Paul Kelly calls for SA tribute to the late Archie Roach
Archie Roach and wife Ruby Hunter should awarded a special tribute in the heart of Adelaide CBD, a fellow Aussie music legend says.
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Singer-songwriter Paul Kelly has used the unveiling of an Adelaide laneway named in his honour to call for a similar honour to be bestowed on the late Archie Roach and his wife Ruby Hunter.
In a moving speech which saw Kelly perform an a cappella version of Roach’s Charcoal Lane, Kelly said it would be fitting for the next laneway to be named after the Indigenous artist – who died last Saturday aged 66 – and his late wife and collaborator.
“There was a great sadness across the land at his death,” Kelly said.
“Ruby, who was from South Australia, met Archie and the People’s Palace – run by the Salvos – on Pirie Street, very close to here. Ruby and Archie’s meeting in the People’s Palace was a turning point in their lives and in Australian music history. They helped each other get sober and they started writing songs.”
Kelly said that while he fully supported the plan to name the next laneway in honour of The Angels, he said that “perhaps after today we could find a suitable lane to put their names to”.
It was an idea that Adelaide Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor was immediately receptive to, saying she would take Kelly’s call to the next meeting of the committee in charge of naming the laneways after Adelaide musical legends.
So far Sia Furler, Cold Chisel, No Fixed Address and Kelly have all received the honour, with The Angels to be the last act in the current rollout.
Kelly’s lane, formerly Pilgrim Lane, connects Flinders Street to Pirie Street and runs behind the Adelaide Town Hall, a venue the singer has played at many times across a career spanning more than four decades.
The Adelaide-born-and-raised singer of some of the most loved and enduring songs in Australian recording history, including Dumb Things, To Her Door, How to Make the Gravy and From Little Things Big Things Grow, said the City of Churches had many musical memories for him.
“Starting with my grandparents … who set up a grand opera company here and performed just down the road at Her Majesty’s Theatre,” Kelly said.
“My first-ever concert was at Apollo Stadium. I was into folk music too, and at The Catacombs I saw Dave Clark. Dave was tall and had a presence. He played a song about the bushranger Ben Hall called Streets of Forbes, which I studied closely. It was the first song I played in public, three chords, all mine. I played it a lot like Dave.”
Paul Kelly Lane features illuminated artwork by contemporary artist Heidi Kenyon, based on lyrics about love taken from Kelly songs.
Aussie music icon Archie Roach dies
Beloved Australian singer-songwriter Archie Roach has died, aged 66.
The Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder drew worldwide attention to the plight of the stolen generation with his song Took the Children Away, from his 1990 debut album Charcoal Lane.
A statement from his family said Mr Roach died surrounded by loved ones at Warrnambool Base Hospital after a long illness.
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung Senior Elder, songman and storyteller Archie Roach,” they said.
“Archie passed, surrounded by his family and loved ones, at Warrnambool Base Hospital after a long illness. We thank all the staff who have cared for Archie over the past month.
“Archie wanted all of his many fans to know how much he loves you for supporting him along the way.
“We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life. He was a healer and unifying force. His music brought people together.”
Mr Roach helped pave the way for generations of Indigenous artists through his music, which saw him record 10 albums and headline festivals across Australia.
He suffered a stroke in 2010 and fought a long battle with lung cancer. For the last few years he performed using oxygen, but still managed to stage live shows that drew critical acclaim and often moved audiences to tears.
Born in Mooroopna, Victoria in 1956, Roach was removed from his family home at the age of two and placed in an orphanage.
After moving though several foster homes he was taken in by Scottish migrants Alex and Dulcie Cox, a musical couple he credited with igniting his love for playing,
Roach reconnected with his family as a teenager, but after learning of his mother’s death he spent years living on the streets in Melbourne and Adelaide.
It was in the City of Churches – in a Salvation Army shelter known as the People’s Palace – that he met fellow musician and future wife Ruby Hunter.
Roach credited Hunter, a Ngarrindjeri woman, with helping him get his life on track and, importantly, to find his voice as a singer and songwriter.
“She just had this cheeky way about her,” Roach said in a recent interview.
“Not so much making trouble but had this glint in her eye.”
Following Hunter’s death in 2010, Roach went on to record Into The Bloodstream – a record many hailed as being among his best works.
It included the song Mulyawongk, which talked of Hunter and her country around the Murray River.
“In the dreamtime she was a pelican, before she came to earth and was born as a baby girl,” Roach said.
“When she passed away, of course, she became a pelican again.”
After performing Took the Children Away on community radio in 1988, Roach was invited to open concerts for fellow Australian singer Paul Kelly the following year.
It was on this tour that he captured national attention.
He also captured the attention of some of the world’s biggest performers, opening for the likes of Bob Dylan, Billy Bragg and Patti Smith.
Roach and Hunter had two sons, but between them went on to foster and raise a huge extended family of homeless children.
The singer was a highlight of the 2021 Womadelaide festival, telling the crowd that he had fond memories of Adelaide.
“It was here I met my wife Ruby, and that’s reason enough to love Adelaide,” he said, before receiving a standing ovation.
As well as recording and performing, Roach was also an author
His sons Amos and Eban Roach have given their permissions for Archie Roach’s name, image and music to be used so his legacy may continue to inspire.
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