Archie Roach

Australian music icon Archie Roach, a pioneering Indigenous artist who drew global attention to the Stolen Generations, has died at the age of 66.

“Our sincere condolences to the Roach family and friends. One of my favourite photos, Paul Kelly, Archie Roach and my brother Steve Connolly during the recording of 'Charcoal Lane' in 1990. You gave a voice to so many who struggled to find the words with the superb “Take the children awayâ€.— Dr Tracy Westerman AM (@TracyWesterman) My heart breaks for his family and community — sending you all the love and strength. I spoke with him just once, but it was a powerful and moving experience, just as it was watching him perform. Archie Roach was proof that music could change lives and move hearts. Absolutely devastating to hear the news of Uncle Archie Roach’s passing. Rest In Peace Uncle Archie Roach - a songman, a gentleman, a national treasure. I’m so sad to now hear of his passing,” Shark said. “Archie passed, surrounded by his family and loved ones, at Warrnambool Base Hospital after a long illness. “We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life. His music brought people together.”

Much loved singer-songwriter Archie Roach has sadly passed away surrounded by friends and family. Heartbroken family of the beloved Indigenous musician ...

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His sons, Amos and Eban Roach, said they were 'heartbroken' to announce the death of their 'songman and storyteller' dad on Saturday. They gave permission for ...

He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and dubbed Victorian Australian of the Year in 2020. 'We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life. Roach was best known for his 1990 album Charcoal Lane and song Took the Children Away, which detailed his own experience as a member of the Stolen Generations He later had half his lung removed. Tributes have poured in for the Indigenous singer who was renowned for his music His music brought people together.' He said one moment he was listening to the music of Woody Guthrie, and the next he was trying to hang himself with a belt, before hitting rock bottom. He was passed out in a bush during the birth of his first son. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and dubbed Victorian Australian of the Year in 2020 Roach was best known for his 1990 album Charcoal Lane and song Took the Children Away, which detailed his own experience as a member of the Stolen Generations. He decided to leave his adoptive parents in Melbourne when he was just 15 and headed for Sydney after receiving a letter from a sister he didn't know he had. He was stolen from his family at the age of two and placed into an orphanage before he was moved around between foster families.

Celebrated Aboriginal musician Archie Roach has died in hospital aged 66 after a long battle with illness. The...

The song reflected his experience as a member of the stolen generation and earned him ARIA nominations for breakthrough artist and an award for best new talent at the 1991 awards. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut single Took the Children Away in 1990. "We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life," the pair said.

The singer-songwriter found redemption in the love of his soulmate and wife, Ruby Hunter, and in music.

A 2016 tour took him to Scotland, where he sought out Alex Cox’s ancestral home, tying another bow in his life. He sang at her funeral and went ahead with a Port Fairy Folk Festival performance they were to have done together. He and Hunter also co-founded Black Arm Band, a collective of Aboriginal artists with a focus on protest songs. He returned to Melbourne for brother Johnny’s funeral, and then was hospitalised by an alcohol-induced seizure when back in Murray Bridge. A spell at Nunga Farm, a rehabilitation facility for Aboriginal people, proved no lasting cure, and he even attempted suicide when he failed to stay dry. Hunter began writing songs herself, including the great Down City Streets that was included on Roach’s 1990 debut album, Charcoal Lane, which won him two ARIA Awards. After the follow-up, Jamu Dreaming, he and Hunter toured from Aboriginal communities to overseas. Lost and lonely, he slept rough, was routinely jailed for begging and vagrancy, and began drinking as a respite from the empty lie his childhood now seemed. Released after six months, he tossed a coin and hitched to Adelaide. There he met his sister, Alma, who introduced him to his brother Lawrence and finally, Myrtle herself. He was in class for his favourite subject, English, at Lilydale High School, when “Archibald William Roach” was called to the school office. He fell for the music of Elvis Presley, Fats Domino and Hank Williams and was given a guitar. At 15, he left school with the loose intention of finding his family, never to see the Coxes again. That was the last time he saw his parents.

Celebrated Aboriginal musician Archie Roach has died in hospital aged 66 after a long battle with illness. The...

The song reflected his experience as a member of the stolen generation and earned him ARIA nominations for breakthrough artist and an award for best new talent at the 1991 awards. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut single Took the Children Away in 1990. "We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life," the pair said.

Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung Senior Elder, songman and storyteller Archie Roach h...

He took to the stage at the St Kilda Festival in February this year, wearing a breathing aide. His own story." I was so lucky to have performed with this legend. The activist was named in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2015 and made a Member of the Order of Australia. Later the same year, the performer was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame and in 2013, he received a Deadly Award for a Lifetime Contribution to Healing the Stolen Generations. The Australian singer-songwriter's death was confirmed by his record label on Saturday evening, in a statement on behalf of his family.

Archie Roach's most famous song, Took The Children Away, became an anthem for the Stolen Generation, of which he was a member.

He had also battled lung cancer and had half a lung removed. Archie often dealt with the trauma of invasion in his work. Archie himself was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2020. The audience had been so stunned that it had taken them a while to respond." Later that year, he suffered a stroke, which required a long period of rehabilitation. "When the song finished, there was dead silence," Kelly told Double J in 2019.

Celebrated Aboriginal musician Archie Roach has died in hospital aged 66 after a long battle with illness. The...

The song reflected his experience as a member of the stolen generation and earned him ARIA nominations for breakthrough artist and an award for best new talent at the 1991 awards. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut single Took the Children Away in 1990. "We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life," the pair said.

Legendary Gunditjamara and Bundjalung songman and storyteller Archie Roach has passed away. His family shared the heartbreaking news in a statement by his ...

