Outback were a world music group founded in the late 1980s by multi-instrumentalists Graham Wiggins and

Martin Cradick Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Aus ...

. The group fused traditional Australian tribal music, represented primarily through Wiggins's

didgeridoo The didgeridoo (; also spelt didjeridu, among other variants) is a wind instrument, played with vibrating lips to produce a continuous drone while using a special breathing technique called circular breathing. The didgeridoo was developed by ...

, with modern Western music, mostly Cradick's steel-string guitar. Before the band dissolved in 1992, it had been joined by

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣� ...

ese percussionist

Sagar N'Gom Sagar may refer to: Places and jurisdictions India * Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, a city in Madhya Pradesh state of central India ** Sagar district, an administrative unit headquartered in the city ** Sagar division, an administrative unit headq ...

, French violinist Paddy Le Mercier and drummer Ian Campbell.

Biography

Outback were formed when Martin Cradick (guitar, mandolin, African drums, shaker) and Graham Wiggins (didgeridoo, melodica) met in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the Un ...

in 1988. The duo performed throughout England and released a five-track extended play, ''Didgeridoo and Guitar'', on cassette which was recorded in October and November of that year. Four tracks were recorded and engineered by John Duggan while a live track, "Didgeridelay", was recorded at

Balliol College Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided th ...

by Michael Gerzon; the EP appeared via March Hare Music. Their first album, '' Baka'', was self-financed named after a pygmy tribe from

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west- central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; th ...

and released in 1990 on

Hannibal Records Hannibal Records was a British record label and one of the first to work with the World music genre. Hannibal was started by Joe Boyd in 1980. Boyd had produced records by artists such as Nick Drake, The Incredible String Band and Fairport Co ...

. Their first album meeting international success, the duo was able to add Senegalese Sagar N'Gom with his West African percussions and Ian Campbell on the

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

. The unusual band would only live for a short time though, producing only one second and final album, ''

Dance the Devil Away Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

'', where they were joined by French fiddler

Paddy LeMercier Paddy may refer to: People *Paddy (given name), a list of people with the given name or nickname *An ethnic slur for an Irishman Birds *Paddy (pigeon), a Second World War carrier pigeon *Snowy sheathbill or paddy, a bird species *Black-faced sh ...

. The band dissolved in 1992. Martin Cradick soon founded with his wife Su Hart the group Baka Beyond, which would later be joined by N'Gom and LeMercier. Graham Wiggins on the other hand founded

Dr Didg Graham Wiggins (October 25, 1962 – September 7, 2016) was an American musician and scientist. He played the didgeridoo, keyboards, melodica, sampler, and various percussion instruments with his groups, the Oxford-based Outback and Dr. Didg. H ...

with Ian Campbell and guitarist

Mark Revell Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Finn ...

Members

(Guitar,

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

darbuka The goblet drum (also chalice drum, tarabuka, tarabaki, darbuka, darabuka, derbake, debuka, doumbek, dumbec, dumbeg, dumbelek, toumperleki, tumbak, or zerbaghali; arz, دربوكة / Romanized: ) is a single-head membranophone with a goblet-s ...

bendir The ''bendir'' ( ar, بندير, plural ''banadir'', ) is a wooden-framed frame drum of North Africa and Southwest Asia. The bendir is a traditional instrument that is played throughout North Africa, as well as in Sufi ceremonies; it was playe ...

, luthar,

jengu A jengu (plural miengu) is a water spirit in the traditional beliefs of the Sawa ethnic groups of Cameroon, particularly the Duala, Bakweri, Malimba, Batanga, Bakoko, Oroko people and related Sawa peoples. Among the Bakweri, the name is lieng ...

, Shaker) * Graham Wiggins (Didgeridoo,

melodica The melodica is a handheld free-reed instrument similar to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usu ...

) * Sagar N'Gom (

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe comes from the saying "Anke dj ...

, mbala, tama) * Ian Campbell (Drum kit) * Paddy Le Mercier (violin)

Discography

* 1988: ''Didgeridoo and Guitar'' *

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

: '' Baka'' *

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

: ''

References

External links

Outback Music
* *
Outback Baka

Outback Dance the Devil Away
{{Authority control British world music groups Musical groups established in 1988 Musical groups from Oxford

Biography

Members

Discography

See also

References

External links