South African Rock Hall Of Fame

Piet Botha inducted 1st January 2002

Piet was born on the 18th July 1955 and has been a stalwart of the SA rock scene since the ’70s when he started the band Raven. In the early ’80s Wildebeest combined African, Afrikaans and Rock sounds into one hybrid mixture. His band Jack Hammer, first formed in 1984, defined good time rock and played support to Deep Purple and ZZ Top on their SA tours. In the ’90s Piet helped solidify the Alt.Afr.Rock movement alongside artists like Koos Kombuis and Valiant Swart.

He continues to perform regularly in and around Pretoria and at most of the festivals during the year. And he can usually be seen performing unplugged at the coast during the summer months. Piet (affectionately known as “Hammer” to his friends) is an intelligent, warm and sincere person who is seen as a mentor and father-figure to young aspiring musicians like Jonathan Martin and Not My Dog.