Midnight Oil - WikiHQ

Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are  an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1972. It is composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The lineup also included Bones Hillman (bass) and Rob Hirst (drums and vocals) until their deaths in 2020 and in 2026 respectively. Rob Hirst was a founding member of the band.

Midnight Oil issued their self-titled debut album in 1978 and gained a cult following in their homeland despite a lack of mainstream media acceptance. The band achieved greater popularity throughout Australasia with the release of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982) – which spawned the singles "Power and the Passion" and "US Forces" – and also began to attract an audience in the United States. They achieved their first Australian number one album in 1984 with Red Sails in the Sunset, and topped their native country's singles chart for six weeks with the EP Species Deceases (1985).

The group garnered worldwide attention with 1987 album Diesel and Dust. Its singles "The Dead Heart" and "Beds Are Burning" illuminated the plight of Indigenous Australians, with the latter charting at number one in multiple countries. Midnight Oil had continued global success with Blue Sky Mining (1990) and Earth and Sun and Moon (1993) – each buoyed by an international hit single in "Blue Sky Mine" and "Truganini", respectively – and remained a formidable album chart presence in Australia until their 2002 disbandment. The group held concerts sporadically during the remainder of the 2000s and announced a full-scale reformation in 2016. The band released their 15th and final studio album, Resist, on 18 February 2022, and announced an accompanying tour.

The band's music often broaches political subjects, and they have lent their support to multiple causes. They have won eleven ARIA Awards and were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006. Midnight Oil's legacy has grown since the late 1970s, with the outfit being cited as an influence, and their songs covered, by numerous popular artists. Aside from their studio output, the group are celebrated for their energetic live performances, which showcase the frenetic dancing of Garrett. Guardian writer Andrew Street described Midnight Oil as "one of Australia's most beloved bands".

Overview

While studying at Australian National University in Canberra, vocalist Peter Garrett answered an advertisement for a spot in Farm, and by 1975 the band had started touring the east coast of Australia. The name was coined by Peter Watson, a short-term keyboard player with Farm.

Important to their development was manager Gary Morris, who successfully negotiated favourable contracts with tour promoters and record companies and frustrated rock journalists. and Midnight Oil, with Morris, established their own record label, Powderworks,

The following Midnight Oil albums peaked in the Australian Top Ten:

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Red Sails in the Sunset
Species Deceases
Diesel and Dust
Blue Sky Mining
Scream in Blue (Live)
Earth and Sun and Moon
Breathe
20,000 Watt R.S.L.
Redneck Wonderland
The Real Thing
Capricornia
Flat Chat
The Makarrata Project
Resist

The following Midnight Oil releases peaked in the Top Ten of the Australian singles chart:

a chart in which Midnight Oil are the only artists to feature twice. In December 2002 Garrett announced that he would seek to further his political career and Midnight Oil disbanded, but they reformed for two warm-up shows in Canberra leading up to their performance, at one of the "Sound Relief" charity concerts, in honour of the victims of the 2009 "Black Saturday" fires in Victoria and floods in Queensland.

In 2010 their album Diesel and Dust ranked no. 1 in the book The 100 Best Australian Albums by Toby Creswell, Craig Mathieson and John O'Donnell.

History

Farm: 1972–1976

In 1971 drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James, and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie were performing together. They adopted the name "Farm" in 1972,

1976–1981

thumb|upright|Martin Rotsey, Midnight Oil guitarist, at the Souths Leagues Club in Brisbane, 2007

After changing its name to Midnight Oil, the group began to develop an aggressive, punk-hard rock sound for their pub rock audiences.|Bruce Elder quoted in Crème de la Phlegm: Unforgettable Australian Reviews (2006), ed.:Angela Bennie.

In retaliation, Morris banned Elder from Oils shows permanently. Elder later recanted, describing them as the only Australian band to have developed a truly Australian sound.

The frostiness of Midnight Oil's relationship with the traditional music media quickly saw the band develop a strong "street cred" and a reputation for making no compromises with the music industry. In the early 1980s the band was scheduled to appear on an episode of the all-powerful Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) TV pop show Countdown but on the day of the show they were "bumped" from the line-up. Countdown required artists to mime their songs during 'live' performances, Midnight Oil and Morris insisted they perform completely live and have their sound engineer supervising – neither side backed down. According to Countdown producer Michael Shrimpton, the band had arrived late for rehearsal and, due to the show's very tight schedule and budget, there was a strict policy that latecomers were not allowed to appear; and, as such, they were told they could not perform that day. In response, the group declared that they would never appear on the show, a promise they faithfully kept. Countdown presenter Molly Meldrum shaved his head bald, imitating Garrett, for its final show on 19 July 1987 and expressed regret that Midnight Oil had never appeared on the show.

