George Rrurrambu

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George Rrurrambu is a Yolngu man from Arnhem Land. He is an icon of Aboriginal rock music, and is most well known as the charismatic front man of the Warumpi Band.

Rrurrambu's musical career began in the late 1970s in Central Australia, when he helped form the Warumpi Band, which was also made up of Sammy Butcher, Gordon Butcher and Neil Murray.

In 1983 they released the single Jailanguru Pakarnu (Out of Jail), the first rock song ever released in an Australian Aboriginal language.

Three albums, Big Name No Blanket (1985), Go Bush (1988) and Too Much Humbug (1996), followed, including the anthemic songs Blackfella Whitefella and My Island Home, the latter of which was made famous when it was covered by Christine Anu.

Rrurrambu has performed at a number of major music festivals, including WOMADelaide, the Melbourne International Festival, the Adelaide Fringe Festival and the indigenous music events Stompem Ground, in Broome, and the Garma Festival, in Gove.

After the breakup of the Warumpi Band, Rrurrambu launched a lower-key solo career, performing to sellout crowds at the Festival of Darwin and appearing live on national television for the Yeperenye Federation Festival in Alice Springs during 2000. He then launched a solo reggae album, touring throughout the Northern Territory and then to Europe in 2002.

Throughout his career, Rrurrambu has been active in promoting reconciliation and cross-cultural understanding between black and white Australians. In more recent years, Rrurrambu has largely returned to traditional life, attending funeral and circumcision ceremonies with his father, a Gumatj clan leader. He has been a proponent of combining the technical experience of white Australia with the knowledge of the land of the Aboriginal people in order to achieve more successful outcomes.

[edit] References

• from Google cache of http://www.musicnt.com.au/george.htm MusicNT: George Rrurrambu [Accessed July 29, 2005]