Springbok Nude Girls (SNG) were at the top of the game in South Africa. They released a song and it went to Number 1. They released an album and it went to Number 1. They went on tour and it sold out. They had to move to the US to take it to the next step and chose not to. Arno Blumer had a wife and two small kids, Adriaan Brand apparently went to Taiwan for two years, etc. They didn't break up for financial reasons, I suppose they broke up because they wanted different things musically.
They got back together for financial reasons I presume. I mean, Arno Carstens had two hugely successful solo albums, but Theo Crous formed K.O.B.U.S. which wasn't exactly mainstream, to put it mildly. I'm sure there was a lot more to it than money in motivating them to get back together, but I can see how money was a strong motivator for all of them. The South African music scene still isn't big enough for the average band not to have day jobs.
The bands I saw live - Lithium, Sugardrive, Battery9, Boo!, Brasse Vannie Kaap, Squeal, Henry Ate, Just Jinger, SNG, Black Diamond, Semisane, The LED, etc. have all been through so many incarnations or moved into as members moved to different things. The members of The LED, for instance, were all business/engineering students and now earn 6 figures in London, Houston, Joburg, etc. and their days as one of the best bands in SA are nostalgic memories of their student years.
As for your trying to put South African music into some kind of box, well you just can't. One of my favorite SA musicians is Farrell Adams. The man is the definition of eclectic. Between all the bands he and his Nine cohorts have been in they have played the entire music spectrum, and meld so many styles into one incarnation you cannot classify any of it.
Farrell Adams Downloads :: calabashmusic.com South Africa is a cultural melting pot and the music is equally diverse.
As popular as SNG is in some circles, they probably do not sell half as many albums as some of the kwaito groups.
Kwaito Music :: calabashmusic.com