Fans of the group were drawn to the band's "us and them" mindset, and fan loyalty to the Oils' ideas and music was fierce. Two venues at which they built significant fan bases from their early live performances were the Sydney northern beaches pub The Royal Antler at Narrabeen and the Bondi Lifesaver club near Sydney's Bondi Beach. Politically oriented rock of the style produced by the band was something of a new concept for the Australian music scene, and Peter Garrett quickly earned a reputation as one of the most charismatic and outspoken musicians in the country. He recalled that there were dangers in playing the pub scene:

Rise to fame: 1982–1985

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Their Australian breakthrough and first international recognition came in 1982, with the release of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, which included the singles "Power and the Passion" and "Read About It". The album peaked at No. 3 and "Power and the Passion" peaked at No. 8. in the UK it was released on CBS. Live concert footage of "Short Memory" was used in the Australian independent anti-nuclear war movie One Night Stand. A promotional video for "Best of Both Worlds", later on Best of Both Worlds, received airplay worldwide on cable music TV station MTV.

Garrett ran as a Nuclear Disarmament Party (NDP) candidate for a New South Wales seat in the Australian Senate during the December 1984 federal election, Garrett obtained 9.6% of votes but was unable to obtain the required quota of 12.5%. In April 1985, Garrett, with some 30 other members, walked out of the national conference and resigned from the NDP claiming it had been infiltrated by a Trotskyist group. Although unsuccessful in that federal election, Garrett was now a recognised public figure. The band was galvanised by the experiences and made them the basis of Diesel and Dust, released in 1987 and produced by Warne Livesey. "Beds Are Burning" was their biggest international hit single, peaking at No. 6 in Australia, No. 6 on the UK singles charts. A fracas developed between Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and former Countdown compere Ian Meldrum who was presenting: Meldrum objected to Morris making political commentary from the podium. In 1990 Midnight Oil played an impromptu lunchtime set in front of Exxon headquarters in New York with a banner reading, "Midnight Oil Makes You Dance, Exxon Oil Makes Us Sick," protesting the Exxon Valdez oil spill the previous year. It peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 No. 47 on Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on both their Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks charts, The name refers to the practice of ghostwriting, wherein famous writers contribute under assumed names in order to remain anonymous. Ghostwriters' line-ups – both live and in the studio – changed considerably through the years, with only founders Hirst and Grossman being mainstays. Between successive album releases Hirst and Grossman returned to active involvement with Oils and Gurus respectively. Ghostwriters have released Ghostwriters (1991), Second Skin (1996), Fibromoon (1999) and Political Animal (2007). Morris, accepting awards for Midnight Oil, was criticised for a speech lasting 20 minutes. and appeared on the Billboard 200. Top 50 on Billboard 200,

In 1993, the band also participated in the Another Roadside Attraction tour in Canada and collaborated with The Tragically Hip, Crash Vegas, Hothouse Flowers and Daniel Lanois on the one-off single "Land" to protest forest clearing in British Columbia.

Breathe to Capricornia

Breathe was released in 1996. It was produced by Malcolm Burn and had a loose, raw style with almost a low-key sound. They returned to No. 1 on the ARIA albums charts Later album releases include the electro tinged hard rock Redneck Wonderland in 1998, live album The Real Thing in 2000 and the more stripped back Capricornia in 2002 again renuniting with producer Warne Livesey, all charted into the ARIA Top Ten. At the 2001 APRA Awards ceremony "Beds are Burning" was shown on video and introduced by Australian Democrats Senator Aden Ridgeway as an Indigenous spokesperson on Reconciliation. were false. However Ghostwriters, founded by drummer Hirst and Hoodoo Gurus bass guitarist Rick Grossman and including former Oils guitarist Martin Rotsey, performed six tracks including the Oils' song "When the Generals Talk", whilst Peter Garrett gave a speech introducing a reformed Crowded House.

Aside from Ghostwriters, Hirst has also been a member of Backsliders, performed with former Olympian Paul Greene, with fellow Backsliders member Dom Turner on The Angry Tradesmen, and, with Rotsey, assisted on Jim Moginie's solo album Alas Folkloric in 2006.

