Redgum were an Australian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and political music group formed in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1975 by singer-songwriter

John Schumann John Lewis Schumann (born 18 May 1953) is an Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist from Adelaide. He is best known as the lead singer for the folk group Redgum, with their chart-topping hit " I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)", a s ...

, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Chris Timms on violin. All four had been students at Flinders University and together developed a strong political voice. They are best known for their

protest song A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre. Among social mov ...

exploring the impact of war in the 1980s "

I Was Only 19 "Only 19", "I Was Only 19" or "A Walk in the Light Green" is the most widely recognised song by Australian folk group Redgum. The song was released in March 1983 as a single, which hit number one on the national Kent Music Report Singles Chart ...

", which peaked at No. 1 on the National singles charts. NOTE: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1970 until ARIA created their own charts in mid-1988. The song is in the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) list of Top 30 of All Time Best Australian Songs created in 2001. Redgum also covered Australian consumer influences on surrounding nations in 1984's "I've Been to Bali Too", both hit singles were written by Schumann. Note: requires user to input song title, e.g. I WAS ONLY NINETEEN "The Diamantina Drover", written by Timms' replacement, violinist/vocalist Hugh McDonald and "Poor Ned", written by

Trevor Lucas Trevor George Lucas (25 December 1943 – 4 February 1989) was an Australian folk singer, a member of Fairport Convention and one of the founders of Fotheringay. He mainly worked as a singer-songwriter and guitarist but also produced many album ...

of Fairport Convention, are examples of their bush songs. Lucas produced their May 1983 live album ''Caught in the Act'', which peaked at No. 5 on the National albums chart. Schumann left the band and pursued a solo career from 1986, Atkinson left in 1987 and Redgum finally disbanded in 1990. From 2005, Schumann and McDonald performed together as part of John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew.

History

Redgum was formed in 1975 when three students at Flinders University,

, Michael Atkinson 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 who had previously attended Flinders University. The group were soon in demand for parties, pubs and rallies throughout

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

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. On the first album, '' If You Don't Fight You Lose'' (1978) Redgum 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 Parochialism is the state of mind, whereby one focuses on small sections of an issue rather than considering its wider context. More generally, it consists of being narrow in scope. In that respect, it is a synonym of " provincialism". It may, p ...

. Initially a part-time band, performing weekends and school holidays (two members were teachers), it was only after they released their second album, ''

Virgin Ground ''Virgin Ground'' is the second album by Redgum. The title is taken from the first track. It was originally released on vinyl and cassette. It was available on CD between 1990 and 1992, and has been out of print ever since, although some tracks ...

'' (late 1980), to strong sales and critical acclaim, that the group became full-time and started touring nationally. The group's success continued to grow with the release of their next three albums, ''

'', ''

Brown Rice and Kerosine ''Brown Rice and Kerosine'' is the third album by Australian folk-rock group Redgum Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, ...

'' (1981) and the EP ''

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'' (September 1982), and they weathered several line-up changes including the addition of a didgeridoo and the replacement of Timms in May 1982 with Hugh McDonald, among others. They released a

songbook A song book is a book containing lyrics for songs. Song books may be simple composition books or spiral-bound notebooks. Music publishers also produced printed editions for group singing. Such volumes were used in the United States by piano manuf ...

''The Redgum Songbook: Stubborn Words, Flagrant Vices'' (1981). Collaboration with influential Australian folk producer

(from UK folk group Fairport Convention) brought the high-point of their career – the live LP '' Caught in the Act'' was released in May 1983 and "

" aka "A Walk in the Light Green" (March 1983) 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 The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

by the Australian military. The album included "The Diamantina Drover" and "The Last Frontier" which are indicative of their folk music style. The band released their next LP, ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' (June 1984) with its single "I've Been to Bali Too", and started touring folk venues in the UK and Europe with some success. Late in 1985, Schumann announced that he had signed a solo deal with

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and would be quitting. Redgum released one more album of new material, ''

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'' (1986), and a last single "Roll it on Robbie" (1987) after which Atkinson left. There were plans to release another album but this did not occur. The album was recorded at Warrenwood in Melbourne but never released due to the studio going into liquidation. The remaining members who recorded this album Hugh McDonald, Verity Truman, Michael Spicer, James Spicer and Tim Hannaford performed until 1990, when the band's considerable debts were cleared. After this was achieved Redgum disbanded.

