Coming full circle, singing Hey Now! Hey Now Now!

He has even been a part of the iconic South African rock band Wonderboom – he is Danny de Wet.

A pupil of CBC in Boksburg, Danny sees himself as an entrenched part of the local hood.

He is eccentric to say the least – he sits down in front of my desk, with a raggy hairdo that comes straight out of the ’80s and a shirt depicting faces of iconic rockers of his time.

He cannot sit still; his energy keeps him busy – his mind seems to race with ideas, songs and jokes.

He smiles brightly as he cracks jokes about himself, some of which aren’t supposed to be heard by the ears of anyone but his confidant. His openness and quirky friendliness don’t ring true to someone who knows the who’s who in the world.

He is someone you can relate to, someone you just get in an artistic sense.

While telling me his life story, how he left school in the late ‘70s and played in a band called eVoid – who had two big singles called Shadow and Taxi Band – he burst out in song, passionately singing a song to me.

In the ‘80s he played in a band called Peticheval, which had a hit called Once in a Lifetime that went straight to number one. He also had the chance to play in concert to a crowd of 97 000 people.

“It was the biggest show that I ever played. Pure adrenaline,” he says enthusiastically.

What makes Danny so interesting is that he is actually a qualified analytical chemical analyst, but decided to spend his days in the music industry.

He worked for David Gresham Records and, while he was there, signed Prime Circle to the label.

He was also influential in getting Nickleback’s name known in South Africa.

“It was a mad time – I was a roadrunner for Nickleback,” he adds.

While working at the recording label, he ran Richard Branson’s V2 label, which also gave him the chance to meet the billionaire in person.

From 2007 to 2012, he ran Sovereign Records and played his part in the success The Parlotones have achieved.

Through the years he has toured and was involved in a myriad of events, as a performer and also as part of his record company role, managed and arranged promotional tours for international artists such as Feeder, Ben Lee, Missy Higgins, Starsailor, Soulfly and Ash.

However, one of the biggest bands Danny was a part of was Wonderboom.

He was the drummer for the band for 13 years, after which, he says, the band’s lifetime “ran its course”.

However, in the ‘90s he also co-owned a club in Braamfontein, called Wings Beat Bar, where Chris Chameleon played in his school band, and the Springbok Nude Girls played their first gig.

During the ‘90s, Wonderboom was a huge success, with multiple hit songs.

“During this time the Parlotones used to open up for us, but later, when their success took off, we ended up opening up for them,” he laughs.

However, more recently, Danny started working for Music Mate, for which he does marketing and public relations – a far stretch from his musical talents.

Suddenly he exclaims, jokingly: “I am such a big Bob Dylan fan that I had a nose job to make my nose bigger, like his.”

He explains: “Bob Dylan’s definition of success is ‘if he goes to bed at night and has done what he wants to do, then he is successful’.”

And this is exactly the motto Danny lives by.

Danny is a fan of the groupies, softly adding: “When I finally grow up I wanna be an old man.”

But with all of his quirks, Danny also has a son, of whom he speaks fondly.

“His name is Luka, named after Luka Blue, the Irish singer. Luka is more serious than I am. He is in Grade Nine now and also wants to start his own band.”

Danny lives in Sunward Park: “I’ve come full circle back to Boksburg; back to my roots.”

With this, Danny brought a new show called Hey Now! Hey Now Now! to Boksburg, which will be performed at the Barnyard Theatre.

The show is decidedly about the darker side of the ’80s Rock ’n Roll experience.

It’s a cutting-edge rock show that celebrates and pays tribute to the best alternative rock bands of the era.

Songs that they will be performing include those of The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, The Cult, U2, Depeche Mode, The Police, Duran Duran, Violent Femmes, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Billy Idol, Simple Minds and The Pixies.

The show further features the talents of Danny, David Beretta Owens, Jon Preston, Jay Wilton, Julian von Plato, JP Matthews, Justin Hart, Jenna Meiring, Martin Dugdale and Marco Romano.

Win tickets to the show!

The show Hey Now, Hey Now Now! is meant to be for the purists, and those who love music from the ’80s.

And, therefore, the Boksburg Advertiser is making five double-tickets available to this show on Sunday, March 30, for our readers.

To enter and win one of these five double-tickets, simply answer: Which band used to open up for Danny’s band, Wonderboom?

Send your answer, along with your name and surname and area where you live, to 35718 by March 18.

SMSes are charged at R1.50 each.

Winners will be contacted telephonically. No correspondence will be entered into.