''Charcoal Lane'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Australian singer song writer

Archie Roach Archibald William Roach (8 January 1956 – 30 July 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter and Aboriginal Australian, Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Western Bundjalung people, Bundjalu ...

, released in 1990.

Name

From the 1960s through to the 1980s, the inner-city

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

suburb of

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

was a meeting place for

Aboriginal people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

who had left missions,

Aboriginal reserve An Aboriginal reserve, also called simply reserve, was a government-sanctioned settlement for Aboriginal Australians, created under various state and federal legislation. Along with missions and other institutions, they were used from the 19th c ...

s, and other government institutions and drifted to the city in a bid to trace their families, and Roach was one of these. A street behind a factory was a meeting and drinking place known to the community as Charcoal Lane. In 2009 the old Aboriginal Health Service building at 136

Gertrude Street Gertrude Street is a street in the inner northern suburb of Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia. History The Aboriginal Health Service opened on Gertrude Street in 1973, co-founded by Alma Thorpe, her mother Edna Brown, and Bruce McGuinness. It p ...

was converted into a

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

restaurant, which was called Charcoal Lane at the request of the local

Koori Koori (also spelt koorie, goori or goorie) is a demonym for Aboriginal Australians from a region that approximately corresponds to southern New South Wales and Victoria. The word derives from the Indigenous language Awabakal. For some people ...

community, and provided training for

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

young people. It closed its doors in August 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, with the building being returned to the

Victorian Aboriginal Health Service Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literature ...

Other musicians

Vika and Linda Bull Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull (born 1966) and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull . They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The ...

were backing vocalists on the album.

Tim Finn Brian Timothy Finn (born 25 June 1952) is a New Zealand singer and musician. His musical career includes forming 1970s and 1980s New Zealand rock group Split Enz, a number of solo albums, temporary membership in his brother Neil's band Crowd ...

provided backing vocals on "

Took the Children Away "Took the Children Away" is a song written and recorded by Australian singer Archie Roach. The song was released in September 1990 as his debut single. The song was included on Roach's debut studio album ''Charcoal Lane''. At the ARIA Music Awa ...

Reception, ratings, awards

The album was released in May 1990 and peaked at number 86 on the

ARIA Charts The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...

in April 1991. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1991 The Fifth Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 25 March 1991 at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre in Sydney. International host Bob Geldof was ...

, the album received three nominations, winning two;

ARIA Award for Best New Talent The ARIA Music Award for Best New Talent was an award presented at the annual ARIA Music Awards. It was presented from 1987 through to 1998. The award for Best New Talent was first presented in 1987. Crowded House won the award with their single "D ...

and Best Indigenous Release. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' said "In the best singer-songwriter tradition, ''Charcoal Lane'' is deeply moving in both personal and political terms". The album was certified gold in 1992.

25th anniversary edition

A 25th Anniversary Edition of the album was released in November 2015; including the original disc plus new interpretations by Australian artists and five live recordings from 1990.

Track listing

Charts

Certifications

Release history

References

1990 debut albums Mushroom Records albums Archie Roach albums ARIA Award-winning albums {{1990s-country-album-stub