| Charcoal Lane | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 1990 | |||
| Recorded | April 1990 | |||
| Studio | Curtain Street Studios; Melbourne, Australia. | |||
| Length | 43:39 | |||
| Label | Aurora, Mushroom Records | |||
| Producer | Paul Kelly, Steve Connolly | |||
| Archie Roach chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Charcoal lane | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 25th Anniversary Edition (2015 release) | ||||
Charcoal Lane is the debut studio album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach,released in 1990.
From the 1960s through to the 1980s,the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy was a meeting place for Aboriginal people who had left missions,Aboriginal reserves,and other government institutions and drifted to the city in a bid to trace their families, [1] and Roach was one of these. A street behind a factory was a meeting and drinking place known to the community as Charcoal Lane. [2]
In 2009 the old Aboriginal Health Service building at 136 Gertrude Street was converted into a social enterprise restaurant,which was called Charcoal Lane [2] at the request of the local Koori community, [3] and provided training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. [4] [5] It closed its doors in August 2021,during the COVID-19 pandemic,with the building being returned to the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service. [6]
Vika and Linda Bull were backing vocalists on the album. [7] Tim Finn provided backing vocals on "Took the Children Away". [8] [9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
The album was released in May 1990 and peaked at number 86 on the ARIA Charts in April 1991. [11] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1991,the album received three nominations,winning two;ARIA Award for Best New Talent and Best Indigenous Release. [12]
Rolling Stone said "In the best singer-songwriter tradition,Charcoal Lane is deeply moving in both personal and political terms". [13]
The album was certified gold in 1992. [11]
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. [14] [15]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Native Born" | Archie Roach | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Charcoal Lane" | Roach | 3:21 |
| 3. | "Munjana" | Roach | 7:36 |
| 4. | "I've Lied" | Roach | 3:17 |
| 5. | "Down City Streets" | Ruby Hunter | 4:04 |
| 6. | "Took the Children Away" | Roach | 5:24 |
| 7. | "Sister Brother" | Roach | 4:27 |
| 8. | "Beautiful Child" | Roach | 4:01 |
| 9. | "No No No" | Roach | 3:49 |
| 10. | "Summer of My Life" | Roach | 3:34 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Charcoal Lane" (performed by Paul Kelly and Courtney Barnett) | Roach | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Munjana" (performed by Dan Sultan and Emma Donovan) | Roach | 7:33 |
| 3. | "I've Lied" (performed by Marlon Williams and Leah Flanagan) | Roach | 3:15 |
| 4. | "Beautiful Child" (performed by Ellie Lovegrove and Nancy Bates) | Roach | 5:12 |
| 5. | "Down City Streets" (performed by Emma Donovan & The PutBacks featuring Archie Roach) | Hunter | 4:21 |
| 6. | "No No No" (performed by Radical Son and Urthboy and Trials) | Roach | 4:06 |
| 7. | "The Children Came Back" (performed by Briggs and Gurrumul and Dewayne Everettsmith) | Roach | 3:40 |
| 8. | "Charcoal Lane" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990]) | Roach | 3:44 |
| 9. | "Down City Streets" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990]) | Hunter | 5:19 |
| 10. | "Native Born" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990]) | Roach | 5:13 |
| 11. | "Sister Brother" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990]) | Roach | 5:55 |
| 12. | "Took The Children Away" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990]) | Roach | 5:57 |
| Chart (1990–92) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [16] | 86 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA) [11] | Gold | 35,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Country | Date | Format | Label | Catalogue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | May 1990 | Aurora, Mushroom Records | D30386 | |
| United States of America | 1992 |
| Hightone Records | HCD 8037 |
| Australia | 6 July 2004 [17] |
| Mushroom Records | MUSH320132 |
| Australia | 6 November 2015 [14] |
| Festival Records | FEST601039 |
Fitzroy is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km (1.9 mi) north-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Yarra local government area. Fitzroy recorded a population of 10,431 at the 2021 census.
Archibald William Roach was an Australian singer-songwriter and Aboriginal activist. Often referred to as "Uncle Archie", Roach was a Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder who campaigned for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. His wife and musical partner was the singer Ruby Hunter (1955–2010).
