years_active birth_place label image_size article_title birth_date background instrument genre origin name
1956 -- present luanshya , northern rhodesia -lrb- now zambia -rrb- roan antelope music t john edmond
 18 november 1936 solo_singer guitarist , drummer folk music , rock bulawayo , rhodesia john edmond
john edmond

john edmond -lrb- born 18 november 1936 in luanshya , northern rhodesia -rrb- is a rhodesian folk singer who became popular in the 1970s for his rhodesian patriotic songs .
he reached the height of his fame during the rhodesian bush war .
he was sometimes called the `` bush cat '' .
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 famous st john 's boys choir .
he was regularly featured in lead roles at christian brothers college in gilbert and sullivan operettas .
john 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 , john 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 in the congo , nyasaland -lrb- now malawi -rrb- 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 , john went to england to study computers and moved to south africa during the mid-1960s .
john 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 '' .
since 1987 , john and his wife theresa have owned and maintained a resort in south africa named `` kunkuru '' .
the resort is located in the bela bela area .
john also has his own record label , roan antelope music -lrb- ram -rrb- .
