Dili Allstars

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The Dili Allstars
Origin Melbourne, Australia
Genre(s) Reggae, Ska
Years active 1992 – present
Label(s) Mushroom Records, Shock Records
Members
Paul Stewart, Paulo Almeida, Gil Santos, Colin Badger, Zeca Mesquita, Tim Stewart, Daniel Golding

The Dili Allstars are an Australian and East Timorese reggae/ska band based in Melbourne. Most famous for their role in the independence of East Timor (where the band remains enormously popular today), they remain both one of the leading voices of support for the East Timorese people and a popular musical group. The band has released two albums, and most recently, an EP, titled Increase the Peace.

Contents

[edit] The band

The Dili Allstars have 8 members. They are:

[edit] History

[edit] Formation and early years

The Dili Allstars were formed when Paul Stewart and Colin Buckler (of the notable band Painters and Dockers) contacted East Timorese musician Gil Santos to record a song to protest the capture of East Timorese resistance leader Xanana Gusmao by Indonesian armed forces in the early nineties. This song was a version of Rose Tattoo's 'We Can't Be Beaten', sung in both East Timorese and English. Both Santos and Stewart had had a long involvement with the struggle of the East Timorese as they had lost a father and a brother, respectively, in the Indonesian invasion of 1975.

Before the 1999 Independence referendum, the band recorded the original track 'Liberdade' and six other songs in response to hearing that the Governor of East Timor was playing pro-Indonesian songs at Dili airport. With the help of Melbourne University students, 500 tapes were smuggled into East Timor. The songs had a wide exposure during the lead up to the election, and remain strong in the Timorese memory today. After the referendum, Gusmao visited Melbourne and joined the Allstars on stage at the National Tennis Centre. At this stage, the band included current members Paul Stewart, Gil Santos, Paulo Almeida, Zeca Mesquita, and Colin Badger; however, it also included drummer Colin Buckler, trombonist/vocalist Sonja Parkinson and bassist Nelito Ribero.

[edit] Further support for East Timor and the Tour of Duty

'Liberdade' was later included on a Mushroom Records compilation (also titled 'Liberdade') which the band helped to compile. This compilation also featured Midnight Oil, Crowded House, and Yothu Yindi, and went on to raise $100,000 for East Timor. Two further compilation albums were made by the band - 'Love From a Short Distance' and 'All In The Family', both of which also raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for East Timor.

Because of the band's long term involvement with East Timor, the Dili Allstars were invited to appear with popular Australian performers John Farnham and Kylie Monogue at the Tour of Duty concert, which was attended by thousands and viewed by many more on Australian television. Shortly after the concert, the band released its first major album, Hanoin, which included 'Liberdade', 'Freedom' and The Living End song 'Revolution Regained', which The Living End had requested the Allstars record a version of.

[edit] "Viva La Musica"

The band consolidated their position with the 2004 release, Viva La Musica. By this stage, Parkinson was no longer playing with the band, and drummer Buckler had been replaced by Mark Grunden. The album remained true to the band's protest roots ('Rise Up', 'Peace & Unity' and 'Advance Australia Where?'), their East Timorese heritage (with traditional Timorese song 'O Hele Le' included as the first track and as a reprise) and their growing reputation as a party band ('That Girl', 'Thank You Mama').

[edit] Answered By Fire and the "Increase the Peace" tour

The Dili Allstars' profile was raised further when band members acted in, and provided music for the two-part, 2006 Australian/Canadian mini-series Answered by Fire. The series dramatised the conflicts surrounding the 1999 East Timor referendum and the struggle for independence.

Driven by the civil crisis in both East Timor and the Northern Territory Aboriginal communities, the Dili Allstars released Increase the Peace in 2006. The album 'calls on an end to the violence with a plea to be careful and calm'. [1] The accompanying tour of East Timor and the Northern Territory, however, was postponed as a result of the heightening violence in Timor and member illness. The band plans to tour East Timor in 2007.

This recent period has also seen a change of drummers, with Tim Stewart joining, and a change of bassists, with Daniel Golding completing the line-up.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Hanoin (2001)

  1. Brother
  2. I'll Be Gone
  3. Black Angel
  4. Freedom
  5. Alive
  6. Revolution Regained
  7. Dengue Fever
  8. Liberdade
  9. Stranded

[edit] Viva La Musica (2004)

  1. O Hele Le
  2. Runaway
  3. Thank You Mama
  4. Peace & Unity
  5. That Girl
  6. Nothing Tastes Better Than The Neighbour's Chicken
  7. Rise Up
  8. Innocent Child
  9. Advance Australia Where?
  10. Beautiful Smile
  11. Have You Ever Been Blown Ashore?
  12. Sempre Contigo
  13. O Hele Le (Reprise)

[edit] Increase the Peace (2006)

  1. Increase the Peace
  2. No Woman, No Cry
  3. O Hele Le
  4. Cool World
  5. My Soul Flew Out the Window

[edit] References

  1. ^ Liner notes, 'Increase the Peace', 2006

[edit] External links