August 1963 Lemmy Special and Spokes Mashiane Kwela
August 1963 Lemmy Special and Spokes Mashiane Kwela Kids Make The Big Time Not so many years ago the Kwela Kids, Lemmy Special and Spokes Mashiane, earned a precarious living playing their penny whistles on the cold pavements of Johannesburg. Then First Spokes then Lemmy found fame and fortune. But old habits die hard, and when the pair got together the other day they soon set feet tapping with music in their world famous style. During the fifties Jo'burgs pavements vibrated with the gay kwela music from the lips of two pint-sized lads, busking queus with their pennywhistles. The boys have long since dropped their whistles. Now, ten years on, the Kwela Kids have struck it rich. They are still with the same music, only now they play it on sophisticated saxophones. (Photograph by Drum Photographer @ Baileys Archives) This is a picture of them playing together in the 50s
