Atkinson was a member of
Redgum from 1975 to 1987. While with Redgum he wrote many of the band's songs, and with Michael Spicer, who had joined the band later as a keyboardist, also wrote the score for the film
A Street to Die. After leaving Redgum, he worked as a composer on Australian films, including
Backlash (1986), and the
Russell Crowe film ''
Heaven's Burning'' (1997), In 2005, with other former members of Redgum and other Australian bands reunited as
John Schumann and the Vagabond Crew, he recorded
Lawson, poems by
Henry Lawson set to music. ==Awards and nominations==