Only two of the nine musicians who make up the Kings Of Chaos have been to this part of the world before: Def Leppard played South Africa back in 1997, while Ed Roland has visited the country with Collective Soul and as a solo artist. “There are a lot of valuables in those cars,” says one of the band’s entourage, referring band members rather than their jewellery. This is partly for convenience, but partly for safety. When the band travel from their hotel to the venue, it’s in a convoy of people carriers with a retinue of security guards.

There are a lot of places you wouldn’t want to go in Cape Town after dark there are quite a few you wouldn’t want to go to in broad daylight. If that doesn’t work, then the guns that the majority of their owners keep in their homes generally do the trick. Tellingly, every house has barbed wire to keep unwanted intruders out. Conversely, where there is wealth it’s in plain view: lavish houses and multimillion-rand apartments cling to the beaches. While the country came in from the cold in the mid-90s, the scars of apartheid still remain, in both the townships that line the road from the airport, and the tin-roofed shacks – unauthorised, and barely inhabitable – that have sprung up throughout town. Its most notable feature is Table Mountain, a 3,000-foot-high lump of rock dumped inconveniently in the middle of the city. Cape Town itself is a sprawling city that lies baking in the sun on the country’s western seaboard. The lack of extensive touring options in this part of the world means it’s only the megabands – your Metallicas, Linkin Parks and Red Hot Chili Peppers – who can afford to play here.īut it’s worth the journey, if only for the experience of being in one of the most unique places on the planet.

The logistics of getting a band here are complicated and costly: a flight from London takes 11 hours, the trek from Los Angeles is closer to 30.

It’s not quite The Land That Rock Forgot, but South Africa certainly isn’t a regular stop‑off on the international touring circuit. Kings Of Chaos in 2013: (from left) Myles Kennedy, Slash, Matt Sorum, Duff McKagan, Joe Elliott, Ed Roland, Dave Kushner, Gilby Clarke, Glenn Hughes (Image credit: Sean Brand)

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