Coloured Stone

Coloured Stone
Coloured Stone
Origin	Koonibba, South Australia
Genres	Aboriginal rock, ska, reggae, funk influence
Years active	1977–current
Labels	CAAMA, RCA/BMG
Members	Bunna Lawrie and guest musicians.
Past members	Selwyn Burns; Cee Cee Honey Bee; Tjimba Possum-Burns; Russell (Rusty) Pinky; Duane Lawrie; Neil Coaby; Mackie Coaby; Bart Willoughby; Selwyn Burns; Jason Scott; Bruce 'Bunny' Mundy; John John Miller; Joseph Williams; Ash Dargan; Robby Fletcher; Jojo Coleman; Corey Noll; Nicky Moffat; Lionel Sarmardin

Coloured Stone is an Aboriginal Australian band whose members originate from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. They first became known for their 1984 single, "Black Boy". The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada (gong stone) and clap sticks – to play traditional music.

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The original Coloured Stone band members were three brothers, Bunna Lawrie (drums, lead vocals, songwriter), and Neil Coaby (rhythm guitar and backing vocals) and Mackie Coaby (bass guitar and backing vocals), and their nephew, Bruce (aka Bunny) Mundy (lead guitar and backing vocals). All are from the community of Koonibba, South Australia.

Lawrie is a member and respected elder of the Mirning people coastal Nullarbor region in South Australia. He is known as a whale-dreamer, songman, medicine man and storyteller. He is Coloured Stone's founding member and chief songwriter.

The band's single, "Black Boy" was a success when first released in 1984. It became the number one song in Fiji, and sold 120,000 copies. The lyrics included the line "Black boy, black boy, the colour of your skin is your pride and joy", which was a somewhat revolutionary sentiment for Aboriginal people in the 1980s. Four decades after its release, the single still inspires hope and inspiration for generations of Aboriginal people.^[1] The song was used in Warwick Thornton's 2021/2 vampire TV series, Firebite.^[2]

Lawrie's son, Jason Scott, played guitar, bass, drums and didgeridoo for Coloured Stone from the age of 13 years. His first major gig was "Rock Against Racism" in Adelaide. Scott has also performed at the Sydney Opera House and he toured the US in 1994 with the Wirrangu Band as part of a cultural exchange program. With his band Desert Sea, Scott released an album in 2002 titled From the Desert to the Sea.

The current^[when?] members of Coloured Stone are: Lawrie (vocals, rhythm guitar, didgeridoo, gong stone), Selwyn Burns (lead guitar, vocals), Peter Hood (drums), Cee Cee Honeybee (backing vocals) and guest musicians (bass guitarist, didgeridoo player, keyboard player.

On the first day of an April 1998 outdoor gig, Wild Water opened for Coloured Stone and Regurgitator at Brown's Mart Community Arts Centre. On the third day the band went to Jabiru, Northern Territory, to play at the Sports and Social Club. At dawn on day four, Coloured Stone travelled to Jabiluka to play on a makeshift stage in support of the Mirrar people's protest blockade of the road to a uranium mine on Mirrar land.

From March to August 2001, Lawrie and fellow Aboriginal musician Barry Cedric took part in a songwriting workshop for Aboriginal youth at Yarrabah. The young people learned to play musical instruments, compose a song and set it to music. At the end, six youths went to Cairns to record their song, "One Fire", in a recording studio.

Four of Coloured Stone's songs have been recognised as important resources for Australian teachers and educators to employ when discussing topics such as reconciliation, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, contributions and histories. These pieces include, Island of Greed, No more boomerang^[3] (based on Oodgeroo Noonuccal's poem of the same name), Black Boy and Human Love.^[4]

"A Rare Gem: Coloured Stone" is an episode of 2013 TV series Desperate Measures, which features the band.^[5]

1978: Perth's 3rd National Aboriginal Country Music Festival Talent (Western Australia) – First Prize for Best Band
1978: Perth's 3rd National Aboriginal Country Music Festival Talent – Best Original Song for "Dancing in the Moonlight"
1995: Brian Syron Scholarship Award (Australia) – Contribution to Aboriginal music
2012: National NAIDOC Lifetime Achievement Award (Australia) to Bunna Lawrie

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Coloured Stone has one ARIA Award and been nominated for three, as follows:^{[citation needed]}