2009 reformation

On the evenings of 12 and 13 March 2009 a reformed Midnight Oil, with Garrett, played at the Royal Theatre in Canberra. The following day, 14 March they headlined the Sound Relief concert in Melbourne. This event was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) to raise money for victims of Victoria's February bushfire disaster. The event was held simultaneously with a concert at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Reunion, the Great Circle Tour, Midnight Oil: 1984 and Armistice Day

On 4 May 2016 it was announced on the band's website that Midnight Oil intended to reform and embark on a tour in 2017 (their first concerts in Australia since 2002 and their first world tour since 1997). Such plans were confirmed in February 2017, when the band announced The Great Circle Tour, which kicked off in April. After three warm up concerts in their native Australia, the band toured Brazil, the U.S., Canada, Europe, South Africa, Singapore and New Zealand before going back to play a series of concerts around the whole of Australia. The band performed 77 concerts in 16 countries during the tour.

In March 2018, the band announced the release of a new documentary film entitled Midnight Oil: 1984. Directed by Ray Argall, the film primarily consists of previously-unseen footage from the band's tour in support of Red Sails in the Sunset. The film was given an Australian cinematic release in May 2018, an Australian DVD/Blu-ray release the following July and a limited North American and New Zealand cinematic release that August.

One of the Great Circle tour's final concerts was held on Armistice Day at The Domain, in Sydney on 11 November 2017. Both shows at the Domain (the band also performed there on 17 November) were filmed and recorded, being turned into the live album and film Armistice Day: Live at the Domain, Sydney. The film was given a one-night cinematic release on 24 October 2018. On 9 November 2018, Armistice Day was released as a live album, as well as on DVD and Blu-ray.

In December 2018, the band announced a European and UK tour for June and July 2019. The band were also announced as the headlining act of the Big Red Bash festival, taking place in Birdsville, Queensland. In April 2019, the band announced headlining shows in Thirroul and Canberra as warm-up shows for their European tour. With the announcement came news that the band intended to record new material for a projected 2020 release.

2020: The Makarrata Project and "Gadigal Land"

On 7 August 2020, Midnight Oil released their first song in 18 years titled "Gadigal Land", with all earnings going to organisations promoting the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The song featured poetry spoken in the Gadigal language. It is the first song from a mini-album titled The Makarrata Project, whose name is related to one of the elements of the Uluru Statement, a Yolngu word approximating a peace agreement or type of treaty. "Gadigal Land" peaked at number 5 on the Australian digital sales song chart.

The Makarrata Project was released on 30 October 2020 and reached Number 1 in the Australian albums chart on 6 November 2020. The surviving members of Midnight Oil announced Hillman's death in a statement that remembered him as "the bassist with the beautiful voice, the band member with the wicked sense of humour, and our brilliant musical comrade." They announced the single on Twitter: "The uncompromising song, released on the eve of [the United Nations Climate Change Conference] (COP26), adds the band's unique voice to billions of others around the world seeking a safe, habitable, and fair future for our planet." The band featured no bassist in the video, leaving only a bass guitar in a stand in the background beside the drums as a tribute to Hillman.

On 26 November 2021, the band officially announced the album Resist, which was released 18 February 2022. With the announcement of the album came the release of national Australian tour dates for 2022, which the band confirmed would be their last, while simultaneously confirming that the band will continue to make music together in the future. Resist: The Final Tour concluded on 3 October 2022 at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney with a 40-song, three-and-a-half-hour set from the band.

2024 saw the release of Paul Clarke's documentary on the band Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line.

On 20 January 2026, it was revealed that Hirst had died at the age of 70.

Legacy

Midnight Oil initially faced resistance from the mainstream media, but went on to sell over 20 million albums. They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006, having won 11 ARIA Awards during their career. AllMusic noted that the band "brought a new sense of political and social immediacy to pop music", and were "inspirational and successful in their homeland", while critic Bernard Zuel wrote, "It's been said of Midnight Oil that 'this is what Australia sounds like'." Author Tim Winton remarked, "It was almost too much to believe that rock music could be about anything but itself. You know: life on the road and the inconvenience of VD. Dicks and chicks. Faux Americana. Finally someone was playing stuff that was musically idiosyncratic, fresh and strong. And authentic." Guardian writer Andrew Street called them "one of Australia's most beloved bands".

The group have influenced international acts such as Green Day, R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Garbage, The Cranberries, Biffy Clyro, Candlebox, Maná, Hot Water Music and Shades Apart, as well as Australian performers like Crowded House, Powderfinger, The Living End, John Butler, DMA's and Tim Freedman. R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe described Peter Garrett as a "brilliant" songwriter who is "able to imagine a situation, put [himself] into it and write about it", adding, "That, to me, is incredible". Crowded House singer Neil Finn went on to have multiple collaborations with Jim Moginie, whom he called "a great guy and an amazing guitar player". Biffy Clyro vocalist Simon Neil said of Midnight Oil, "Every night for about three weeks, driving home from the studio I would just put 'Beds Are Burning' on, just on loop... They're a really underrated band." and painter Nicholas Harding.

