Heather Mac

Heather Mac rose to prominence in the South African rock music firmament in the early 1980s, as the lead singer of Ella Mental. The group’s first single, Pressure, was released in 1984, and the following year, their first album, Uncomplicated Dreams. Despite their popularity, it soon became clear that they had reached a ceiling of sorts in South Africa. One of their subsequent singles, Madmen, was even ludicrously banned by the apartheid authorities as it appeared to be a criticism of then-president PW Botha’s government. With the rest of the group in tow, Heather and Tim decamped to Ireland, where they worked on breaking into the international market. The breaks never came, and after a while, bassist Adrian Levi returned to South Africa and drummer Herman Eugster left for Switzerland. But Heather and Tim plugged on with a new version of the group and they were signed by Warner Bros following a gig at the Marquee Club in London.Heather and Tim moved to Los Angeles in 1989 to record the Ella Mental album. The group finally disbanded in 1992. It was also the end of Heather and Tim’s marriage. Heather returned to South Africa with her children, Amber and Luke, in December 1991. In 1994, the short-lived Heather Mac Band was formed, with singer-songwriter/guitarist Edi Niederlander, the late Ilne Hofmeyr on bass, and drummer Steve Howells. In 1997, Heather wrote and co-created In The Mix, a seven part SABCT TV series. But the world of music and performance was always close at hand. Heather appeared in a number of Jazzart productions and, more importantly, she also met her current partner, the guitarist Mark Harris, who has been performing with her since 1997. Together with Mark, Heather has also been appearing with The Brills, a group that also includes former Bright Blue bassist Ian Cohen and singer Tonia Selley. Her theatre company, MORE Theatre has produced three children’s musical productions based on African folk tales. Her most recent production, Snake Magic, represented South Africa at the 10th Annual African Theatre Festival for Children and Young People in Yaoundé, Cameroon in November 2008. In 2011, she returns as a recording artist with her new album, Within.