Building Bridges (1989 album)

1989 studio album by Various

Building Bridges

Studio album by

Various

Released| 1989, 1990
Label| CAAMA, CBS, ABC

Building Bridges (subtitled Australia Has a Black History)[1] is an Australian compilation album containing tracks from both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal performers, inspired by a 1988 community concert called Building Bridges.[2][3] The concert was held in Australia's Bicentennial year, which included many Aboriginal protests.[4][5]

The vinyl album was released in 1989 to raise money for the National Coalition of Aboriginal Organisations.[6] It includes songs sung in Aboriginal languages.[7] The album was released by CAAMA Music and distributed by CBS[8] in 1989, followed by a CD album released by ABC in 1990.

It reached #47 on the Australian album charts[9] and may have symbolised "the embrace of indigenous rock by the mainstream".[10]

The original double-vinyl release features 27 tracks, while the later CD release features nineteen.

## TV special

[edit]

On 24 January 1991 (two days before Australia Day), the Indigenous Australian TV series Blackout screened a special program to commemorate the original concert. With live music simulcast on Triple J featuring Midnight Oil, Yothu Yindi, Archie Roach, Mixed Relations, all-female band Mirror Mirror, Kev Carmody, and Crowded House, the special also included band members and members of the audience talking about the future of black/white relations in Australia. The program was produced by ABC TV in co-operation with the Building Bridges Association Inc.[4]

## Track listing

[edit]

1. Special Treatment – Paul Kelly
2. Gudurrku (The Brolga) – Yothu Yindi
3. Justice Will Be Done – Les Shillingsworth
4. Solid Rock – Goanna
5. Birth Of A Nation – Wild Pumpkins At Midnight
6. Breakneck Road – Hunters & Collectors
7. Yil Lull – Joe Geia
8. Warakurna – Midnight Oil
9. Woma Wanti – Areyonga Desert Tigers
10. Strychinine – Swamp Jockeys
11. That Hanging Business – Do-Re-Mi
12. Injustice – V. Spy V. Spy
13. Hungry Years – Weddings Parties Anything
14. Do It Rite – Cal Callaghan
15. Bad Blood – The Stetsons
16. Original Sin – INXS
17. Broken Down Man – Scrap Metal
18. Dancing In The Moonlight – Coloured Stone
19. Heaven On A Stick – James Reyne
20. Speak No Evil – Dragon
21. Tjamu Tjamu – Ilkari Maru
22. Mansion In The Slums – Crowded House
23. Spirit Of The Land – The Gravy
24. Bullant – Gondwanaland
25. Swing For The Crime – The Saints
26. Living In The Land Of Oz – Ross Wilson
27. We Have Survived – No Fixed Address

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 21 February 1989, "Cowboys weave their magic spell" by Lynden Barber
2. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 26 January 1989, "Bridges between black and white" by Jacquelyn Hole
3. ^ "Red Dirt In Bondi: The Story of Building Bridges (3MDR, Melbourne)" - via soundcloud.com.
4. ^ a b "Blackout". The Canberra Times. Vol. 65, no. 20, 372. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 21 January 1991. p. 24. Retrieved 1 February 2024 - via National Library of Australia.
5. ^ "ANALYSIS: The '88 protests". NITV. Archived from the original on 27 May 2022.
6. ^ Sydney Morning Herald, 11 March 1989, "Rampant Oils help put black bridge over the mainstream" by Lynden Barber
7. ^ Reed, Liz (2006). ""...different lives in different places": A Space for Multiple White Identities through Aboriginal Rock Music". In Lynette Russell (ed.). Boundary writing: an exploration of race, culture, and gender binaries in contemporary Australia. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-3048-2.
8. ^ Lawe Davies, Chris (1993). "Aboriginal rock music: space and place". In Tony Bennett (ed.). Rock and Popular Music: Politics, Policies, Institutions. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-06369-2.
9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
10. ^ Dwyer, Michael. "History wars, the musical" The Age, 20 October 2006.