Midnight Oil's songs have been covered by performers such as Pearl Jam (and frontman Eddie Vedder solo Patti Smith, The Killers, Imagine Dragons, Silverchair, Tom Morello (as The Nightwatchman), Billy Bragg U2 singer Bono recorded a speech for Midnight Oil's ARIA Hall of Fame induction, sections of which aired intermittently. He recited the chorus lyrics of their song "Forgotten Years" and hailed the outfit as an "extraordinary" band whose music "brought people's differences together; not to resolve them, just to get them in the same room, up each other's noses". Killers vocalist Brandon Flowers said, "I wish I'd written 'Forgotten Years'... That song touches my heart." Midnight Oil's music is the subject of 2001 tribute album The Power & The Passion, which features covers by several mainstream rock acts from Australia and New Zealand, including Something for Kate, Regurgitator, Grinspoon, Jebediah, Augie March and Shihad. In 2009, a version of "Beds Are Burning" was recorded by numerous musicians – among them Duran Duran, Lily Allen, Bob Geldof, Fergie, Mark Ronson and Scorpions – in protest of global warming and climate change.

Music journalist Kurt Loder once noted that Midnight Oil were "reputed to be Australia's most formidable live act"; Tomas Mureika in AllMusic argued they were "the tightest band on the planet for a time". Writer John O'Donnell said that the group's performances "quickly became the stuff of legend and earned the band a large and fiercely loyal following". Cold Chisel singer Jimmy Barnes called them "one of the greatest bands ever and one of my favourite live bands in the world". The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan referred to the 2016 announcement of Midnight Oil's impending reformation as "awesome news", noting that they are "one of the greatest live bands I've ever seen". Corgan had previously likened his dancing to that of Peter Garrett. Garrett's onstage routine – described by critic Richard McGregor as "mesmerising" – incorporates a wild and eccentric dance style; Guardian journalist Andrew Stafford wrote that Garrett has a "unique dance step that captivated audiences for over 20 years" prior to the group's 2002 disbandment. His dancing was imitated in Parliament by Australian politicians Peter Costello and John Elferink.

Band members

Current members

Peter Garrett – lead vocals, harmonica (1976–2002, 2005, 2009, 2016–present)
Jim Moginie – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals (1976–2002, 2005, 2009, 2016–present)
Martin Rotsey – guitars (1977–2002, 2005, 2009, 2016–present)

Former members

Rob Hirst – drums, backing and occasional lead vocals (1976–2002, 2005, 2009, 2016–2026; died 2026)
Andrew James – bass (1976–1980), backing vocals (1979–1980)
Peter Gifford – bass, backing vocals (1980–1987)
Bones Hillman – bass, backing vocals (1987–2002, 2005, 2009, 2016–2020; died 2020)

Former touring musicians

Charlie McMahon – didgeridoo (1984, 1986)
Glad Reed – trombone (1985–1990, 2009)
Chris Abrahams – keyboards (1993–1994, 2000)
Jack Howard – trumpet, flugelhorn, keyboards, percussion (2017)
Andy Bickers – saxophone (2019, 2021–2022)
Adam Ventoura – bass, backing vocals (2021–2022)
Leah Flanagan – backing vocals (2021–2022)
Liz Stringer – backing vocals, acoustic guitar (2021–2022)

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

Midnight Oil (1978)
Head Injuries (1979)
Place without a Postcard (1981)
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1982)
Red Sails in the Sunset (1984)
Diesel and Dust (1987)
Blue Sky Mining (1990)
Earth and Sun and Moon (1993)
Breathe (1996)
Redneck Wonderland (1998)
Capricornia (2001)
The Makarrata Project (2020)
Resist (2022)

Awards and nominations

APRA Awards

These annual awards were established by Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 1982 to honour the achievements of songwriters and music composers and to recognise their song writing skills, sales and airplay performance, by its members annually.

| 1989–90 || "Beds Are Burning" (Peter Garrett, Robert Hirst, James Moginie) || Gold Award ||

| rowspan="2"| 2001 || "Beds Are Burning" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie) || APRA Top 10 Australian songs ||

| "Power and the Passion" (Hirst, Moginie, Garrett) || APRA Top 30 Australian songs ||

| 2018 || Midnight Oil (Garrett, Hirst, Martin Rotsey, Moginie, Bones Hillman || Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music ||

| 2021 || "Gadigal Land" (Joel Davison, Rob Hirst, Bunna Lawrie) || Song of the Year ||

| 2022 || "First Nation" || Song of the Year ||

|rowspan="2" | 2023

|rowspan="2" | "Rising Seas"

| Song of the Year

| Most Performed Rock Work

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards are an annual set of awards, commenced in 1987, which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Midnight Oil have received 11 wins from 38 nominations.

