Following the sudden loss of his partner of 38 years and fellow musician, Ruby Hunter, in February of 2010, things only continued downhill for beloved Aboriginal singer-songwriter, Archie Roach.
Later the same year, while teaching music lessons in an isolated place called Turkey Creek in the Kimberly, he himself suffered a stroke. He was taken by Flying Doctors to Broome then Perth and underwent extensive rehabilitation.
Just when Roach thought things couldn’t get any worse, in mid-2011 he was diagnosed with the early stages of lung cancer, which lead to the removal of half of his lung. His year from hell seemed unrelenting.
“It was really bad; it was the lowest point in my life that I can remember. I’m on the road to recovery though, I’m feeling pretty good,” Roach says.
Aside from the emotional trauma, Roach faced many physical challenges that left the ARIA-award winning artist questioning whether he would ever be able to play music again.
“That was something I thought about for a long time, because after the stroke I had trouble playing. I couldn’t use my left hand or walk for a little while and so it was hard to play guitar. I had to relearn that and writing again, and after having half a lung removed I thought I might not be able to sing again,” he says.
“I’ve been playing music since I was a kid, it’s just something I got into when I was younger, but I’ve been playing music professionally as a living for well over 20 years now.”
Although retirement crossed his mind, Roach eventually picked up his guitar and penned some new songs. From one of the lowest points in his life came an unexpected high note, his latest album Into The Bloodstream. While it may be a record born out of pain, it is anything but dark. Moving away from the suffering, pain and injustice Roach has sung about throughout his long and distinguished career, he has instead created soulful songs focusing on recovery, joy and, above all, hope.
“Into The Bloodstream is a collection of songs a little different than what I’ve done before, the songs are more uplifting and have a bit of a gospel and soulful feel about them,” he says.
It was in 1990 that Roach captured the hearts of Australians around the nation with Charcoal Lane, which featured the now iconic song ‘Took The Children Away’. Many regard the musician as the voice of Aboriginal Australia and the Stolen Generation, which Roach finds somewhat daunting. It’s fitting, however, that he, alongside The Medics and Bunna Lawrie, will open the Gallery of Modern Art’s exhibition, My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art From Black Australia, in a special one-night only Up Late event.
“I love art. I love painting and all that, especially from indigenous people. I think it’s going to be great,” Roach says. “Craig Pilkington, who produced my last album and who is also my musical director, and I will be singing for about half an hour. We’ll sing a couple of old songs and some new ones off my latest album.”
Despite some of the hardest times he’s had to face over the past few years it seems that ending his music career is the furthest thing from his mind as he makes plans to continue touring the country.
“We are going wherever we can promoting my latest album. Hopefully I’ll write some more songs too and get another album happening and on the way.”
Archie Roach opens My Country, I Still Call Australia Home: Contemporary Art From Black Australia at the Gallery of Modern Art Saturday June 1 with a free concert from 5.30pm. The exhibition runs at GoMA until October 7; entry is free.
