Mark still enjoys music

Mark’s family are all musical and were all involved in the Springs Operatic Society’s productions, where he was a member of Gilbert and Sullivan musicals produced by Dennis Watson from Springs.

“Dennis was also my English teacher,’ he says.

He went to Selcourt Primary School and matriculated at Springs Boys’ High School in 1975.

Mark is married to Carol Truter (53) and currently lives in Auckland Park, Johannesburg.

“I started playing the piano and the guitar when I was about 10 years old,” he says.

His first band was called Corporal Punishment, started by himself and two other band members Carl Raubenheimer and the late James Phillips.

“We were contemporaries of The Radio Rats and I am still good friends with Jonathan Handley and Dave Davies from the Rats,” he says.

The Radio Rats band members are from Springs.

Mark played with a number of bands in the 80s and 90s, including The Softies and The Cherry Faced Lurchers and was a full time musician from 1978 until 1990.

“I played on The Voëlvry tour with the late Johannes Kerkorrel, Koos Kombuis and Bernoldus Niemand,” he says.

These days it’s more of a hobby than a career, and the band, The Hip Replacements, performs regularly at one of Joburg’s oldest and best known music venues, as well as most of the festivals including at Oppi Koppi and Splashy Fen.

“We write all of our own material, and our songs are a mixture of social commentary and tales of heartache,” adds Mark.