No Fixed Address
Encyclopedia
No Fixed Address is an Australian Aboriginal reggae
group formed in 1978. Led by Bart Willoughby
, the band supported Peter Tosh
on his 1982 Australian tour. After the success of the Peter Tosh tour No Fixed Address became the first Aboriginal band to travel overseas becoming cultural ambassadors for their people while touring the United Kingdom playing at nine cities including London, Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth and Manchester.
The band coalesced at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music
in North Adelaide. The band were a very popular pub rock outfit among students and the alternative music scene, especially supported by community radio station 5MMM
. The band made a movie "Wrong Side of the Road
" with another CASM band, Us Mob
. The movie dealt with the trials and joys of touring and the contrasting receptions they received in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. With the recording of the soundtrack, No Fixed Address and Us Mob became the first contempary aboriginal bands to be recorded. Following the release of the movie and its soundtrack album, No Fixed Address toured widely.
In 1982 the band were contracted to Rough Diamond Records, a subsidiary of Polygram Records and released their debut mini album From My Eyes. The album was launched at the Hilton Hotel by the Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke
. Didgeridoo player, Billy Inda, made a guest appearance on folk rock band Goanna
's single "Solid Rock" from their album, Spirit of Place
– it peaked at No. 3 in October on the Kent Music Report
Singles Chart - it is the first charting rock song to feature the didgeridoo.
In 2008 the band reformed and played at the Dreaming Festival & Tarerer Festival in Woodford, Queensland
, where they released a limited edition CD copy of From My Eyes.
In 2011 No Fixed Address, along with Coloured Stone, were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Indigenous Music Awards.
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
group formed in 1978. Led by Bart Willoughby
Bart Willoughby
Bart Willoughby is an Indigenous Australian musician, noted for his pioneering fusion of reggae with Indigenous Australian musical influences, and for his contribution to growth of Indigenous music in Australia....
, the band supported Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
on his 1982 Australian tour. After the success of the Peter Tosh tour No Fixed Address became the first Aboriginal band to travel overseas becoming cultural ambassadors for their people while touring the United Kingdom playing at nine cities including London, Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth and Manchester.
The band coalesced at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music
Indigenous Australian music
Australian indigenous music includes the music of Australian Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders, who are collectively called Indigenous Australians; it incorporates a variety of distinctive traditional music styles practiced by Indigenous Australian peoples, as well as a range of contemporary...
in North Adelaide. The band were a very popular pub rock outfit among students and the alternative music scene, especially supported by community radio station 5MMM
Three D Radio
Three D Radio is a community radio station based in Adelaide, Australia and located in Stepney, South Australia. Established in 1979, it broadcasts on 93.7 MHz across the greater metropolitan area of Adelaide and the surrounding rural areas...
. The band made a movie "Wrong Side of the Road
Wrong Side of the Road
Wrong Side of the Road is a 1981 low-budget documentary film made in South Australia in 1980. It is distinctive for being one of the first attempts to bring modern Australian Aboriginal music to a non-indigenous audience....
" with another CASM band, Us Mob
Us Mob
Us Mob were an early Aboriginal rock band from South Australia. The band was formed with the help of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music in Adelaide.- Overview :...
. The movie dealt with the trials and joys of touring and the contrasting receptions they received in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. With the recording of the soundtrack, No Fixed Address and Us Mob became the first contempary aboriginal bands to be recorded. Following the release of the movie and its soundtrack album, No Fixed Address toured widely.
In 1982 the band were contracted to Rough Diamond Records, a subsidiary of Polygram Records and released their debut mini album From My Eyes. The album was launched at the Hilton Hotel by the Australian Prime Minister, Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
. Didgeridoo player, Billy Inda, made a guest appearance on folk rock band Goanna
Goanna (band)
Goanna is an Australian folk rock group which formed in 1977 in Geelong as The Goanna Band with mainstay Shane Howard as singer-songwriter and guitarist...
's single "Solid Rock" from their album, Spirit of Place
Spirit of Place
Spirit of Place is the first full-length album by Australian folk-rock band Goanna. It was originally released in November 1982, it peaked at No. 2 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart and appeared on the US Billboard 200....
– it peaked at No. 3 in October on the Kent Music Report
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
Singles Chart - it is the first charting rock song to feature the didgeridoo.
In 2008 the band reformed and played at the Dreaming Festival & Tarerer Festival in Woodford, Queensland
Woodford, Queensland
Woodford is a small town in Queensland, Australia, on the D'Aguilar Highway 72 km north-west of Brisbane and 24 km west of Caboolture. Its Local Government Area is the Moreton Bay Region. The town is noted for its folk festival that takes place over the New Year holidays. The Woodford...
, where they released a limited edition CD copy of From My Eyes.
In 2011 No Fixed Address, along with Coloured Stone, were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the National Indigenous Music Awards.
Members
- Selwyn Burns - guitar
- Joe GeiaJoe GeiaJoe Geia is an Australian musician of Murri Aboriginal heritage from North Queensland. He is best known as the composer of the song "Yil Lull", which has been recorded by many other artists including Paul Kelly, Archie Roach, Jimmy Barnes, and most recently by the Singers for the Red, Black and...
- vocals, percusion, didgeridoo (1982–1983) - Les Graham - guitar (1978–1983)
- Ricky Harrison - guitar (1978–1985)
- Joe Hayes - bass (1982)
- Billy Inda - percussion, didgeridoo (1982)
- Chris Jones - guitar (1982–1985)
- Les Lovegrove - guitar (1987–1988, 2008)
- Rick Lovegrove - guitar (1987–1988, 2008)
- Louis McManus - guitar (1984–1985)
- John 'John' Miller - bass (1978–1985, 1987–1988, 2008)
- Nicky Moffott - bass (1983–1985)
- Veronica Rankine - vocals, saxophone, flute (1978–1985)
- Bart WilloughbyBart WilloughbyBart Willoughby is an Indigenous Australian musician, noted for his pioneering fusion of reggae with Indigenous Australian musical influences, and for his contribution to growth of Indigenous music in Australia....
- drums, vocals, didgeridoo (1978–1985, 1987–1988, 2008)
Albums
- Wrong Side of the Road (Soundtrack with Us MobUs MobUs Mob were an early Aboriginal rock band from South Australia. The band was formed with the help of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music in Adelaide.- Overview :...
) - Black Australia/EMIEMIThe EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
(1981) AUS #67 - From My Eyes - Rough Diamond/Astor/PolyGram (RDM 8804) (1982)AUS #77
External links
- AFI Screen Biographies
- annotated bibliographical records
- Listen to 'We Have Survived' on australianscreen online
- 'We Have Survived' was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia Registry in 2008