No Fixed Address (band)

No Fixed Address (NFA) are an Australian reggae rock group whose members are all Aboriginal Australians, mostly from South Australia. The band formed in 1979, split in 1984, with several brief reformations or guest appearances in 1987–1988 and 2008, before reuniting in 2016 and continuing to perform into 2024. The original members were Bart Willoughby, Les Graham (aka Leslie Lovegrove), Ricky Harrison, John Miller, and Veronica Rankine. As of 2024^[update] the members are Willoughby, Harrison, Tjimba Possum Burns, and Sean Moffat. They were the first Aboriginal band to travel overseas. They have been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the inaugural National Indigenous Music Awards as well as the SA Music Hall of Fame, and have had a laneway in Adelaide CBD named after them.

No Fixed Address formed in 1979 at the Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music (CASM) in North Adelaide, South Australia. Most of the band members were students at CASM, where they first heard reggae music from Jamaica, including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Jimmy Cliff.

The all-Aboriginal band was led by Pitjanjatjara man Bart Willoughby (lead vocals and drums), from Koonibba Mission near Ceduna in the far south-west of South Australia, and included Gunaikurnai man Ricky Harrison (rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter) from Morwell in Victoria; Ngarrindjeri man Leslie Lovegrove Freeman (lead guitarist; also known as Les Graham) from Murray Bridge in South Australia; John Miller (bass) from Port Lincoln in South Australia; and Ngarrindjeri woman Veronica Rankine (tenor saxophone; daughter of Leila Rankine), from the south-east of South Australia. All of the members were related through family ties. Veronica was very talented and could also play piano, flute, and clarinet.

In 1979, NFA played its first large concert at the National Aboriginal Day held at Taperoo, South Australia, and were especially supported by community radio station 5MMM after this. Four of their songs made the Top 5 playlist on Three D Radio (then 5MMM). The band became a very popular pub rock outfit among students and the alternative music scene.

In July 1980, the band performed at the second "Rock Against Racism" concert at the Northcote Town Hall in Northcote, Melbourne, along with bands including Men at Work, and Ross Hannaford's Lucky Dog, and feminist circus troupe Wimmin's Circus.

In 1980 the band made a feature film titled Wrong Side of the Road with another CASM band, Us Mob. The movie dealt with the trials and joys of touring and the contrasting receptions they received in Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. With the recording of the soundtrack, No Fixed Address, and Us Mob became the first contemporary Aboriginal bands to be recorded. The film won the Jury Prize for best picture at the 1981 AFI Awards. The soundtrack album to Wrong Side of the Road, with six tracks from each of the bands, sold well and received plenty of airplay on indie radio stations. Mick Pacholli became their manager.

They toured to Perth, where 13 of their 20 booked gigs were cancelled when the promoters found out they were Aboriginal. Cold Chisel happened to be there and helped them to book some gigs. Willoughby broke his right arm in Perth, and the band had to get a replacement drummer for a concert that was filmed by ABC Television for Rock Arena.

On the strength of their live performances and airplay of their demo recordings on 5MMM they were the cover story on the August 1980 edition of national rock magazine Roadrunner. In December 1980, the band supported Cold Chisel on its "Summer Offensive" tour to the east coast, with the final concert on 20 December at the University of Adelaide.