Johnny Clegg was born to an English family that moved to Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe) when he was still a child.

Juluka faced difficulties in their early years because apartheid-era South Africa had laws prohibiting a mixed group from performing to a white audience, or on occasion preventing the duo from being on stage together, which led to them experiencing frequent harassment from the police.

[4][2][3] Juluka has often been credited with being the first mixed-race band in South Africa, though Clegg has disputed this, stating that several mixed groups existed in the 1950s.

The explicit dedication of their 1987 song Asimbonanga to Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, and other anti-apartheid activists led to their concerts being raided, and band members being arrested.

[2] Savuka also supported the "End Conscription Campaign" that began agitating against the South African military draft in 1983.

[5] Band dancer and percussionist Dudu Zulu was killed in 1992 while attempting to mediate a dispute between taxi groups; Savuka disbanded thereafter.

By the time of their third album Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World, the band had moved further away from traditional melodies and played music influenced by popular Western styles.

[4][2][5] The 1987 Asimbonanga was part of a trend that emerged within South African music after the 1976 Soweto uprising, of combining politically conscious lyrics with jive and dance rhythms.