| 1987

| "The Dead Heart"

| Best Group

|rowspan="5"| 1988

| "Beds Are Burning"

| Single of the Year

| "Beds Are Burning" (Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie)

| Song of the Year

| Midnight Oil

| Best Group

| Diesel and Dust

| Best Indigenous Release

| Diesel and Dust – Ken Duncan, Creative Type Wart, Gary Morris, Midnight Oil

| Best Cover Art

|rowspan="4"| 1989

|rowspan="2" | "Dreamworld"

| Best Group

| Best Indigenous Release

| "Dreamworld" – Guy Gray

| Engineer of the Year

| "Dreamworld" – Andrew de Groot

| Best Video

|rowspan="8"| 1991

| rowspan="2"|Blue Sky Mining

| Album of the Year

| Best Group

| Blue Sky Mining – Livingstone Clarke

| Best Cover Art

| "Blue Sky Mine"

| Single of the Year

| "Blue Sky Mine" (Hirst, Moginie, Garrett, Martin Rotsey, Bones Hillman)

| Song of the Year

| "Blue Sky Mine" – Claudia Castle

| Best Video

| Midnight Oil – David Nicholas

| Engineer of the Year

| Midnight Oil

| Outstanding Achievement

| 1993

| Scream in Blue – Midnight Oil, Neo One Design

| Best Cover Art

| rowspan="3"|1994 || Earth and Sun and Moon

| Best Group

| Earth and Sun and Moon – Kevin Wilkins, Midnight Oil

| Best Cover Art

| "Outbreak of Love" – Paul Elliott

| Best Video

| rowspan="3"|1998

| 20,000 Watt R.S.L.

| Highest Selling Album

|20,000 Watt R.S.L. – Kevin Wilkins

| Best Cover Art

| "White Skin / Black Heart" – Magoo

| Engineer of the Year

|1999

| Redneck Wonderland – Magoo

| Engineer of the Year

|2004

| Best of Both Worlds

| Best Music DVD

|2006

| Midnight Oil

| Hall of Fame

|2017

| The Overflow Tank – Mitchell Storck

| Best Cover Art

|rowspan="2"| 2019

| Armistice Day

| Best Rock Album

| Midnight Oil

| Best Australian Live Act

|rowspan="5"| 2021

| rowspan="3"| The Makarrata Project

| Album of the Year

| Best Rock Album

| Best Group

| Robert Hambling for Midnight Oil – "First Nation"

| Best Video

| Makarrata Live

| Best Australian Live Act

| rowspan="2"| 2022

| Resist

| Best Group

| Resist. The Final Tour 2022

| Best Australian Live Act

Countdown Australian Music Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987; it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.

|1981

| Themselves

| Most Consistent Live Act

|1982

| 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

| Best Australian Album

| rowspan="2" |1983

| rowspan="2" | "Power and the Passion"

| Best Australian Single

| Best Promotional Video

| rowspan="4" |1984

| Red Sails in the Sunset

| Best Australian Album

|"Read About It"

|Best Group Performance in a Video

|"Short Memory" – Peter Garrett (Midnight Oil)

|Best Male Performance in a Video

| Themselves

| Most Popular Australian Group

| 1986

| "The Dead Heart"

| Best Australian Single

Environmental Music Prize

The Environmental Music Prize is a quest to find a theme song to inspire action on climate and conservation. It commenced in 2022.

| 2023

| "Rising Seas"

| Environmental Music Prize

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

| 2005

| Midnight Oil - WaveAid - the Tsunami Relief Concert

| Best Performance in an Australian Contemporary Concert

| 2018

| Midnight Oil - The Great Circle World Tour 2017

| Best Australian Contemporary Concert

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

| 2022

| Midnight Oil

| Double J Artist of the Year

Mo Awards

The Australian Entertainment Mo Awards (commonly known informally as the Mo Awards), were annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia from 1975 to 2016. Midnight Oil won two awards in that time.

(wins only)

|rowspan="2"| 1990

| Midnight Oil

| Rock Group of the Year

| Midnight Oil

| Rock Performer of the Year

References

External links

[ Midnight Oil] at AllMusic
The Deadheart – fan website