Laurika Rauch

Laurika Rauch, (born 1 November 1950 in Cape Town) is a South African singer who performs in both Afrikaans and English. She had a hit single in 1979 with Kinders van die Wind (Children of the Wind), written by Koos du Plessis. The song featured prominently in the Afrikaans television series "Phoenix & Kie" in the late seventies.

She was an actress with PACT PLAYWORK in 1975-1976 under the leadership of Robin Malan. In the early eighties she also attracted attention with her interpretation of Jacques Brel’s music with her performances in Taubie Kushlick’s two Jacques Brel productions at the Chelsea Theatre in Hillbrow. In August 1996 Laurika performed with the Transvaal Philharmonic Orchestra (renamed NAPOP, now disbanded) in the Opera of the State Theatre in a program that consisted entirely of her repertoire. Both performances were sold out. Laurika has performed in Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, London, the Czech Republic, New Zealand and Australi. In December 1993 she performed for an audience of 13 000 people in Utrecht, accompanied by the well-known Metropole Orchestra. In March 1997 the Charles University in Prague invited her and her pianist (Fanie Fouché) to represent Afrikaans as the youngest member of the Dutch language group to an audience of academics from Europe and Eastern Europe. The performances formed part of the Department of Neerlandistiek’s 75th Jubilee festivities at the university. Laurika is married to Christopher Torr, the composer and writer of many of her hits, such as Stuur Groete aan Mannetjies Roux, Op Blouberg se Strand, Hot gates, Die Gang, Die mense op die Bus, My ou Tante Koba, Die Siener, Stille waters and many more. In 2011 Chris’s first musical - Stuur groete aan Mannetjies Roux - was staged. It played to more than 50 sold-out performances in four main centres. The film titled Stuur groete aan Mannetjies Roux, which is based on the play, with Anna-Mart van der Merwe and Ian Roberts in lead roles, was released in 2013. In September 2013 she toured to Australia and New Zealand. Laurika and her team visited and performed in Auckland, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth. One of her highlights on this trip was that she had the opportunity to hug a Koala bear. Laurika released her first album in 4 years, Wals, wals, Willemien in 2014, Die reis followed in October 2016 and Gunstelinge in October 2017. In 2018 she performed with Loki Rothman at the Festival voor het Afrikaans in Amsterdam. In 2019 se commemorated her 40 years in the music industry by releasing a limited edition (1000 copies) box set of 15 of her most loved albums, titled Laurika Rauch: 40 Jaar. Chris and Laurika have two children - Simon and Nina, and a first grandchild.

In 1981 she was also in the cast of ‘Met permissie gesê’, written by Hennie Aucamp. " The show was the first Afrikaans cabaret." With Janice Honeyman as director and people such as Amanda Strydom, Rina Nienaber, Gerben Kamper and Bill Curry in the cast, it was a form of "civilised protest" against the government of the day.

In 1984, English-speaking husband, Christopher Torr, wrote a song in English about the bank robber André Stander, who had obtained almost legendary notoriety in South Africa. The song was never recorded or performed.

She married Christopher Torr in 1984. At the time he was a lecturer in economics (later to become a professor). They have two children, Simon and Nina and a grandchild.

(This was a work commissioned by the Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees 1999, based on the Neem Kennis-concept of 1992

Gian Groen provided the title track of Vier Seisoene Kind (2002) and it remains one of her most popular songs. My ou tante Koba (2004) was nominated for a SAMA. On her album Tweeduisend-en-tien! (2010), she performs a duet with Kurt Darren (‘Slang in die gras’) and the Robbie Wessels song Skouspel 2010, about a baboon that creates chaos in a hotel room, provides comic relief with the aid of baboon sounds provided by the musician Leon Ecroignard. Her first and only full-length DVD of a performance, with Deon de Bruyn as director and Louis Brittz as musical director, appeared in 2006. The title is LAURIKA RAUCH: Grootste treffers LIVE.

In 2011 her husband, Christopher Torr, completed the musical theatre piece, Stuur groete aan Mannetjies Roux, and sold-out runs at the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria, the Artscape in the Cape, Emperor's Palace in Johannesburg and the Sand du Plessis theatre in Bloemfontein, were completed at the end of July. Her most popular songs were used in the production, and Rauch also sang and acted in the show. The musical, with a cast of 12 actor/singers, surpassed all expectations – artistically and at the box office.

When somebody gave Rauch a cassette recording of the music of the Udo Jürgens, she didn't listen to it at first, choosing to focus on original Afrikaans material, rather than translating foreign songs. Torr began listening to the German songs, and without knowing what the German meant, wrote Afrikaans words for one of the songs which was eventually recorded and released as one of Rauch's greatest hits –‘Op Blouberg se strand’. Torr still provides much of Rauch's most successful material.

In 2016 she was awarded the Order of Ikhamanga for "her outstanding contribution in the field of music and raising awareness on political injustices through music."

