Much-loved and sorely-missed, Piet Botha was a South African musician who fronted the band Jack Hammer from 1984 to 2019, and also released critically-acclaimed solo albums. He has left us with a legacy of great music. Piet Botha was born in 1955 and shared his birth date of 18th July with Nelson Mandela. He began writing songs and forming bands while still at school and his first professional gig was as an acoustic duo in 1974 at a local drinking hole in Pretoria. Piet Botha was the son of the former South African Minister of Foreign Affairs Pik Botha (not to be confused with P.W. Botha). Pik Botha, who served during the last years of the apartheid era was considered to be a liberal, at least in comparison to others in the ruling National Party and among the Afrikaner community at the time.