Peter Garrett has paid tribute to George Burrarrawanga, former lead singer of indigenous rock pioneers Warumpi Band, who died on Sunday at the age of 50.
The Midnight Oil frontman and Australian Labor Party MP described the Aboriginal musician - whose surname has posthumously changed to Burrarrawanga for cultural reasons - as one of the most charismatic performers he had ever seen.Warumpi Band released the single 'Jailanguru Pakarnu' ('Out Of Jail') in 1983, which was the first Aboriginal Language rock song ever released. They became renowned for their anthems 'Blackfella, Whitefella' and 'My Island Home'.
Garrett told ABC Radio, "If you think of Mick Jagger or James Brown or Michael Hutchence or you know any of the sort of really charismatic performers that just sort of take over a stage, whether they are on the back of a flat-bed truck in a dusty community or whether they're in a theatre in Sydney or Melbourne, this bloke had it and he had it in spades."
George had been sick for a number of months, and fittingly passed away at Elcho Island in east Arnhem Land, the island their seminal tune was written about. He was remembered yesterday in a traditional Gumatj ceremony.
