Alan Dargin was a didgeridoo

Didgeridoo

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...

 player from Wee Waa, New South Wales

Wee Waa, New South Wales

Wee Waa is a town with a population of 1,689 people located on the north-western slopes of the New England region in New South Wales, Australia. The town is within Narrabri Shire local government area and is on the Namoi River. Wee Waa is 41 m north-west of Narrabri and 571  km...

, Australia. He started learning the instrument at age five, being taught by his grandfather. His signature instrument was over a hundred years old and was made from a species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...

 known as the Bloodwood tree.

He performed on the streets of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, through to performances in front of François Mitterrand

François Mitterrand

François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...

 and with many symphonies around the world, including the Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

 at Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

, as well as many other locations in the United States, Japan, and Europe.

As an actor, he also had roles, including a featured part in Fringe Dwellers

Fringe dwellers

"Fringe Dwellers" is a name given to groups of Aboriginal Australians who camp on the outskirts of Australian towns and cities, from which they have become excluded, generally through law or land alienation....

, but he was probably best known for his cross-dressing role in The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

He has contributed to albums by many famous artists such as Jimmy Page

Jimmy Page

James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...

 and Robert Plant

Robert Plant

Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...

, Jimmy Barnes, Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel

William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...

, Wallace Buchanan (Jamiroquai), Yothu Yindi

Yothu Yindi

Yothu Yindi are an Australian band with Aboriginal and balanda members formed in 1986. Aboriginal members come from Yolngu homelands near Yirrkala on the Gove Peninsula in Northern Territory's Arnhem Land...

, and Don Burrows, and filmed a documentary about Cape York

Cape York Peninsula

Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...

 with Jacques Cousteau.

His last recording, MRD, contains tracks that feature collaborations with musicians such as Tommy Emmanuel

Tommy Emmanuel

William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...

, James Morrison

James Morrison (musician)

James Morrison AM is an Australian jazz musician who plays numerous instruments, but is best known for his trumpet playing...

, and many other virtuosos duetting with didgeridoo on instruments as varied as guitar, steel drums, keyboard, Chinese flute, trumpet, electric bass, and voice. The album is due to be released in April 2008.

Dargin held a degree in science from the University of Toronto

University of Toronto

The University of Toronto is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution of higher learning in Upper Canada...

.

He suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died at Saint Vincents Hospital, Darlinghurst

Darlinghurst, New South Wales

Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney...

 in Sydney just before sunrise on Sunday, 24 February 2008.

A memorial service for Dargin was held at Circular Quay, Sydney at 7 a.m. on Thursday, 28 February 2008, commencing with a traditional Aboriginal smoking ceremony that progressed along Circular Quay to First Fleet Park. Hundreds attended and tribute after tribute was given to this "Rock and Roll didjeridu" legend.

Partial discography

• MRD (to be released April 2008)
• DidgeriDuo (with Gary 'The DidgeMan' Thomas, 2001, Label: Aquarius International Music)
• Cross + Hatch (with Michael Atherton, 1998)
• Two Stories in One (with Reconciliation, 1994)
• Bloodwood: The Art of the Didjeridu (with Michael Atherton, 1993)

External links