Bart Willoughby Bart Willoughby i(A115475 works by)
Born: Established: 1960 Koonibba Mission, South Australia, ;
Gender: Male
Heritage: Aboriginal ; Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara
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BiographyHistory

Musician with No Fixed Address, Coloured Stone, Mixed Relations, and Yothu Yindi. Bart Willoughby has also published his life story.

Bart Willoughby's clan is Mernin, south of Pitjanjatjara. According to Willoughby, he "grew up chaotic". At around 3 years of age he was flown to Adelaide where he was fostered out to a white family. After meeting his "real sister" in Adelaide, he left foster care to live with his sister in a children's home in "the Italian section of Adelaide." Willoughby spent most of his teenage years "locked up" for being "uncontrollable" and it was during these periods of incarceration that he learnt to play guitar, piano, keyboard and drums from other Aboriginal inmates.

In 1978, he formed the band No Fixed Address, a rock'n'reggae band, and toured Australia and the UK. No Fixed Address were acknowledged as a significant entry point for contemporary Aboriginal music and opened the door for many artists that followed. He also starred in the documentary films Wrong Side of the Road and No Fixed Address On Tour.

Sources: Indigenous Australia: Standing Strong (2001) and www.blackarmband.com.au/ (Sighted 31/05/2011).


Australian Writing and Rock Music affiliation: guitar, piano, keyboard, drums.

Most Referenced Works

Personal Awards

2014 recipient Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board Grants Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board Fellowship To tour and promote 2 recent albums altering perceptions of the organ by my musical approach to it.
Last amended 28 Jun 2023 11:11:45
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