Harry Whaleboat

Mon 7 Mar 2022

Wuigada is a dedicated space where First Nations musicians can share and celebrate music made by other First Nations musicians with PBS audiences.

Wuigada was named and developed by the highly acclaimed indigenous singer songwriter, Kutcha Edwards. Wuigada in Mutti Mutti means 'to sing'.

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In this edition of Wuigada we hear from Cherbourg based RnB artist, Harry Whaleboat.

Recently we caught up with Harry and he told us about how he came to be a performer and is now working at giving others the chance to build their careers and confidence.

We asked Harry how he came to be involved in music:

'I was 16 or 17 when my mother passed away. I sent my sister away to stay with family up north, and I stayed and lived in our housing commission house for a while. But back then I didn’t know how to live; pay bills, buy food, all that stuff. So, I left and went to the city where I lived on the street for a while, then I started hanging out with people who became my friends. We would play basketball, and I started singing along with some of my friends while we played basketball.

There was a blue light disco one night, and I knew the boys singing on stage. I was so proud of them, I went up to them and asked them if I could be in their group, they said nah, they just wanted to keep it as four. That was the band AIM 4 More – AIM stands for Aboriginal Islander Mob.

Then I got a phone call a few months later, offering me a chance to sing with them. One of the boys was in trouble with the law and got put in the lock up. So I agreed, I was really excited. We rehearsed in the kitchen, because it was nice and echoey. I was on harmony for two years, I tried out singing lead, but I cracked under pressure. During that time I started singing on my own. I improved and tried out singing lead again. I was really happy, my singing had improved a lot, so we balanced the lead roles between us.

Our band grew. We toured overseas, played at State of Origin, we met with John Farnham and got advice from him. We’ve toured around Australia. I miss those days. Troy Brady was in AIM 4 More as well. We made an album, but the young ones don’t really know us anymore. But we were one of a kind, we did Motown, 60s, and corporate gigs.

Now I love to record. I have a podcast called E10-10 that is about listening to and recording local talent. I record local talent, I try to motivate others to step out of their comfort zone. I get people to relax and encourage them to record, I give them a copy of their song and they are on cloud nine. I take a photo load it onto my page, with the song and a little intro. And when I haven’t been doing that, what I've been recording my own songs; in between recording other people doing covers.

E10-10 is all about mental health and building up people’s sense of self-worth. I’ve built up a community. I’d love to build a mobile studio, and continue breaking barriers.'

We asked Harry to talk about a song that has had a big impact on him:

'That would be Archie Roach, ‘Took The Children Away’. It makes me think about our people, and it makes me think about my family, and our connection to genocide, and makes me have deep thoughts and to want to write songs.'

Here are Harry Whaleboat’s top songs for Wuigada:

Archie Roach - ‘Took The Children Away’