After seven years of giving South Africans award-winning music, pop group Gangs of Ballet has called it quits and will be bringing their last tour to East London this weekend.
The band, made up of Brad and Josh Klynsmith – grandsons of the late Scotty and Trudy Loewe of East London – and Jonathan Rich, made their music debut in 2011 and will be remembered for hits such as Something, Don't Let Me Go, Always, This Love, Hello Sweet World.
They have performed all over the country, and opened for One Direction in South Africa a few years back.
Their performance on Saturday at the C-Club will be in conjunction with the beer festival that the establishment is hosting.
Speaking with the Daily Dispatch, Josh said their split was amicable.
“Last year, we felt like things were winding down for us. We didn’t have the same energy we had when we first started.
“We could sense that our season was up and we decided that 2018 would be our last year as Gangs,” he said.
“Brad and I are brothers and Jono [Rich] has become a brother. We love each other, there was no fight. It was time.
“And we all have a lot of things in the pipeline.”
Josh said once they finished their last tour as Gangs of Ballet, he would be launching his solo career, while Brad would be jetting off to the US to focus on writing songs.
Rich will return to his first love, graphic design.
“Jono is currently based in
Cape Town now.
“He was part of the Cristiano Ronaldo 7 clothing line. He is heavily involved in that department and I believe that is the direction he will take,” he said.
Josh said when they first started, they had no idea they would receive multiple SA Music Award nominations and win the MTV Africa Music Awards.
"We didn’t know or understand anything about the music industry. This was a side project for us but a lot of labels started showing interest in us.
“We had to get a lawyer and a management team to assist us because we didn’t know anything about the legalities of the music industry,” he said.
He now faces a new challenge as he is looks towards his solo career, he said.
“When we came into the industry, radio was huge; we relied heavily on radio airplay but now things have changed.
“People are streaming music and there’s a whole community of people who are going digital. I’m now trying to figure out which direction to take.”
He said they were excited to perform in East London one last time.
“My mom grew up in East London and we spent all our holidays that side. We have some fond memories,” he said.
Tickets for the beer festival featuring Gangs of Ballet cost R100 and are available at
Gangs of Ballet to take final bow
Image: Supplied
After seven years of giving South Africans award-winning music, pop group Gangs of Ballet has called it quits and will be bringing their last tour to East London this weekend.
The band, made up of Brad and Josh Klynsmith – grandsons of the late Scotty and Trudy Loewe of East London – and Jonathan Rich, made their music debut in 2011 and will be remembered for hits such as Something, Don't Let Me Go, Always, This Love, Hello Sweet World.
They have performed all over the country, and opened for One Direction in South Africa a few years back.
Their performance on Saturday at the C-Club will be in conjunction with the beer festival that the establishment is hosting.
Speaking with the Daily Dispatch, Josh said their split was amicable.
“Last year, we felt like things were winding down for us. We didn’t have the same energy we had when we first started.
“We could sense that our season was up and we decided that 2018 would be our last year as Gangs,” he said.
“Brad and I are brothers and Jono [Rich] has become a brother. We love each other, there was no fight. It was time.
“And we all have a lot of things in the pipeline.”
Josh said once they finished their last tour as Gangs of Ballet, he would be launching his solo career, while Brad would be jetting off to the US to focus on writing songs.
Rich will return to his first love, graphic design.
“Jono is currently based in
Cape Town now.
“He was part of the Cristiano Ronaldo 7 clothing line. He is heavily involved in that department and I believe that is the direction he will take,” he said.
Josh said when they first started, they had no idea they would receive multiple SA Music Award nominations and win the MTV Africa Music Awards.
"We didn’t know or understand anything about the music industry. This was a side project for us but a lot of labels started showing interest in us.
“We had to get a lawyer and a management team to assist us because we didn’t know anything about the legalities of the music industry,” he said.
He now faces a new challenge as he is looks towards his solo career, he said.
“When we came into the industry, radio was huge; we relied heavily on radio airplay but now things have changed.
“People are streaming music and there’s a whole community of people who are going digital. I’m now trying to figure out which direction to take.”
He said they were excited to perform in East London one last time.
“My mom grew up in East London and we spent all our holidays that side. We have some fond memories,” he said.
Tickets for the beer festival featuring Gangs of Ballet cost R100 and are available at
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