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Coloured Stone
Origin Koonibba, South Australia
Genres 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. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments – didjeridu, bundawuthada (gong stone) and clap sticks – to play traditional music.

"Mouydjengara" is a whale-dreaming song of the Mirning people.

Background and members

Bunna Lawrie
Bunna Lawrie (Feb 2012)

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.

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 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.

Support for Aboriginal causes

Peter Dawson reported on Coloured Stone's April 1998 outdoor gig; the first day Wild Water opened for Coloured Stone and Regurgitator at Brown's Mart Community Arts Centre, to an enthusiastic audience, both black and white, which danced til three in the morning. 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.

Discography

Albums

Title Details
Koonibba Rock
  • Released: 1984
  • Label: Imparja Records (IMLP 1001)
  • Format: Vinyl
Island of Greed
  • Released: 1985
  • Label: Imparja Records (IMLP 1002)
  • Format: Vinyl
Human Love
  • Released: 1986
  • Label: Powderworks (POW6122)
  • Format: Vinyl
Wild Desert Rose
  • Released: 1988
  • Label: RCA Victor (VPL10714)
  • Format: Vinyl
Crazy Mind
  • Released: 1990
  • Label: RCA Victor (VPCD0821)
  • Format: CD
Inma Juju Dance Music
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: BMG (VPCD0847)
  • Format: CD
Rhythm of Nature
  • Released: 1998
  • Label: CAAMA Music (M306)
  • Format: CD
I Dance to the Sun
  • Released: 2013
  • Label: Coloured Stone
  • Format: DD

Compilation albums

Title Details
Black Rock from the Red Centre
  • Released: 1986
  • Label: Powderworks (POW6123)
  • Format: Vinyl, CD
  • Compilation of Koonibba Rock & Island of Greed
Bunna Lawrie's Best of Coloured Stone
  • Released: 1997
  • Label: CAAMA Music (CAMMA 313)
  • Format: CD
Bunna Lawrie's Best Of Coloured Stone
  • Released: 1997
  • Label: CAAMA Music (CAMMA 313)
  • Format: CD

Singles

Year Title Album
1978 "Dancing in the Moonlight"
1984 "Black Boy" Koonibba Rock
1985 "Island of Greed" Island of Greed
1987 "Dancing in the Moonlight" Human Love
"Human Love"
1988 "Stay Young" Wild Desert Rose
"Kiss the Days Goodbye" / "Dreamtime Stories"
"Wild Desert Rose"
1989 "Crazy Minds" Crazy Mind
1992 "Love is the Medicine" Inma Juju Dance Music
2000 "Australia" non album single
2011 "Black Boy" (featuring Yung Warriors) non album single

Awards and recognition

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:

Year Nominee / work Award Result
1987 Human Love ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release Won
1989 Wild Desert Rose ARIA Award for Best Cover Art Nominated
1990 Crazy Mind ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release Nominated
1993 Inma Juju ARIA Award for Best Indigenous Release Nominated

Deadly Awards

The Deadly Awards, (commonly known simply as The Deadlys), was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community. It ran from 1995 to 2013

Year Nominee / work Award Result
Deadly Awards 1999 Coloured Stone Outstanding Contribution to Aboriginal Music awarded

Don Banks Music Award

The Don Banks Music Award was established in 1984 to publicly honour a senior artist of high distinction who has made an outstanding and sustained contribution to music in Australia. It was founded by the Australia Council in honour of Don Banks, Australian composer, performer and the first chair of its music board.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2000 Bunna Lawrie Don Banks Music Award awarded

Music Victoria Awards

The Music Victoria Awards are an annual awards night celebrating Victorian music. They commenced in 2006.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
Music Victoria Awards of 2014 Dance to the Sun' Best Global or Reggae Album Nominated

National Indigenous Music Awards

The National Indigenous Music Awards recognise excellence, innovation and leadership among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians from throughout Australia. It commenced in 2004.

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2011 Coloured Stone Hall of Fame inducted

Other awards

The band has also been recognised in many other ways:

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