- CHS 1979
- Won seven ARIA awards
- Acclaimed as a recording artist, producer, lyricist and specialist in the music of Melanesia
- Uniquely Australian songwriter, singer, composer and activist
David only attended Camberwell High School for one year. He completed his other schooling at Camberwell Grammar. A founding member and songwriter of critically acclaimed musical groups Not Drowning, Waving and My Friend The Chocolate Cake, whose success both in Australia and across the world is well documented, Bridie has also released a number of albums under his own moniker with the 2002 Act of Free Choice being released in the UK, Canada and America as well as Australia.
It is as a songwriter that Bridie has forged his reputation as one of Australia’s best with his songs confirming his individual style in painting a mural of the modern world, its geography, its political mores and its dwellers’ identities. Over the years Bridie has balanced his career as a live musician with the composition of soundtrack music, with credits for over 16 feature films including Proof, Bran Nue Dae, The Man Who Sued God and Gone, several of which received international release. His score for In a Savage Land landed Bridie the award for Best Original Score at the AFI Awards, Best Original Soundtrack by the Film Critics Circle of Australia, and Best Soundtrack Album at the 2000 ARIA Awards. Credits for his 29 television/short film/documentary soundtracks include Remote Area Nurse, for which he won an AFI Award and a Best Independent Release ARIA award; The Whitlam Documentary; MABO – Life of an island man; The Circuit; and most recently, the feature documentary film Strange Birds in Paradise and ten-part ABC drama series The Straits.
David has always explored his particular passion for Melanesian life, music and history. Now regarded as the world’s foremost producer of Melanesian music artists, David has scored, curated and produced many films, concerts and albums in Australia, PNG and The US and has been instrumental in launching the musical careers of many of these artists including George Telek (PNG) who is now considered an elder statesman of music in his home country and had his music released on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label. Other producing credits include Archie Roach’s Jamu Dreaming, Christine Anu’s Stylin Up and West Papuan string band Black Paradise’s Spirit Of Mambesak CDs. His most recent work with Pitjantjatjara man Frank Yamma and the Countryman CD has seen Yamma’s career take off with UK and Europe tours and festival bookings across Australia and the world, including the London Olympic Festival and Womad UK in 2012. For more information: www.davidbridie.com Updated 2020