"Archie passed, surrounded by his family and loved ones, at Warrnambool Base Hospital after a long illness. Earlier this year, two monuments were erected on the shores of Lake Bonney as a tribute to his long-time love Ruby Hunter and himself. His family shared the heartbreaking news in a statement by his sons Amos and Eban.

Prolific Aboriginal singer-songwriter Archie Roach has died aged 66. The Gunditjmara and Bundjalung elder died at Warrnambool Base Hospital in Victoria after a ...

He was forcibly removed from them by the government at the age of two. Despite poor health, Roach had been touring in the last few years. Roach’s wife and musical partner Ruby Hunter died in 2010. Get it here. “We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life. His music brought people together.”

Celebrated Aboriginal musician Archie Roach has died in hospital aged 66 after a long battle with illness. The...

"We grieve for his death, we honour his life and we hold to the hope that his words, his music and his indomitable spirit will live on to guide us and inspire us." A private ceremony will follow and the family has requested privacy, but gave permission for Mr Roach's name, image and music to continue to be used so his legacy will inspire others. "We are so proud of everything our dad achieved in his remarkable life," the pair said.

His sons release a statement saying they are "heartbroken" to announce the death of the Gunditjmara (Kirrae Whurrong/Djab Wurrung), Bundjalung Senior Elder, ...

He was born at Mooroopna in Victoria and was named after an Aboriginal word referring to a bend in the Goulburn River. Archie Roach first became famous after his release of the song Took the Children Away featured on his debut album Charcoal lane in 1990. - His sons release a statement saying they are "heartbroken" to announce the death

Australian musician Archie Roach poses for photographs. Uncle Archie was appointed a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia in 2015. (AAP: Tracey Nearmy).

"He wanted to tell his story. Rest easy." His biggest song, Took the Children Away, told his deeply personal story of loss. "And he made the world stand up and listen and hear." "Archie's work was essential to our understanding of Indigenous strength and the capacity to endure oppression," he said. Friend and member of the band Goanna Shane Howard, who played with Uncle Archie across decades and produced his Journey album, said he was "deeply saddened". "Sorry to hear of the death of the great Indigenous Australian songwriter and activist Archie Roach," Bragg said. "Journey well to the dreaming Uncle Archie Roach," Malyangapa and Barkindji rapper Barkaa said. "A pioneering musician and survivor of the Stolen Generations," Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney said. Uncle Archie was born in Mooroopna in Victoria. A member of the Stolen Generations, he was only three when he was forcibly removed from his family. "There aren't adequate words to sum up the loss of Uncle Archie Roach, to the Community, to the nation or indeed the world," the First People's Assembly of Victoria said. Songman Archie Roach has been remembered as the voice of generations and a truth-teller whose death is a loss to his community and the world.

Tributes flow in for singer-songwriter as nation records more than 30 Covid deaths.

It means investing in the future of our economy, strong and secure well-paid jobs is a big part of our agenda. And there is a high level of understanding not just in our side of the parliament, but I think in the Australian community that one of the problems we’ve had with our economy for the best part of a decade now is those stagnant wages. And that means productivity is part of the story. I think it’s in the interests of all Australians that as we rebuild this economy after this difficult period that sustainable wages growth is part of the story. What people really want to see is something that’s strong and sustainable at the same time and enduring. You know, I don’t hear anybody in our team calling for exorbitant wages growth.

In Uncle Archie Roach, we find the most profound sense of an alternate masculinity. It is difficult to put words to this loss.

Even positive representations of Aboriginal men – the warrior, the sports star – exudes a sense of toughness and candour. His music reaches through darkness like the beam of a lighthouse, offering guidance and safe harbour in times of despair. Taken away as a child, being homeless, a drunk, locked up, learning of the death of family through whispers and letters, grief was his constant companion. Uncle Archie gave voice, a story, to the experiences of so many of our people. He gave so much to a nation that treated him so badly. His catalogue of music spans distances and experiences difficult to grasp. His song Took the Children Away gave shape to a suffering so deep and profound. Male emus are the primary carer for their chicks. For decades Uncle Archie worked in youth detention centres, talking with young people who found themselves in hardship. His songs will live on forever. Archie Roach’s family have given permission for his name and image to be shared. An image long denied us.

Celebrated Aboriginal musician Archie Roach has died in hospital aged 66 after a long battle with illness. The Gunditjmara-Bundjalung elder's death was ...

He was a truth teller. “He was a storyteller. “He was a healer and unifying force.

The 66-year-old Gunditjmara-Bundjalung elder died surrounded by family and loved ones at Warrnambool Base Hospital in Victoria after a long illness, his sons ...

"We grieve for his death, we honour his life and we hold to the hope that his words, his music and his indomitable spirit will live on to guide us and inspire us." Roach toured globally and was in 2013 given an Indigenous 'Deadly Award' for a lifetime contribution to healing the Stolen Generation. "His voice, his music and his story came out of trauma and pain. "For many Australians, Archie was their first exposure to the horrors of the Stolen Generations," she said in a statement. "(He was) such a champion for First Nations people and all humanity," she wrote on Twitter. Roach rose to prominence with the release of his debut single Took the Children Away in 1990 and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2020.

Gunditjmara and Bundjalung Elder, award-winning singer and songwriter, human rights campaigner and leader, Archie's powerful music reaches out and connects with ...

In 2014, he established the Archie Roach Foundation to nurture meaningful and lifechanging opportunities for First Nations artists and young people. “There’s a healing power in music…It’s a place you can go to when you’re down and not well, but it’s also a place you can go to when you’re on top of the world,” he said. His songs, while deeply personal, resonate universally, and reflect his belief in the power of music to heal – which he shared with his partner, soul mate and wife, the late Ruby Hunter.