Ruby Charlotte Margaret Hunter, also known as Aunty Ruby, was an Aboriginal Australian singer, songwriter and guitarist, and the life and musical partner of Archie Roach.
Vika and Linda, also known as Vika and Linda Bull, are an Australian vocal duo consisting of Vika Susan Bull and her younger sister, Linda Rose Bull. They came to prominence after singing backing vocals in Joe Camilleri's band The Black Sorrows from 1988. They left that group early in 1994 to start their duo with a self-titled album appearing in June that year. The duo scored their first number 1 album in 2020, with their retrospective 'Akilotoa: Anthology (1994-2006).
Daniel Leo Sultan is an Australian alternative rock singer-songwriter and guitarist, actor and author. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 he won Best Male Artist and Best Blues & Roots Album for his second album, Get Out While You Can. At the 2014 ceremony he won Best Rock Album for Blackbird, which had reached number four on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2017, Sultan's record Killer was nominated for three ARIA awards: Best Male Artist, Best Rock Album, and Best Independent Release. Sultan's debut children's music album Nali & Friends was named Best Children's Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2019.
Gertrude Street is a street in the inner northern suburb of Fitzroy, Melbourne, Australia.
Leah Flanagan is an Australian singer-songwriter and arts administrator from Darwin, Northern Territory. based in Sydney. She has released several albums and has toured Australia with her music and as a part of festival ensembles.
Australian vocal duo Vika and Linda have released eight studio albums, two compilation albums, four live albums and twenty-one singles.
Two Wings is the third studio album by Australia vocal duo Vika & Linda Bull. The album was released in August 1999 and debuted and peaked at number 34 on the Australian ARIA Charts in September 1999.
Life Is Fine is the 23rd studio album by Australian musician Paul Kelly, released on 11 August 2017. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart with sales of 6,198 units. It is Kelly's first number-one album in Australia.
Looking for Butter Boy is the third studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in October 1997 and peaked at number 52 on the ARIA Charts. The album was recorded with a small band at a guest house in Port Fairy on the Australian coast.
"Down City Streets" is a song written by Australian singer songwriter Ruby Hunter and recorded by her husband Archie Roach. The song was released in 1991 as the second single from Roach's debut studio album Charcoal Lane (1990).
Jamu Dreaming is the second studio album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach. The album was released in May 1993 and peaked at number 55 on the ARIA Charts. The album was recorded with musical assistance from David Bridie, Tiddas, Paul Kelly, Vika and Linda Bull, Ruby Hunter, Dave Arden and Joe Geia.
Sensual Being is the fourth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in July 2002 and peaked at number 59 on the ARIA Charts.
The Definitive Collection is the first greatest hits album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach. The album features tracks from Roach's first four studio albums and was released in July 2004.
Dancing with My Spirit is the eighth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was recorded in the 1990s and for a variety of reasons, remained ‘unreleased’ until 2018, where it was released in April 2018 and was supported by a national tour.
Into the Bloodstream is the sixth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released on 19 October 2012 and peaked at number 49 on the ARIA Charts in December 2012.
Let Love Rule is the seventh studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album was released in November 2016 and peaked at number 24 on the ARIA Charts and became Roach's highest charting album to date. Upon release Roach said "I wanted to write about love, or a willingness to love all people. We are closing ourselves off and not letting people in. And not just in the sense of not letting them into the country, but not letting them into our hearts, into our minds. Many of the songs on the album are really a call for understanding."
The discography of Archie Roach, an Indigenous Australian musician consists of 10 studio albums, 3 live album, 1 soundtrack album and 5 compilation albums.
The Songs of Charcoal Lane is the tenth studio album by Australian singer songwriter Archie Roach. The album is a re-recording and 30th anniversary celebration of Roach's debut studio album, Charcoal Lane. The Songs of Charcoal Lane album was recorded with Stephen Magnusson and Sam Anning, along with recording engineer Hadyn Buxton. It was announced on 9 October 2020, alongside the video of the new version of 'Took The Children Away'. The Songs of Charcoal Lane was released in November 2020.
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