Through a series of serendipitous events in the early ’90s in the small wine-making town of Stellenbosch, Arno Carstens, Theo Crous, Adriaan Brand, Arno Blumer, and Francois Kruger became the Springbok Nude Girls (SNG). Little did they know that they would go on to become one of the most loved rock bands South Africa has ever seen, known for their high energy stage shows and unique musical sound which combines Rock, Punk, Reggae, Metal, Funk, and Jazz. They played their first gig in September 1994 in a small bar in Stellenbosch and released their first album, “Neanderthal 1” the following year. Since then, this platinum-selling, award-winning band has gone on to record albums that contain some of the countries most beloved anthems. They have headlined every major South African music festival and performed at some of the most auspicious international festivals in Europe, including Pukkelpop in Belgium. In 2015, Thinking Owl Films, in association with Sony Music Entertainment Africa, released an exciting documentary film which tells the story of the band’s early beginnings, touching on the crippling censorship of that time, and then the liberation of 1994 and how, for these kids, there was finally freedom in music. Twenty-six years after their first show, and two decades after the release of “Blue Eyes” the song that redirected the trajectory of the band. With 11 albums, two live recordings, an EP, two DVD releases, and a UK-exclusive release in their coveted arsenal, SNG’s creative curiosity is showing no signs of abating. If anything, their greatest work lies ahead, and with it a growing wall of fans invested in passionate, adrenalin-injected modern rock alchemy. |