“Poor Ned, you’re better off dead, at least you’ll get some peace of mind” lyrics from Poor Ned.
We have been singing about the legend of Ned Kelly for as long as the band has been around, so when we heard that a bunch of investigators, scientists and doctors revealed that an almost complete skeleton found buried in a wooden axe box were those of the famous outlaw, it made us think about all those stories we have told in song about Ned Kelly.
For The Bushwackers, Ned Kelly and the legends and myths of him and his gang of outlaws is never far from the surface and holds a special place in the our hearts.
Back in November 1980 The Bushwackers were invited to be part of the integral Ned Kelly Centenary Festival in Winton. For three days that November may legendary Australian artists came together to celebrate the life and times of Ned Kelly. Beside ourselves there was Eric Bogle, Ted Egan, Redgum, Johnny Chester, Reg Poole and many others.
That event seeded an idea for a album all about Ned Kelly. So we gathered a swag of songs from some of our songwriting mates; John Williamson, Ted Egan, Tim Freedman, Shane Howard, Shel Silverston, Grant Millar, Smiling Billy Blinkhorn, Trevor Lucas and those anonymous authors who first sang and wrote of Ned Kelly.
The result was the album ‘Ned’ – 14 tracks of songs sung by The Bushwackers celebrating the good, the bad and the ugly of Ned Kelly and his gang.
We reckon Ned Kelly’s stories are best told in song. Take a listen to some of them hear….
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More info about Ned Kelly’s remains here
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