Bart Willoughby

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Bart Willoughby is an

In 2024, Willoughby received the Ted Albert Award For Outstanding Services to Australian Music at the APRA Music Awards of 2024.^[1]

Early life and education

A

At 14 years of age, after spending some time in a boys' facility, Willoughby found his way to the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music at the University of Adelaide, where he was introduced to music, including drumming, singing, and guitar playing.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Bands

Willoughby's musical career commenced in 1978, and in this period he developed as a distinctive

Late in 1988, Willoughby was asked to join Yothu Yindi as drummer, supporting Midnight Oil on their US and Canada Diesel & Dust tour. In 1989, Willoughby left Yothu Yindi to form a new band Mixed Relations. From its inception, Mixed Relations toured extensively throughout the Aboriginal communities, Australian cities, Pacific Islands, New Zealand and Hawaii, and was chosen as the closing act for the 1989 inaugural Invasion (aka Survival) Day Concerts at La Perouse, Sydney and then every Invasion Day concert until its final date at La Perouse in 1994.

Following work in

In 1980, Willoughby starred with another indigenous band Us Mob in non-indigenous director Ned Lander's movie about Aboriginal musicians Wrong Side of the Road. This film was a semi-biographical drama concerning the racism levelled against Aboriginal musicians trying to get gigs in country pubs and won the Australian Film Commission-funded Australian Film Institute's (AFI) 1981 Jury Award for its director Lander.

Interestingly it has been reported that during the 13 years that ABC Countdown ran from 1974 Bart Willoughby did not appear on the popular national TV show in spite of written requests to Molly Meldrum which remained unanswered.

After his 1988 European tour, Willoughby directed, composed and recorded the music track using his band for Always Was - Always Will Be, produced, directed and written by Indigenous filmmaker Madelaine McGrady and screened on SBS TV in the same year.

In 1990, Willoughby was cast as "Ned the Computer Expert" in German director

In 1992, Willoughby was invited by Australia's first Indigenous feature film director Brian Syron to become the first Aboriginal to compose, play and direct the music track of a feature film Jindalee Lady. The film was invited to the International First Nations Art and Film Festival, "Dreamspeakers", in Edmonton, Canada in 1992 where it was acknowledge as the first feature film to be directed by a First Nation's director, Syron, and to have a music track composed and directed by a First Nations composer, Willoughby.

Following this festival, both Syron and Willoughby were invited to attend the 1992 Hawaii International Film Festival where Jindalee Lady was nominated for the Best Feature Film and in 1993 Jindalee Lady was then invited to screen at the Tinker Theatre, Woodstock, New York as part of the Woodstock Tribute to the International Year of Indigenous People.

In 1994, Willoughby with his eldest son Woonun Willoughby appeared in the docudrama La Perouse for the Museum of Sydney & Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales directed by Michael Riley and narrated by Justine Saunders AM.

Willoughby has made many appearances on ABC Television, Channel 9, SBS TV, Channel 10 and Channel 7.

Teaching

During 1995 Willoughby took time out to work with his Pitjantjantjara community as Music Instructor to secondary school students at

"Indigenous music has certainly come a long way in recent times. From 10 years ago out back of Australia, in outback hotels to internationally through Yothu Yindi, through Kev Carmody, through Archie Roach and many, many more. Let me tell you that the recipient of this very first Indigenous trophy has stood out clearly as an innovator for those people. He notched up a list of firsts that paved the way for a lot of Indigenous artists. He was the first to perform on Countdown, his was the first Aboriginal band to make a documentary, the first Aboriginal band to sign a record deal and the first, the very first, to tour overseas and Willoughby was the first, the very first to score, play and direct the music track of a feature film itself the first to be directed by an indigenous director. Bart's contribution to Aboriginal music in Australia is prodigious in book, film and record." Bellear, Channel 10,

In 2004, 2005, 2006 he was nominated for the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Indigenous Deadly's for his contribution to Indigenous music in Australia.^{[citation needed]}

In 2023, Bart Willoughby was awarded a medal (OAM) of the Order of Australia in the General Division, for service to the performing arts, particularly through music.^{[citation needed]}

Discography

Albums

References