Desert Reggae Discs
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No Fixed Address and Coloured Stone were pioneers of reggae music in Australia in the 1980s.
No Fixed Address appeared in a 1980 semi-autobiographical film, Wrong Side of the Road alongside rock band Us Mob. You can watch the film on YouTube here:
There is also a soundtrack available from the film:
You can read more about the story of No Fixed Address here.
Coloured Stone's song Black Boy even went to Number 1 in Fiji.
But the more recent rise of what has been called Desert Reggae has been influenced by the late Lucky Dube, a black South African musician who lived through South Africa’s apartheid.
In 2005 Lucky toured Australia including Alice Springs and Darwin where fans travelled from remote Aboriginal communities of Central Australia to see him. Its considered that this visit left a legacy on the music of the Western Desert – Desert Reggae. [1]
You can listen to a podcast on the impact of Lucky Dube on reggae music in Australia here and read an article here.
Whilst not a reggae band, the Warumpi Band also influenced Desert Reggae. The Warumpi Band was formed in Papunya, Northern Territory, a few hundred kilometres outside of Alice Springs.
The young people in Papunya, where Sammy and Gordon Butcher from the Warumpi Band were from, found an affinity with the political struggles of Lucky Dube. His music resonated with desert communities.
Sammy taught the youth to play instruments, to work together collaboratively in a band, and to record music. This gave rise to a new genre of music, Desert Reggae influenced by Warumpi Band’s sound as well as reggae, gospel and surf-inspired guitar riffs. One band was formed by the next generation of Butchers: Jeremiah, Jason and Crystal Butcher, in the The Tjupi Band.
"Desert reggae now stands as the leading music genre across the Central Western Australian deserts." – Crystal Butcher [2]
Desert Reggae is uniquely central Australian with a mix of ska, country and reggae and the use of Aboriginal languages from the region creating resonances that cannot be emulated in English. Band members live in remote Central Australian communities where there is poor access to the internet, making marketing difficult. The following video encourages bands to get their songs out there so we can all enjoy their amazing music, and they can get booked for gigs at festivals across the country. You can watch it here. [3]
[1] Earshot, ABC
[2] Warumpi Band Lives On, Crystal Butcher
[3] Desert Reggae, ICTV