Virgiawan Listanto or better known as Iwan Fals (born September 3, 1961) is an Indonesian singer, songwriter and guitarist of Javanese descent. In 2002, Time named him a Great Asian Hero. Early life Iwan was born Virgiawan Listanto in Jakarta, on September 3, 1961, to Harsoyo, a soldier, and Lies Suudijah. He studied at SMP Negeri 5 Bandung and SMAK BPK Bandung. He continued his studies at Sekolah Tinggi Publisistik and then Institut Kesenian Jakarta. At the age of thirteen, he appeared as a street musician at small wedding ceremonies and other social events. Career While he was 18, Iwan Fals, Toto Gunarto, Helmi, Bambang Bule and Kakek Jagonk formed a group named Amburadul. The group released the album 'Perjalanan' in 1979, which was not successful, but was re-released with the added track '3 Bulan' as '3 Bulan' (1980) in 1980. The group disbanded and played no further role in Iwan Fals' career. As part of his early career, Iwan Fals also recorded some comedy albums, after winning a comedy country singing contest. He sang of comic situations and themes, and his first release was on 'Canda Dalam Nada' (the A-side featured five songs by Iwan: Generasi Frustrasi, Dongeng Tidur, Imitasi, Kisah Sepeda Motorku (aka. Kopral), and Joni Kesiangan while the B-side consisted of songs by Tom Slepe and Pusaka Jaya). The songs Dongeng Tidur, Joni Kesiangan and Kisah Sepeda Motorku were released, with one new song, Ambulance Zig Zag, on the Iwan Fals mini-album Canda Dalam Nada, while Generasi Frustrasi and Imitasi were also included on the 'Yang Muda Yang Bercanda II' multi artist comedy compilation. During this time, Iwan supported himself by busking. 1981 saw Iwan Fals' breakthrough, when he signed to Musica Studio to record his first solo album, Sarjana Muda. This album shows Iwan Fals' signature country music style, with the protest song "Guru Oemar Bakrie", which talks of how a teacher is poorly paid but still responsible for educating future well-paid and successful people. 'Guru Oemar Bakrie' became very well known and popular in Indonesia, and helped established Iwan's name. The album also contains several ballads. It benefited from considerable investment by Musica Studio, who used high-quality musicians and producer for the album. 1982's Opini, also on Musica Studio, cemented Iwan's reputation as a protest singer, but also as a balladeer. 'Galang Rambu Anarki', for his newborn son, combined both elements, commenting on both the