Bart Willoughby (b. 1960) is a Pitjantjantjara and Mirning singer/songwriter who is one of the Stolen Generations. Taken away from his family in Ceduna, South Australia at three years old, he spent most of his childhood in a children's home. Music was his escape. Known for his distinctive fusion of reggae with traditional Indigenous influences, Willoughby studied at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music at the University of Adelaide where he met musicians Ricky Harrison, Leslie Lovegrove Freeman and John Miller. In 1978, they formed No Fixed Address, Australia's first Indigenous rock band, the first to sign a record deal, and the first to tour overseas. Their reggae rock hit 'We Have Survived' remains a classic protest song. In 1989 he was included in the Midnight Oil tour in America, drumming for Yothu Yindi and Native American musician John Trudell. After the tour he formed the band Mixed Relations. He received the inaugural Indigenous ARIA Australian Lifetime Achievement Award for his Outstanding Contribution to Indigenous Music in Australia in 1993. He currently fronts The Bart Willoughby Band.
Best known for her work as a documentary photographer, Juno Gemes took this image during an unguarded moment in the midst of a busy protest march. The portrait shows Willoughby at 22, early in his musical career.
Gift of the artist 2021. Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
© Juno Gemes/Copyright Agency, 2024
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