Vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Sipho Mabuse began his career in the late 1960s as drummer with the Beaters, a band heavily influenced by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. By the early 1970s, South African township music was increasingly rejecting imported music in favor of indigenous, traditionally rooted styles, and the Beaters were no exception. Their 1974 single "Harari" became so successful throughout Southern Africa that the band changed their name to Harari. In 1984, Mabuse decided to pursue a solo career, and released his debut BURN OUT in 1985. It sold an unprecedented 230,000 copies in South Africa alone and was licensed by CBS Records for a U.S. release. By the turn of the decade, Mabuse had become a leading figure in the South African Musicians Against Apartheid movement.