Charcoal Lane

From the 1960s through to the 1980s, the inner-city Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy was a meeting place for Aboriginal people who had left missions, Aboriginal reserves, and other government institutions and drifted to the city in a bid to trace their families,[1] and Roach was one of these. A street behind a factory was a meeting and drinking place known to the community as Charcoal Lane.[2]

In 2009 the old Aboriginal Health Service building at 136 Gertrude Street was converted into a social enterprise restaurant, which was called Charcoal Lane[2] at the request of the local Koori community,[3] and provided training for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people.[4][5] It closed its doors in August 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the building being returned to the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.[6]

Vika and Linda Bull were backing vocalists on the album.[7] Tim Finn provided backing vocals on "Took the Children Away".[8][9]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]

The album was released in May 1990 and peaked at number 86 on the ARIA Charts in April 1991.[11] At the ARIA Music Awards of 1991, the album received three nominations, winning two; ARIA Award for Best New Talent and Best Indigenous Release.[12]

Rolling Stone said "In the best singer-songwriter tradition, Charcoal Lane is deeply moving in both personal and political terms".[13]

The album was certified gold in 1992.[11]

A 25th Anniversary Edition of the album was released in November 2015; including the original disc plus new interpretations by Australian artists and five live recordings from 1990.[14][15]