Bart Willoughby

Bart Willoughby
Born	12 September 1960
Origin	Koonibba Aboriginal Mission near Ceduna, South Australia
Genres	Aboriginal rock, reggae rock
Instruments	Drums, guitar
Years active	1978 +
Associated acts	No Fixed Address Coloured Stone Mixed Relations Yothu Yindi Jimmy Chi & Kuckles Goanna Shane Howard & The Great Heart Band

Bart Willoughby (born 12 September 1960) is an Indigenous Australian musician, noted for his pioneering fusion of reggae with Indigenous Australian musical influences, and for his contribution to growth of Indigenous music in Australia.

A Pitjantjatjara man of the Mirning dreaming, his totem is the whale. He is Kuthatha through his father and Mirning through his mother. He grew up at Koonibba Aboriginal Mission near Ceduna on the South Australian edge of the Nullarbor Plain on the Great Australian Bight. At 14 years of age, after spending some time in a boys' facility, Willoughby found his way to the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music at the University of Adelaide, where he was introduced to music including drumming, singing and guitar playing.

Willoughby's musical career commenced in 1978, and in this period he developed as a distinctive Indigenous Australian musician notable for his pioneering fusion of reggae music with Indigenous Australian influences. He formed his first band, also Australia's first Indigenous rock band, No Fixed Address, in 1978, though he also played with Jimmy Chi's newly formed band Kuckles throughout 1978 and 1979.

In 1979, No Fixed Address played its first large concert at the National Aboriginal Day event held in Taperoo, South Australia, and over the years has played at numerous concerts for Aboriginal causes, including Rock Against Racism, The Artists Newsletter Association, the Campaign Against Racial Exploitation and the National Aboriginal Country Music Festival.

In 1982 Willoughby and his band toured Australia in support of Peter Tosh, and a documentary of this tour was screened by SBS TV entitled Peter Tosh in Concert, featuring Willoughby and No Fixed Address. During 1982 Willoughby also played drums with Shane Howard and Goanna. After the success of the Peter Tosh tour Willoughby and his band became the first Aboriginal band to travel overseas, becoming cultural ambassadors for their people while touring Great Britain in 1984, playing at nine cities including London, Bristol, Leeds, Plymouth and Manchester. They played at "The Elephant Fayre" rock festival and appeared at a concert for striking miners. A documentary of this tour No Fixed Address in London was produced and screened on SBS TV.

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