South African musician Johnny Clegg, who has had chemotherapy and other treatment for pancreatic cancer, says he feels “fit and strong” as he begins his last international tour.
The 64-year-old Clegg told journalists Thursday that he is “dealing with another, parallel world that I live in with my diagnosis” ahead of shows in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia in the coming months. He performs Sept. 20 in Dubai.
The tour, scheduled to end in March, is called “The Final Journey.”
Clegg blended Western and African musical styles in multi-racial bands during white minority rule in South Africa. His song “Asimbonanga,” meaning “We’ve never seen him” in Zulu, refers to South Africans who grew up under apartheid, when images of then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela were banned.