Early Life
Sony was born Warrick Swinney in Port Elizabeth on 12 September 1958. He grew up in the Cowies Hill area of Durban, attending Westville High School where he played in school-based groups doing covers of songs by Jimi Hendrix and The Who. He was influenced by Indian culture, music and cuisine and by the work of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. He learned to play tabla at the Hindu Sarat school in Durban. In 1976 he was conscripted into the South African Defence Force, where he declared himself a Hindu pacifist, and was assigned to medical duties and then to band work. During his military service, Sony played B♭ horn, euphonium and drums. He changed his surname from Swinney to Sony to make it harder for the army to get in touch with him for camps; he chose Sony because he liked their products. Following his discharge from the army in 1977, his father introduced him to punk rock music, by playing him early work by the Sex Pistols and the Clash.
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