1975–1985: Redgum Schumann was born on 18 May 1953 and attended
Blackfriars Priory School, and then
Flinders University studying philosophy, English and drama for his Bachelor of Arts. In 1975 he contributed to a radical politics in art project, convened by Professor
Brian Medlin with fellow students Michael Atkinson and Verity Truman. The three students went on to form political folk band
Redgum and began performing in local pubs and campuses. An 'underground recording' of their music was made at the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) studios in Adelaide by Darc Cassidy – the tapes went on to become popular on campuses across Australia and on independent radio. Chris Timms (also from Flinders University) joined the group in 1976 and they toured to Melbourne as a part-time group. Schumann was by then teaching English and Drama at Marion High School and performing on weekends and school holidays. By December 1980, they decided to become a full-time band. Schumann wrote their biggest hits including "Long Run", "The Last Frontier", "I Was Only Nineteen" (March 1983) and "I've Been to Bali Too" (1984). He embarked upon a solo career with
CBS, where he released several records, including
Etched in Blue (1987), and a children's record,
Looby Loo (1989). The 1987 single "Borrowed Ground" from
Etched in Blue was given the
Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) Most Performed Australasian Country Work Award in 1988. In 1992 he recorded a single for
Sony titled "Eyes on Fire", this was followed by an album for
Columbia Records in 1993,
True Believers. In 2007 John Schumann and The Vagabond Crew provided the music for a stage play,
Lawson, starring
Max Cullen as
Henry Lawson. After refusing to appear live on the 1980s ABC music-TV show,
Countdown, Schumann appeared in the
Countdown Spectacular 2 concert series in Australia in August and September 2007. He sang the Redgum hit "I Was Only 19" only. From late 2007, John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew have appeared at major music festivals around Australia. Schumann signed a new multi-album deal with
ABC Music and
Behind the Lines, an album of songs related to Australians at war, was released in August 2008. Schumann has performed for Australian forces overseas several times. In December 2009 he visited
East Timor to play for
Australian and New Zealand troops stationed there, in September–October 2011 he played for Australian troops in Afghanistan and in July 2013 he played for Australian troops and Australian Federal Police in the
Solomon Islands. In 2011 Schumann worked with the Defence department on "Dents in the Soul", a project designed to help soldiers deal with
post traumatic stress disorder. In 2015, Schumann recorded "Kokoda – Only The Brave Ones", a duet with
Lee Kernaghan for his album
Spirit of the Anzacs. In 2015 he was commission by the Australian Army to write "Every Anzac Day", a song about aboriginal soldiers who served in the Australian military. It was released in April 2015 ahead of the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings. It was released with "Anzac Biscuits" as a B-side. ==Personal life==