After the success of ‘Kinders van die wind’ and her ‘Debuut’-album, the singer and songwriter Anton Goosen asked her in October 1979 to accompany him on a tour. At that time Goosen was also establishing a name for himself with his original Afrikaans music and his hit ‘Kruidjie-Roer-my-nie’. Before him it was often the case that German and other songs of foreign origin were translated and released in South Africa. Original local songwriters were few and far between. The tours did much to further establish Rauch's name.

Around this time the ‘grand dame’ of theatre, Taubie Kushlick, heard of Rauch. In 1980 she asked her for an audition as she was looking for somebody to interpret the music of the Flemish songwriter Jacques Brel in a new production with Ann Hamblin and Ferdie Uphof. Kushlick quickly decided that this "boeremeisie" (Afrikaner girl)– as she called Rauch – was the appropriate choice for her new production, ‘Encore! Brel’. It was a great success and played for six months in the Chelsea Theatre in Hillbrow. An ensuing production, ‘The Best of Brel’, followed in 1983.

Rauch has put quite a few poems to music and recorded them, such as Nalekokers and Niks hang so rooi soos wingerdblaar by Hexrivier by Boerneef, Ballade vir ‘n koningsdogter by ID du Plessis and Windliedjie and Toemaar die donker man by Ingrid Jonker.

Rauch received a ‘Sarie’ award in 1980 as most promising singer. She was the first recipient of a medal of honour awarded by the ‘South African Academy for Arts and Science’ for her contribution to light Afrikaans music in 1997. In 2006 ‘Huisgenoot Skouspel’ crowned her with an award for her lifelong achievement.

‘Van Berlyn tot Bapsfontein’, together with Jannie du Toit in 1988, was another highlight for her. Stephan Bouwer was the director of this singular production. She took part in Huisgenoot Skouspel in 2000 for the first time, with further performances in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008 en 2009. She was also involved in the ‘Huisgenoot's Kaapse Jol’ in 2007, and ‘Skouspel Plus' in 2009 and 2010. There were various overseas performances, amongst them a concert tour to Belgium in 1985 (a documentary for television was also made during this tour), performances in the Netherlands in 1993 and 1994, three performances in London (2002–2004) at the Ukkasie festival, two performances in Prague (1997 and 1998) and a performance in Antwerp in 2006.

‘Samekoms/Kopano’ with Vusi Mahlasela in 1998/99 is another high point of her career. Rauch was producer and singer, and Deon Opperman the director.

‘Debuut’ (1979), ‘ ’n Jaar in my lewe’ (1980), ‘Vir Jou’ (1981), ‘Jy is te dierbaar’ (1983) ‘Laurika op versoek’ (1985) and ‘Encore! Laurika’ (1988):

These vinyl albums provided some of Rauch's greatest hits. Anton Goosen still provided many of the compositions on Debuut, with songs such as ‘Neanderdalman’ and ‘Vergeet om my te vergeet/onthou om te onthou’. Kupido, who would later achieve fame as a country singer, provided ‘Jy is te dierbaar’ and ‘Lied van die natuur’ on the 1983 album ‘Jy is te dierbaar’. With ‘Encore!Laurika’ Chris Torr emerged on the scene as a songwriter with tracks such as ‘Miekie’ and ‘Die ballade van Jakob F de Beer’. It was actually ‘Op Blouberg se strand’ – his translation of the Udo Jürgens song – that was particularly popular with the public.

Although there have been other successful greatest hits compilations, her ‘19 Treffers van 21 jaar’ (1999) was a collection spanning more than 20 years of her career. This compilation has obtained double platinum status with sales of more than 120 000 and remains a good seller.

Laurika was born in Cape Town on 1 November as the youngest child of Fritz and Rina Rauch. Her father was the public relations manager at Old Mutual until his retirement and her mother was a trained social worker, the editor of Die Huisvrou magazine and was also very involved in charity work, especially amongst the elderly. Her siblings are Ingrid and Johan. She started playing the piano at the age of five, and sang alto in Oom Hannes Uys se Kindersangkring, a children’s choir from Pinelands, for 10 years. Laurika matriculated at Jan van Riebeeck High School in Cape Town, studied drama at the University of Stellenbosch and obtained her degree in 1972. She moved to Gauteng in 1974 and became a household name in 1979 with the release of her first hit, Kinders van die wind. It was the first Afrikaans song in the late seventies to simultaneously reach the number one position on the Radio 5 and Springbok radio hit parades. Laurika was one of the most prominent singers involved in the revival of popular Afrikaans music/songs in the late seventies and early eighties After school she studied drama at the University of Stellenbosch.

'Stuur groete aan Mannetjies Roux’ (1990), ‘Die gang’ (1992) and afterwards:

'Stuur groete aan Mannetjies Roux’ was her first Afrikaans album to reach platinum status, and it was the first female Afrikaans album ever to appear in South Africa as a CD. Chris Torr provided the title track about the legendary rugby player Mannetjies Roux. Die gang was the first album that Rauch released in the name of her own record company, ‘Laurika Rauch Productions’. The gripping title track of the ‘Hot Gates’ album of 1995 was also one of Torr's compositions. It remains one of Rauch's greatest hits. Rauch received a SAMA for this album. With The Brel Album (1997) she returned to her roots as a great interpreter of the music of Jacques Brel.