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Redgum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the eucalyptus species, see River Red Gum; or for the deciduous tree see American Sweetgum.
Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group. They are most famous for their protest songs exploring the impact of war ("I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", 1983) and Australian consumer influences on surrounding nations ("I've Been To Bali Too", 1984).
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Redgum were formed in 1975 when three students at Flinders University, John Schumann, Michael Atkinson (not the future Labor politician of the same name) and Verity Truman, collaborated for a musical assessment piece for their Politics and Art course. The trio quickly gained fame around the University community for their forthright songs, and by 1976 had been joined by violinist Chris Timms. The group were soon in demand for parties, pubs and rallies throughout South Australia and Victoria, but it was only after the group released their second album, Virgin Ground, in 1980 to strong sales and critical acclaim, that the group became a full-time going concern and started touring the nation.
On the first album, 'If You Don't Fight You Lose' the group showed it was one of the few Australian bands prepared to tackle domestic politics and culture. "One More Boring Night in Adelaide" for some will remain, despite some of its dated references, a classic analysis of Australian provincial parochialism.
The group's success continued to grow with the release of their next two albums, Brown Rice and Kerosine and the EP Cut to the Quick, and they weathered several line-up changes (the addition of a didgeridoo and the replacement of Chris Timms with Hugh McDonald, among others) until collaboration with influential Australian folk producer Trevor Lucas brought the high-point of their career - the LP Caught in the Act was released in 1983 and "I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)" hit number one on the Australian singles chart. The song precipitated a Royal Commission into the use and effects of chemical agents in the Vietnam War by the Australian military.
The band quickly released their next LP, Frontline in 1984, and started touring folk venues in the UK and Europe with some success. In 1986, however, John shocked the group by announcing he had signed a solo deal with CBS Records and would be quitting the band. Redgum released one more album of new material, Midnight Sun, before breaking up for good.
Since the band split, John Schumann released two solo albums before pursuing a career with the Australian Democrats, standing for the South Australian seat of Mayo in the 1998 Federal election and only losing by a small margin. He left the Democrats in 2000. The other members of Redgum continue to work in the Australian music scene.
In 2005, Redgum were again brought to attention through the recording of an acoustic cover of "I Was Only 19" by Australian hip hop group The Herd. The song received high rotation on popular national radio station Triple J.
- If You Don't Fight You Lose (1978)
- Virgin Ground (1980)
- Brown Rice and Kerosene (1981)
- Cut to the Quick (1982)
- Frontline (1984)
- Everything's Legal, Anything Goes (1985)
- Midnight Sun (1986)
- Against the Grain (Best Of) (2004)
- Caught In The Act (1983)