Redgum


Redgum were an Australian folk and political music group formed in Adelaide in 1975 by singer-songwriter John Schumann, Michael Atkinson on guitars/vocals, Verity Truman on flute/vocals; they were later joined by Hugh McDonald on fiddle and Chris Timms on violin. All four had been students at Flinders University and together developed a strong political voice. They are best known for their protest song exploring the impact of war in the 1980s "I Was Only 19", which peaked at #1 on the National singles charts. The song is in the Australasian Performing Right Association list of Top 30 of All Time Best Australian Songs created in 2001.
Redgum also covered Australian consumer influences on surrounding nations in 1984's "I've Been to Bali Too", both hit singles were written by Schumann. "The Diamantina Drover", written by Timms' replacement, violinist/vocalist Hugh McDonald and "Poor Ned", written by Trevor Lucas of Fairport Convention, are examples of their bush songs. Lucas produced their May 1983 live album Caught in the Act, which peaked at #5 on the National albums chart. Schumann left the band and pursued a solo career from 1986, Atkinson left in 1987 and Redgum finally disbanded in 1990.
From 2005, Schumann and McDonald performed together as part of John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew.

History

Redgum was formed in 1975 when three students at Flinders University, John Schumann, Michael Atkinson and Verity Truman collaborated for a musical assessment piece for their Politics and Art course. The trio quickly gained fame around the University community for their forthright songs, and by 1976 had been joined by violinist Chris Timms who had previously attended Flinders University. The group were soon in demand for parties, pubs and rallies throughout South Australia and Victoria. On the first album, If You Don't Fight You Lose Redgum showed it was one of the few Australian bands prepared to tackle domestic politics and culture. "One More Boring Night in Adelaide" for some will remain, despite some of its dated references, a classic analysis of Australian provincial parochialism. Initially a part-time band, performing weekends and school holidays, it was only after they released their second album, Virgin Ground, to strong sales and critical acclaim, that the group became full-time and started touring nationally.
The group's success continued to grow with the release of their next three albums, Virgin Ground, Brown Rice and Kerosine and the EP Cut to the Quick, and they weathered several line-up changes including the addition of a didgeridoo and the replacement of Timms in May 1982 with Hugh McDonald, among others. They released a songbook The Redgum Songbook: Stubborn Words, Flagrant Vices.
Collaboration with influential Australian folk producer Trevor Lucas brought the high-point of their career - the live LP Caught in the Act was released in May 1983 and "I Was Only 19" aka "A Walk in the Light Green" hit number one on the Australian singles chart. The song precipitated a Royal Commission into the use and effects of chemical agents in the Vietnam War by the Australian military. The album included "The Diamantina Drover" and "The Last Frontier" which are indicative of their folk music style.
The band released their next LP, Frontline with its single "I've Been to Bali Too", and started touring folk venues in the UK and Europe with some success. Late in 1985, Schumann announced that he had signed a solo deal with CBS Records and would be quitting. Redgum released one more album of new material, Midnight Sun, and a last single "Roll it on Robbie" after which Atkinson left. There were plans to release another album but this did not occur. The album was recorded at Warrenwood in Melbourne but never released due to the studio going into liquidation The remaining members who recorded this album Hugh McDonald, Verity Truman, Michael Spicer, James Spicer and Tim Hannaford performed until 1990, when the band's considerable debts were cleared. After this was achieved Redgum disbanded.

Band members post-Redgum

After leaving the band, Schumann released two solo albums before pursuing a brief political career as an independent, standing for the South Australian seat of Mayo in the 1998 Federal election and losing by a small margin. He was later employed by the Democrats as a staffer. He left the Democrats in 2000 and returned to further solo works. Schumann returned to recording in 2005 with the Vagabond Crew and new albums were released in 2005 and 2008.
Chris Timms left to further a career in Adult Education within the Dept. of TAFE in South Australia. He was active within the Australian Labor Party for a time.
Other members of Redgum continue to work in the Australian music scene. Atkinson has worked in film and television. He composed the music for films including Heaven's Burning, starring Russell Crowe.
Truman performs in Adelaide as a longtime member of cabaret/cover band CrossRoads.
In 2005, Redgum was again brought to attention through the recording of an acoustic / hip hop cover of "I Was Only 19" by Australian group The Herd with Schumann providing some vocals. The song received high rotation on popular national radio station Triple J. Michael Spicer is currently teaching MIDI, Synthesis & Composition in Singapore Polytechnic.
Hugh McDonald died of cancer on 19 November 2016 at the age of 62.

Members

In chronological order:

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

Extended Plays

Singles

Video

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