Neil Murray (Australian musician)
Encyclopedia
Neil Murray is an Australia
n musician and writer. He was a founding member of the Warumpi Band
that formed in the early 1980s, the first major Aboriginal rock group and influential Aboriginal rock
band.
in Western Victoria. In 1980 he moved to Papunya
and became a founding member of the Warumpi Band. The Warumpi Band were pioneers of Aboriginal Rock. They released three albums and toured widely, including the Blackfella/Whitefella Tour with Midnight Oil
in 1986. Neil launched his solo career in 1989 and has since released eight albums, three books and one CD of spoken poetry. In 1995 his song "My Island Home
," originally written for the Warumpi Band, was named the APRA Song of the Year. Re-recorded by Christine Anu
, it has since become an unofficial anthem and featured in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n musician and writer. He was a founding member of the Warumpi Band
Warumpi Band
The Warumpi Band is an Australian band from the bush, coming from Papunya, Northern Territory, Australia.The band was formed in 1980 by Neil Murray, a Victorian "whitefella" working in the region as a schoolteacher and labourer, George Burarrwanga, from Elcho Island, and local boys Gordon and...
that formed in the early 1980s, the first major Aboriginal rock group and influential Aboriginal rock
Aboriginal rock
Aboriginal rock refers to a style of music which mixes rock music with the instrumentation and singing styles of Aboriginal people. Two countries with prominent Aboriginal rock scenes are Australia and Canada.-Australia:...
band.
Biography
Neil was raised near Lake BolacLake Bolac, Victoria
Lake Bolac is a town in Victoria, Australia, located on the Glenelg Highway, west of Ballarat, in the Rural City of Ararat. At the 2006 census, Lake Bolac and the surrounding area had a population of 470. The town is on the shores of Lake Bolac, a freshwater lake popular with fishers.Lake Bolac...
in Western Victoria. In 1980 he moved to Papunya
Papunya, Northern Territory
Papunya is a small Indigenous Australian community of about 299 people roughly 240 km northwest of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia...
and became a founding member of the Warumpi Band. The Warumpi Band were pioneers of Aboriginal Rock. They released three albums and toured widely, including the Blackfella/Whitefella Tour with Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
in 1986. Neil launched his solo career in 1989 and has since released eight albums, three books and one CD of spoken poetry. In 1995 his song "My Island Home
My Island Home
"My Island Home" is popularly believed to be a song about Australia. However, it was written by Neil Murray and originally performed by his Warumpi Band in reference to their lead singer's home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory as said by...
," originally written for the Warumpi Band, was named the APRA Song of the Year. Re-recorded by Christine Anu
Christine Anu
-Early life:Anu was born in Cairns, Queensland to a Torres Strait Islander mother from Saibai and Mabuiag Islands.-Career:Anu began performing as a dancer and later went on to sing back-up vocals for The Rainmakers, which included Neil Murray of the Warumpi Band. Her first recording was in 1993...
, it has since become an unofficial anthem and featured in the closing ceremony of the Sydney 2000 Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
Discography
- Calm & Crystal Clear 1989
- These Hands 1993
- Dust 1996
- The Wondering Kind 1999
- Going the Distance 2003
- About Time 2005
- 2songmen--Shane Howard & Neil Murray Live in Darwin 2006
- Overnighter 2007
- Witness 2010
Videos
- 1989 Calm and Crystal Clear, Let's Fall In Love Again
- 1993 Holy Road, Sing Your Destiny
- 2004 Over the Moon, Holding on to Sky
- 2005 Tom Wills Would
- 2007 Lights of Hay
Published works
- 1980 Starting Procedure (poetry)
- 1993 Sing for me, Countryman
- 1999 One Man Tribe (poetry)
- 2009 Native Born (song lyrics)
Short stories
- "Home and Away", The Bulletin 1983
- "Boomerangs", Going Down Swinging 1983
- "Two Stones", Inprint 1983
- "The Risks of Two-up Motorcycling", Australian Short Stories 1987
- "One Last Hitch", The Edge 1989
- "Unmarked Graves", included in Banjo Clarke's Wisdom Man, Penguin Australia, 2003
Articles
- "A Guide to Boomerang Buying", On the Street 1983
- "Turning up the stars full blast", Australian Playboy, 1984
- "Over the back fence", Follow me Gentleman 1986
- "He's my brother", The Australian Way, July 1989
- "The Getting of Banjos Wisdom", The Age, 25 April 2000
- "Was True Blue a Blackfella?", The Age, 6 July 2002
- "Gunnedah Dreaming", The Age Review, 3 July, 2004
- "No Flowers", The Monthly, 3 August, 2005
- "How Many Sleeps?", The Monthly, January 2006
- "A Healing Walk", published 2009 in the University of Portland Magazine, Vol 28, No 2
Stage plays
- King For This Place, commissioned by Deckchair Theatre, Fremantle, Western Australia, 1999