# John Edmond

John Edmond (born 18 November 1936) is a Rhodesian folk singer and retired soldier who became popular in the 1970s for his Rhodesian patriotic songs. He reached the height of his fame during the Rhodesian Bush War where he was sometimes known as the "Bush Cat".

## Background

Edmond was born on 18 November 1936 in Luanshya, Northern Rhodesia (modern day Zambia) to a family of Scottish descent; during his childhood, he and his parents moved between Scotland and Central Africa. He went to school in Luanshya, Northern Rhodesia; Edinburgh, Scotland; and in South Africa at Christian Brothers College in Pretoria. He displayed a natural talent for music at an early age when he was given a mouth organ as a birthday gift from his grandmother at age three. John mastered the instrument within half an hour. As a Boy Scout, he played the bugle and was in the local Scout bugle band. While at school in Edinburgh, he was chosen to sing in the St John's Boys' Choir. He was regularly featured in lead roles at Christian Brothers College in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas. Edmond was lead drummer in the college's pipe band. He went on to win the South African Junior drumming championships at the Royal Scottish gathering at Wembley in 1953. After college, Edmond was employed at the Roan Antelope copper mine.
After some time there, Edmond joined Southern Rhodesia's Royal Rhodesia Regiment at Bulawayo. He served with the 3rd Battalion on the Congo border, in Nyasaland and Southern Rhodesia. During this time, he bought a guitar at a trading store and met Bill Coleman while in the army. After learning to play the guitar with Coleman, Edmond formed the Bushcats Skiffle Group in 1958 along with two friends from the army, Eugene van der Watt and Ian Kerr. The group was a success among its peers and progressed into cabaret and rock 'n' roll. After his military service was up, Edmond went to England to study computers and moved to South Africa during the mid-1960s. He became famous in Rhodesia during the Bush War with his album Troopiesongs. He was also a composer, writing such hits as "The UDI Song". After the war, and Zimbabwean independence, he continued to record albums such as Zimsongs and Zimtrax.
In 1982, Edmond's label RAM published The story of Troopiesongs and the Rhodesian Bush War, a collection of lyrics for Troopiesongs, in Johannesburg.
Since 1987, Edmond and his wife Theresa have owned and maintained a resort in South Africa named "Kunkuru". The resort is located in the Bela Bela area. Edmond also has his own record label, Roan Antelope Music (RAM).

## Discography

| Album | Year | Label | Notes |
| Troopiesongs – Phase 1 | 1976 | Map | |
| Boom Sha-la-la-lo | 1971 | Storm | |
| Troopiesongs – Phase 2 | 1977 | Map | |
| Johno! | 1972 | Storm | |
| Goodbye Is The Saddest Song | 1975 | Satbel | |
| The Greatest Hits of John Edmond | 1975 | Sounds Superb/EMI | Note on back of cover by John Edmond written in English and Afrikaans dated May 1975 |
| Wild And Beautiful And Free | 1976 | Satbel | |
| The Best of John Edmond | 1976 | Satbel | |
| Troopiesongs – Phase 3 | 1978 | Jo'burg | |
| Rhodesia The Brave | 1979 | Trutone | |
| Hit Songs of John Edmond | 1975 | MFP | This may also be known as the "Greatest Hits of John Edmond" (1975) as the inside record label on the Greatest Hits states that it is the "Hit Songs of John Edmond". The songs on the Hit Songs label match the jacket of the Greatest Hits (Sounds Superb/EMI). |
| Troopiesongs – Phase 4 | 1979 | Gallo | |
| Immortal Hits | 1980 | Gallo | |
| Country Tracks | 1981 | Gallo | |
| From The Heart | 1982 | Gallo | |
| Troopies in Exile | 1982 | Gallo | |
| Love in the Country | 1984 | Gallo | |
| All Night Razzle | 1984 | Principal | BUSHCATS re-formed for this recording |
| The British South Africa Police Centenary Album | 1989 | RAM | |
| The Rhodesia Centenary Album 1890 – 1990 | 1990 | RAM | |
| Rhodesians of the World | 1992 | RAM | |
| All Time Rhodesian Evergreens | 1999 | RAM | Reissued 2011. |
| Troopiesongs Complete | 1999 | RAM | 50th Anniversary edition reissued 2011. |
| Heritage – Where We Come From | 2007 | RAM | |
| Party – All Night Razzle | 2007 | RAM | |
| Aviation Songs | | RAM | |
| Born in Africa | | RAM | |
| By Request | 2004 | Gallo | |
| Friends, Rhodies, Countrymen | 2005 | RAM | |
| Wild and Beautiful and Free | 1990 | RAM | |
| Heritage | 2007 | RAM | |
| Zimsongs | 2011 | RAM | |
| Songs of the African Bush | 2013 | RAM | |
| Zimtrax | | RAM | |
| Tales of the Game Rangers, Vol. 1 to Vol. 4 | See notes | RAM | Volume 1 (1984), Volume 2 (1987), Volume 3 (1989), Volume 4 (1993) |
| Stories en Liedjies van die Wildtuin, Vol. 1 & 2 | | RAM | |
| The Boer War in Song | 2012 | RAM | Afrikaans version Die Boere Oorlog In Lied released 2014 by RAM. |
| Campfire 'n Jamboree | 2013 | RAM | With The Campfire Singers |
| Songs of the African Battlefields | 2014 | RAM | |
| Of Aeroplanes & African Plains | 2014 | RAM | |
| Boer and Brit Battlefield Heroes | 2016 | RAM | |
| Battlesongs of Brave Boer and Briton | 2017 | RAM | |
| From the Pen of John Edmond | 2017 | RAM | |
| Legends | 2018 | RAM | |
| Tales of Bird Watches, Vol.1 | 2018 | RAM | |
| Songs of Kruger Park | 2019 | RAM | |
| Tales of Bird Watchers, Vol.2 | 2019 | RAM | |
| Christmas in Africa | 2020 | RAM | |
| Ian Douglas Smith: The Man | 2021 | RAM | A series of interviews with Ian Smith, retelling the stories of his life, with occasional songs and commentary from Edmond |
| Singin' with the Birds | 2021 | RAM | |
| Ballads of the Bushveld | 2022 | | |
| Singles | Year | Label | Notes |
| Farewell Britannia | 1969 | Storm |
| Die Eerste Kersfeesnag | 1969 | Storm | |
| Fairytales | 1969 | Storm | This was his first hit record |
| Round and Round | 1970 | Storm | Hit single |
| Boom Sha-la-la-lo | 1971 | Storm | Hit single written for John by Bruce Woodley of The Seekers while they were in South Africa |
| Pasadena | 1972 | Map | Hit single |
| Every Day, Every Night | 1972 | Map | Hit single |
| Toy Train | 1973 | Map | Hit single |
| Hello Susan | 1974 | Map | |
| Jock of the Bushveld | 1975 | Map | |
| Goodbye Is The Saddest Song | 1975 | Map | Hit single |
| Nomad of the Kalahari | 1976 | Map | |
| One Day He'll Call Me Daddy | 1976 | Map | |
| It's Good To See You | 1977 | Jo'burg | |
| Blue Brown Eyed Lady | 1977 | Jo'burg | |
| Louie | 1978 | RSA | |
| Bye Bye Butterfly | 1979 | EMI | |
| Forever Young | 1980 | Gallo | |
| The Electric Thing | 1981 | Gallo | |
| The 124th Cavalry Regiment Lives On | 2017 | RAM | Produced in cooperation with 124th Cavalry Regiment Association. |