carried by an audience that seemed to know every song.
But barely had Die Heuwels Fantasties left the stage when Fokofpolisiekar stormed on for a performance that immediately brought a completely different intensity. From “Vernietig Jouself” and “Hemel Op Die Platteland”, Shepherd’s Bush Empire turned into a seething punk mass.
Early in the set, Francois van Coke looked out into the crowd and joked: ‘It looks like 99% of the front rows are Afrikaans.’ Judging by the audience reaction, he was probably not far off.
From that moment on, the tempo hardly dropped. “Brand Suid-Afrika”, “Tygerberg Vliegtuig”, “Bel Vir Middelvinger” and “Swanesang” followed each other in rapid succession, while the venue turned into one large jumping crowd.
What stood out most was how physical the band’s performance was. As with Die Heuwels Fantasties earlier, band members constantly pushed to the edge of the stage, stood on the barriers, and leaned out over the audience. Francois van Coke and bassist Wynand Myburgh in particular seemed almost permanently attached to the front barrier.
Van Coke was clearly in top form on Friday night. With apparent ease he jumped onto the barrier, performed handstands on stage between songs, and continued singing flawlessly. At the same time he constantly swung his microphone in wide circles through the air. The fact that it never flew into the crowd still attached to the cable felt almost like a small miracle.
Alongside Van Coke and Wynand Myburgh, the rest of the band also played at full intensity. Guitarist Johnny de Ridder switched effortlessly from the more melodic approach in Die Heuwels Fantasties back to the much harder Fokofpolisiekar sound, while Hunter Kennedy, as guitarist and vocalist, constantly added extra tension. Behind them, drum powerhouse Jaco ‘Snakehead’ Venter kept the entire machine running in an aggressive way; his drumming gave the set the constant feeling that the band could at any moment push even harder.
Halfway through the set, Pierre Greeff was called on stage by Van Coke for a short guest appearance. His contribution was limited to a quick meet and greet on stage, which was understandable: during the Die Heuwels Fantasties set he had already shouted himself completely empty.
With songs like “Komma”, “FLVJ”, “Dans Deur Die Donker” and “Dagdronk”, the intensity remained relentlessly high, while “Antibiotika” and “Ek Syn (Heilig)” once again made clear why Fokofpolisiekar still has such a loyal following more than twenty years after forming, even in London.
The absolute peak came at the end with the signature track “Fokofpolisiekar”. During the song, the audience was invited onto the stage, after which around twenty fans suddenly stood among the band members singing along. For a brief moment the stage turned into complete chaos, including selfies, hugs and short conversations, while the band took their time with the moment.
Before everyone had properly left the stage, the final song “Tiny Town” was immediately launched. The band members again came forward to hand out setlists and throw drumsticks into the crowd.
Interestingly, there was no encore from either band afterwards; both were completely spent. But by then it hardly felt like something was missing, as the audience too was visibly completely exhausted after a night that felt more like a collective release than a regular concert.
The bands will continue to promote our South African herritage throughout Europe in the next days.
Jessica Kamp