Warumpi Band

Warumpi Band were an Australian country and Aboriginal rock group which formed in the outback settlement of Papunya, Northern Territory in 1980. The original line-up was George Burarrwanga on vocals and didgeridoo, Gordon Butcher on drums, his brother Sammy Butcher on guitar and bass guitar, and Neil Murray on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Their key singles are "Jailanguru Pakarnu" (1983), "Blackfella/Whitefella" (1985), "Sit Down Money" (1986), "My Island Home" (1987) and "No Fear" (1987). The group released three albums, Big Name, No Blankets (1985), Go Bush! (1987) and Too Much Humbug (1996). From late 1987 to mid-1995 the group rarely performed as Murray focused on his solo career. In early 1995, Christine Anu (former backing singer in Murray's touring group, The Rainmakers), issued a cover version of "My Island Home". Warumpi Band regrouped before disbanding in 2000. Burarrwanga died on 10 June 2007 of lung cancer.

History

The Warumpi Band were formed in 1980 in Papunya – an outback settlement about 240 kilometres (150 mi) north-west of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory – as a country and Aboriginal rock group.Neil Murray, was a Victorian-born schoolteacher and labourer who was working in the region. He met local brothers Gordon Butcher Tjapanangka and Sammy Butcher Tjapanangka of the Luritja people; and were joined by Sammy's brother-in-law George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga (aka George Djilangya), visiting from Elcho Island's Yolngu people. Murray provided rhythm guitar and backing vocals, Gordon was on drums, Sammy on guitar and bass guitar, and Burarrwanga on vocals and didgeridoo. 'Warumpi' derives from the Luritja word for a "honey-ant dreaming site", which lies near Papunya. Over the years, many different people played in the band at various times. The only consistent elements were Murray and Burarrwanga, with Sammy Butcher generally being available when band commitments did not take him too far from home for long.

Island Home

Island Home is located in Gardner, Louisiana. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 5, 1984.

References

My Island Home

"My Island Home" is popularly believed to be a song about Australia. However, it was written by Neil Murray and originally performed by the Warumpi Band in reference to their lead singer's (George Burarrwanga) home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory as said by Neil Murray's Site. It was recorded in 1986 and released as a single from their second album, Go Bush in 1987 by Parole Records. It was later covered by Christine Anu in 1995 who had been a backing vocalist in Neil Murray and The Rainmakers during 1992–1993. "My Island Home" won 'Song of the Year' at the 1995 Australasian Performing Rights Association (APRA) Awards for Anu's reworked version of the song. It was also listed in APRA Top 30 Australian songs of all time in 2001.

Warumpi Band version

Neil Murray, lead vocalist and guitarist for Warumpi Band, recalls writing the song:

It was first recorded in 1986 and released on the Warumpi Band's second album Go Bush by Parole Records in 1987. Rrurrumbu would later record a version of it in the Gumatj language for his debut solo album Nerbu Message.

My Island

My Island is the tenth full-length album by Starflyer 59. It was released September 12, 2006 on Tooth & Nail Records.

A music video for "I Win" was released online to coincide with the album's release. This was the first video the band released since the video for "I Like Your Photographs", from the 2001 album Leave Here a Stranger.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Jason Martin. 

Personnel

References

Band

Band or BAND may refer to:

Science and technology

Computing and electronics

Organizations