Band members post-Redgum

After leaving the band, Schumann released two solo albums before pursuing a brief political career as an independent, standing for the South Australian seat of

Mayo Mayo often refers to: * Mayonnaise, often shortened to "mayo" * Mayo Clinic, a medical center in Rochester, Minnesota, United States Mayo may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Mayo Peak, Marie Byrd Land Australia * Division of Mayo, an Aust ...

in the 1998 Federal election and losing by a small margin. He was later employed by the Democrats as a staffer. He left the Democrats in 2000 and returned to further solo works. Schumann returned to recording in 2005 with the Vagabond Crew (which includes fellow Redgum member Hugh McDonald) and new albums were released in 2005 and

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

. Chris Timms left to further a career in Adult Education within the Dept. of TAFE in South Australia. He was active within the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

for a time. Other members of Redgum continue to work in the Australian music scene.

Atkinson Atkinson may refer to: Places *Atkinson, Nova Scotia, Canada * Atkinson, Dominica, a village in Dominica *Atkinson, Illinois, U.S. * Atkinson, Indiana, U.S. *Atkinson, Maine, U.S. *Atkinson Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. *Atkinson, Nebraska, U. ...

has worked in film and television. He composed the music for films including '' Heaven's Burning'' (1997), starring Russell Crowe. Truman performs in Adelaide as a longtime member of cabaret/cover band CrossRoads. In 2005, Redgum was again brought to attention through the recording of an acoustic / hip hop cover of "I Was Only 19" by Australian group The Herd with Schumann providing some vocals. The song received high rotation on popular national radio station

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

. Michael Spicer is currently teaching MIDI, Synthesis & Composition in Singapore Polytechnic. Hugh McDonald died of cancer on 19 November 2016 at the age of 62.

Members

In chronological order: *

(vocals, guitar) 1975–1985 * Michael Atkinson (songwriting, bass, mandolin, piano, vocals) 1975–1987 *Verity Truman (vocals, flute,

tin whistle The tin whistle, also called the penny whistle, is a simple six-holed woodwind instrument. It is a type of fipple flute, putting it in the same class as the recorder, Native American flute, and other woodwind instruments that meet such criteria ...

) 1975–1990 *Chris Timms (violin, backing vocals) 1975–1982 *Bruce Barry (bass, guitar) 1975 *Chris Boath (bass guitar) 1978–1979 *Gordon McLean (drums) 1978–1979 *Tom Stehlik (drums) 1978–1979 *David Flett (bass guitar) 1980–1983 *Geoff Gifford (drums) 1980–1982 *Russel Coleman (drums) 1982–1983 * Hugh McDonald (guitar, violin, vocals) 1982–1990 *Michael Spicer (keyboards, flute) 1983–1990 *Brian Czempinski (drums) 1984–1986 * Stephen Cooney (bass guitar, didgeridoo, guitar, mandolin, banjo) 1984–1985 *Andy Baylor (guitar, fiddle) 1986 *Peter Bolke (bass guitar) 1986 *Ray Rafael (drums) 1986–1989 *Darren Deland Darren (bass guitar, vocals) 1987–1988 *Louis McManus (guitar) 1987? *Malcolm Wakeford (drums) 1987? *Bob Sender Bob (guitar) 1987? *James Spicer (drums/vocals) 1988–90 *Tim Hannaford (bass guitar/vocals) 1989–90

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards

Country Music Awards of Australia

The

Country Music Awards of Australia The Country Music Awards of Australia also known as the Golden Guitar Awards (originally named Australasian Country Music Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, in Tamworth, New South Wales ...

(CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the

Tamworth Country Music Festival The Tamworth Country Music Festival is an annual Australian music festival held for 10 days from Friday to Sunday in mid to late January each year, sometimes including Australia Day, in Tamworth, New South Wales. The festival is the second bigg ...

, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973. , - , rowspan="2", 1984 , rowspan="2", "I Was Only 19" (written by John Schumann) , Top Selling Song of the Year , , - , APRA Song of the Year , , -

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the

Mo Awards The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards) were an annual Australian entertainment industry award, that where established in 1975, to recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia. They were l ...

), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Redgum won two awards in that time. (wins only) , - , 1984 , Redgum , Country Showgroup of the Year , , - , 1987 , Redgum , Country Showgroup of the Year , , -

References

External links

Australian Rock Database's Redgum discographyRate Your Music's Redgum discographyHugh McDonald's web site
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070911170728/http://www.bmusic.com.au/links/whatsnew/newsletters/archives/newsno216.html#where bMusic.com.au newsletter no. 216 (2 May – 8 May 2006 ) – "Redgum: Where Are They Now? – UPDATED"]
Redgum Lyrics Archive
{{Authority control Redgum, APRA Award winners Australian folk music groups Musical groups disestablished in 1990 Musical groups established in 1975 Musical groups from Adelaide Epic Records artists