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Charcoal Lane

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Charcoal Lane
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1990
RecordedApril 1990
StudioCurtain Street Studios; Melbourne, Australia.
Length43:39
LabelAurora, Mushroom Records
ProducerPaul Kelly, Steve Connolly
Archie Roach chronology
Charcoal Lane
(1990)
Jamu Dreaming
(1993)
Singles from Charcoal lane
  1. "Took the Children Away"
    Released: September 1990
  2. "Down City Streets"
    Released: 1991
Alternative cover
25th Anniversary Edition (2015 release)

Charcoal Lane is the debut studio album by Australian singer song writer Archie Roach, released in 1990.

Name

[edit]

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]

Other musicians

[edit]

Vika and Linda Bull were backing vocalists on the album.[7] Tim Finn provided backing vocals on "Took the Children Away".[8][9]

Reception, ratings, awards

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
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]

25th anniversary edition

[edit]

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]

Track listing

[edit]
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Native Born"Archie Roach4:00
2."Charcoal Lane"Roach3:21
3."Munjana"Roach7:36
4."I've Lied"Roach3:17
5."Down City Streets"Ruby Hunter4:04
6."Took the Children Away"Roach5:24
7."Sister Brother"Roach4:27
8."Beautiful Child"Roach4:01
9."No No No"Roach3:49
10."Summer of My Life"Roach3:34
25th Anniversary Edition (2015)
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Charcoal Lane" (performed by Paul Kelly and Courtney Barnett)Roach4:00
2."Munjana" (performed by Dan Sultan and Emma Donovan)Roach7:33
3."I've Lied" (performed by Marlon Williams and Leah Flanagan)Roach3:15
4."Beautiful Child" (performed by Ellie Lovegrove and Nancy Bates)Roach5:12
5."Down City Streets" (performed by Emma Donovan & The PutBacks featuring Archie Roach)Hunter4:21
6."No No No" (performed by Radical Son and Urthboy and Trials)Roach4:06
7."The Children Came Back" (performed by Briggs and Gurrumul and Dewayne Everettsmith)Roach3:40
8."Charcoal Lane" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990])Roach3:44
9."Down City Streets" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990])Hunter5:19
10."Native Born" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990])Roach5:13
11."Sister Brother" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990])Roach5:55
12."Took The Children Away" (performed by Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter [Live at the Wireless, 1990])Roach5:57

Charts

[edit]
Chart (1990–92) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[16] 86

Certifications

[edit]
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[11] Gold 35,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Country Date Format Label Catalogue
Australia May 1990 Aurora, Mushroom Records D30386
United States of America 1992
  • Compact Disc
  • Cassette
Hightone Records HCD 8037
Australia 6 July 2004 [17]
  • Compact Disc
  • Digital Download
Mushroom Records MUSH320132
Australia 6 November 2015 [14]
  • Vinyl Record
  • Compact Disc
  • Digital Download
Festival Records FEST601039

References

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  1. ^ Dunstan, Joseph (31 July 2022). "Melbourne's Fitzroy hides a past as a hub for the Aboriginal civil rights movement". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b Schaik, Johan van (1 March 2010). "Charcoal Lane". ArchitectureAU. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Charcoal Lane". Gastrology. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  4. ^ Topsfield, Jewel (5 June 2009). "Laneway leads to Aboriginal careers in food". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Charcoal Lane". Gastrology. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  6. ^ "Mission Australia announces closure of Fitzroy social enterprise restaurant Charcoal Lane". Mission Australia. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  7. ^ "Vika and Linda on the magic of Fitzroy and Archie Roach". Double J. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Album Tales: Archie Roach's 'The Songs of Charcoal Lane' (2020)". Stack. 2 July 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  9. ^ "Archie Roach's Took the Children Away: how one heartbreaking song galvanised a nation". The Guardian. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
  10. ^ "Album Review: Charcoal Lane by Archie Roach". AllMusic. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  11. ^ a b c "Songlines Archie Roach". Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Winners by Year 1991". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  13. ^ "About Archie Roach". Archie Roach. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
  14. ^ a b "Charcoal Lane (25th Anniversary Edition)". JBHiFi. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  15. ^ "Archie Roach album Charcoal Lane re-recorded on its 25th anniversary and national tour". news.com.au. November 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  16. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 237.
  17. ^ "Charcoal Lane by Roach (2004)". JBHiFi. Retrieved 8 October 2018.