Koos Kombuis was baptised André le Roux du Toit. However, he first changed his name to André le Toit and later to Koos Kombuis.
Kombuis was a rebel from a young age. He rejected the values of the conservative Afrikaner society into which he had been born. He was incorrectly diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent a year in a mental institution in Pretoria.
Kombuis stumbled across the album that James Phillips had recorded under the alias “Bernoldus Niemand” whilst shopping at the flea market in Cape Town’s Green Market Square. Intrigued by the title of the album and its lurid purple cover, Kombuis bought the LP. This was the first time that Kombuis had ever purchased music that had been made by an “Afrikaans” musician.
Kombuis found that he could not stop listening to the album. The music and lyrics inspired him and as was also the case with Dirk Uys, he realised that the only way to bring an anti-apartheid message to Afrikaner youth was to use rock and roll. “I had a feeling that the only way we could get meaningful change in Afrikaners was by getting the younger market and when Bernoldus’s thing came I realised this is the kind of thing we had to look at” Kombuis later said.
Kombuis made a recording of his songs and sent the tape to Lloyd Ross of Shifty Records. Ross was impressed with Kombuis’ music and recorded a number of songs for an album called “Ver van die ou Kalahari”.
A young journalist named Ralph Rabie was sent to interview Kombuis about the album. The two men realised that they had met each other before and Kombuis asked Rabie to join him onstage at an upcoming concert. The two continued to collaborate and appeared in a number of shows in Johannesburg.
Kombuis was originally a member of the Gereformeerde Blues Band but left the band to forge a solo career. Kombuis joined Kerkorrel, James Phillips and the GBB on the Voëlvry tour, as a solo artist.
After the tour ended, Kombuis continued his solo music career and still performs regularly. He is a well-respected author and poet.
Read more about Koos Kombuis at his official website Koos Kombuis
