King Billy Cokebottle

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King Billy Cokebottle
Born(1949-07-23)23 July 1949
Holland, Netherlands
Died26 September 2019(2019-09-26) (aged 70)
Perth, Western Australia
Years active1972โ€“2014

Louis Beers (23 July 1949 โ€“ 26 September 2019)

Aboriginal Australian.[2] Beers was born in Holland and his family migrated to Australia when he was 3 years old, where he grew up in the Perth suburb of Riverton in Western Australia. He began performing as King Billy on Perth radio in the 1970s and moved to Townsville, Queensland in the early 1990s.[3][2] Changing attitudes towards the use of blackface and towards racism in Australia led Beers to receive less work in his later years.[3] Despite the contents of his performance, Beers denied allegations of racism and claimed to have Aboriginal family members.[2]

In July 2002, the

Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.[4] Amongst the orders sought by Kelly-Country were a prohibition against Beers making recordings or performing live shows, a public apology, financial penalty and compensation for humiliation. Beers successfully represented himself in the case, which ended in May 2004 with the determination that while his performance was offensive, it was exempted under Section 18D of the Act as an artistic work.[5] The case has subsequently been discussed in relation to the operation of the Act and proposed revisions would remove Section 18C.[6][7][8] It was reported that leaders of other Aboriginal interest groups had not taken issue with Beers' performance.[2]

Live albums

Compilations

  • The King Billy Cokebottle Trifecta
  • 1996 - The Best of Tapes One to Sex Six
  • The Six Pack Collection
  • 2002 - Best of No. 2
  • 2002 - Black Label
  • 2014 - Blew Label

References

  1. ^ "PressReader - the West Australian: 2019-11-06 - COKEBOTTLE MOURNED". Archived from the original on 6 November 2019. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e Coslovich, Gabriella (10 July 2002). "Why casino dethroned 'racist' King Billy". The Age. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b van Tiggelen, John (30 November 2013). "Stomping through the tulips". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  4. Federal Magistrates' Court
    (Australia)
  5. ^ Soutphommasane, Tim (8 September 2016). "The Politics We Deserve: Populism, Race and Democracy". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  6. ^ Refugee Council of Australia. "Submission on Changes to the Racial Discrimination Act" (PDF). Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  7. ^ Appleby, Gabrielle; Branson, Catherine; Grenfell, Laura; Owens, Rosemary; Stubbs, Matthew (29 April 2014). "Submission to the Commonwealth Attorney-General on the Proposed Amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)" (PDF). Public Law and Policy Research Unit, University of Adelaide. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
  8. ^ Soutphommasane, Tim (16 November 2013). "Racial Discrimination and the Law". Australian Human Rights Commission. Retrieved 30 September 2016.

External links