George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga (1957–2007) was a Yolngu singer, activist and a founding member of the Warumpi Band. Considered to be a pioneer of Australian rock music, Rrurrambu wrote and recorded music in English and First Nations languages. Having been born and raised on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory, Rrurrambu was living and working in Papunya, 260km west of Alice Springs when he, Neil Murray, Denis Minor and brothers Gordon and Sammy Butcher formed the Warumpi Band. As a lead singer and digeridoo player, Rrurrambu, sporting a big afro, became known for his electric stage presence. Peter Garrett of Midnight Oil, with whom the Warumpi Band toured for almost twenty years, said of Rrurrambu: 'If you think of Mick Jagger or James Brown or Michael Hutchence or, you know, any of the sort of really charismatic performers that just sort of take over a stage, whether they are on the back of a flatbed truck in a dusty community or whether they're in a theatre in Sydney or Melbourne, this bloke had it and he had it in spades'. Rrurrambu toured and recorded music through the 1980s until the Warumpi Band disbanded in 1989. Following the breakup of the band, Rrurrambu performed as a solo artist and became the frontman of Birdwave. When Rrurrambu was diagnosed with terminal cancer he returned to Elcho Island where he passed away in 2007.
