Fruits of nostalgia: how Mango Groove continues to win new fans

The world can change a lot over the course of a lifetime, as Mango Groove singer Claire Johnston knows all too well.

When her career took off in the early 1980s, the concept of a multiracial music group was illegal, the apartheid government was trying not to crumble beneath its own oppressive weight and CDs were still a newfangled technology.

"It was a whole different South Africa, a whole different world. The music scene was very vibrant. We had lots to sing about, write about, fight about," said Johnston.

"Now it's a new world. Making our last album, Faces To The Sun, (released last year) was a different experience," she said.

WATCH the music video for From The Get Go from Mango Groove's latest album Faces To The Sun

It's not just the process of making an album that's changed. Johnston still keenly remembers the embarrassment of being a white South African travelling abroad and having to explain herself and her country to people.

What hasn't changed is the band's popularity. "It's amazing that so many of our fans have followed us through the years and come to our shows for a sense of nostalgia. What's equally amazing is how we've managed to attract younger listeners," said Johnston.

Evidence of this can be seen at festivals like Oppikoppi and Splashy Fen where hordes of fans who are young, old and somewhere in between can be heard singing along to Home-talk and Another Country.

Perhaps some of their ability to reach fans who aren't affected by nostalgia is that they're not afraid to shuffle things about.

"Over the years we've gotten some fresh blood into the group. In fact some of the newest members of the band weren't even born when we started," she said.

You'd think that continually putting out new music and still being seen as a quintessentially South African band could engender a certain sense of comfort.

Laurels look comfortable when you have an excess of three decades of experience in the game. But Johnston isn't resting on hers.

"I still get nerves. The moment they stop is the moment I'll have to start thinking about taking a serious break," she said.

Until then expect to see Johnston and Mango Groove continuing to weave more patterns in the tapestry of South African music history at a venue near you.

• Mango Groove will be performing at the second birthday celebration of the Goodluck Bar in Johannesburg tomorrow. For tickets and more information, visit Computicket.com