Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter ‘Down City Streets’

Archie Roach and Ruby Hunter talk about their life as street kids, followed by an excerpt of a live performance of Ruby's song 'Down City Streets', which featured on Archie's debut album Charcoal Lane (1990).

This clip is from a documentary titled Murundak – Songs of Freedom (2011), which follows some of Australia's best known Indigenous musicians on the road, performing songs of resistance and freedom. 

A lot is packed into this short segment, from Archie and Ruby engaging with an Indigenous woman in public, to one-on-one interviews and a live performance in front of a very large audience.

It is very effective in representing the arc that both of them have travelled, from being destitute to becoming respected musicians.

Notes by Beth Taylor and Adam Blackshaw