Barquin D'an, a Bith by species, made his living as a professional musician. He was also the younger brother of Figrin D'an, himself a musician. After a visit to the palace belonging to crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure, Barquin found himself playing the kloo horn within the Max Rebo Band, Jabba's resident musical act. In the year 3 ABY, the band provided entertainment for the crime boss while aboard his sail barge, known as the Khetanna.
In 4 ABY, Barquin and the band performed for Jabba and his entourage in the palace throne room. During their rendition of Jedi Rocks, Jabba stopped the music by dropping the enslaved dancer Oola through a trapdoor beneath the throne room, where she met her death at the jaws of the rancor named Pateesa. Barquin was present in the throne room when Princess Leia Organa, disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, arrived to deliver the Wookiee Chewbacca to Jabba. The following day, Organa and her allies eliminated Jabba, prompting Barquin's joyful escape to the spaceport of Mos Eisley.
Barquin D'an, a Bith [male](/article/gender], originated from the planet Bith. He was the younger brother of Figrin D'an, who led the band Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. Barquin, also a professional musician, sought employment at the palace of the Hutt crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure on the planet Tatooine after Figrin unintentionally caused Evar Orbus's death. He landed a job playing the kloo horn in the Max Rebo Band, the Hutt's house band. The band was essentially enslaved to Jabba due to a contract signed by their leader, Max Rebo.
In 3 ABY, while Barquin and the Max Rebo Band were performing on the Khetanna, Jabba's personal sail barge, Jabba's majordomo, Bib Fortuna, contacted Boba Fett, the bounty hunter, for an update on Han Solo. Solo, a smuggler, had been frozen in carbonite and was being delivered to Jabba. Fett eventually delivered Solo to Jabba's Palace, where he was displayed on a wall in the throne room as a trophy. Solo's allies in the Alliance to Restore the Republic, including Princess Leia Organa and the Wookiee Chewbacca, began plotting to rescue him.
In 4 ABY, the rebels initiated their plan. Lando Calrissian, a friend of Solo, infiltrated the palace as a guard, and the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO were sent to Jabba as a gift. Soon after the droids' arrival, Barquin and the Max Rebo Band performed for Jabba and his court in the throne room, playing a slow song while the enslaved dancers Oola and Yarna d'al' Gargan danced for the Hutt. After the song ended, Jabba ordered Oola to repeat her performance. However, Joh Yowza, the singer, mistook the order as being directed towards the band and told them to start playing again.
Yowza had the band play "Jedi Rocks" after stopping the Growdi Harmonique player Rappertunie from playing a different song. Barquin, leaning back as he played the kloo horn, stood beside the Rodian bandmember Doda Bodonawieedo as the song continued. The performance was cut short when Jabba dropped Oola through a trap door after she refused his advances. With the music over, the court rushed to watch as Oola was devoured by Jabba's pet rancor, Pateesa, in a pit below the throne room.
After the spectacle, Barquin remained in the throne room when Organa arrived disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh, bringing her supposed prisoner Chewbacca. During negotiations over a bounty on Chewbacca, Organa activated a thermal detonator, frightening Rebo and many others. Jabba simply laughed and offered "Boushh" a better price, which Organa accepted. Chewbacca was taken away, and the court celebrated his capture.
The following day, Jabba ordered the executions of Chewbacca, a recently unfrozen Solo, and their new ally, Luke Skywalker. Jabba and much of his court, including some band members, traveled on the Khetanna to watch the executions at the Great Pit of Carkoon. However, the rebels freed themselves, killing Jabba and many of his allies. With the Hutt dead, the band was freed, and Barquin escaped to Mos Eisley, a spaceport on Tatooine.
While working for Jabba, Barquin wore a black shirt, black pants, and black shoes. The Bith played a kloo horn in the Max Rebo Band.
Barquin D'an was played by creature and model maker Don Bies in the Special Edition re-release of Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi on March 14, 1997. Richard Marquand, the director, the puppet team at Industrial Light & Magic, and George Lucas, the producer, had wanted to film a longer musical number in the original release of Episode VI, but lacked the funds. Lucas added an extended replacement sequence for the Jedi Rocks performance in the re-release. Concept art for the "Jabba Rocks" musical number, drawn by concept artist Terryl Whitlatch on January 23, 1996, showed a new Bith member of the Max Rebo Band labeled as "Figrin D'an," and Lucas gave the piece a "Fabulouso" stamp. The number was filmed on a reproduction of about one quarter of the original Jabba's throne room set on an Industrial Light & Magic stage.
The character's mask and costume were designed from the costumes used for the Modal Nodes in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. Within current Star Wars canon, the character was first named in Music in the Star Wars Galaxy: The Modal Nodes vs. The Max Rebo Band, a StarWars.com article written by Amy Ratcliffe and published on February 24, 2015. The name originated in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where the character was first identified as Barquin D'an in Star Wars Trilogy Sourcebook, Special Edition, a supplement for Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game published by West End Games in October, 1997.