Reborn Midnight Oil hits city on June 2
‘The world needs a pushback,’ says drummer Hirst
Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst thinks it’s always the right time for pushback against the political powers that be. After a two decade hiatus, the legendary Australian activist rockers reformed in February to head out on the Great Circle 2017 World Tour. The powerhouse timekeeper for the quintet is raring to go.
“I think the world needs a pushback against what’s going on and it’s authors, musicians and Hollywood doing their best to lampoon what’s happening in Washington right now and so they should,” said Rob Hirst. “Pete will be saying what he’ll say spontaneously from the lip of the stage and we may get kicked out of the U.S. because of it, we don’t know. But the band will be true to itself playing songs that still have, or have once again, relevance in 2017 even though they were, in some cases, written three decades back.”
Pete, is lead singer Peter Garrett. The towering frontman with the Frankenstein-on-muscle relaxants dance moves trained as an environmental lawyer. He left music to serve as the Australian Labour Party member of the House of Representatives for Kingsford, New South Wales (2004 — 2013) and was appointed Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts under PM Kevin Rudd. Long a champion of causes ranging from environmental protections to Aboriginal rights, Garrett was accused by many of betraying the beliefs put forth by the band in anthems such as Blue Sky Mining, Beds Are Burning and others when he approved the major expansion of South Australia’s Beverley uranium mine among other things. Following a less than stellar turn as Minister of Education under PM Julia Gillard, he announced that he would not seek re-election in 2013.
Garrett returned to music in 2016 with A Version of Now. His first solo album reached the number 3 spot on the ARIA Australian album charts, proving that what the public passed on politically, it was keen to listen to on record.
“What can you do, you can’t please everyone all the time and isn’t it better to have made the statement at the time and got the message out?” said Hirst. “It’s really not something I have ever given much thought about it. The truth is, when we’ve come together over the years, it’s always been good and now it’s going better than ever.”
Formed in 1972. “the Oils,” as they are often referred to in Australia, released its self-titled debut in 1978 to little fanfare. But the group’s searing live performances — featuring Garrett’s wonky dance moves, Hirst’s pounding and sweet harmony vocals and the twin guitar attack of Martin Rotsey and Jim Moginie and bassist Andrew James developed a fervent fan base. New Zealander Bones Hillman, replaced second bassist Peter Gifford in 1987. Operating at arm’s length from the mainstream music industry and media, Midnight Oil had its breakthrough nationally with 1982s 10, 9, 8,7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 which saw singles such as the Power and the Passion, Read About It and US Forces make an impact on North American college radio.
Entrenching with the burgeoning global anti-nuclear armaments movement, Midnight Oil continued its international rise, singing a distribution deal with CBS/Columbia. Following the several month-long Blackfella/Whitefella tour of the outback with the indigenous groups Warumpi Band and Gondwanaland, the band released Diesel and Dust (1987). That record and its lead single Beds Are Burning broke the band internationally and turned an eye toward indigenous issues. It’s followup Blue Sky Mining (1990) was also a global hit. While the group continued to record and release albums that all hit the Australian Top 10, its international presence faded. Land, a 1993 collaborative single with The Tragically Hip, Crash Vegas, Hothouse Flowers and Daniel Lanois protesting clearcutting in B.C. was one of the group’s last high-exposure singles in North America.
“We ran into issues of distribution and the like as did so many as the business underwent change,” said Hirst. “The record industry moves in mysterious ways. That’s one of the reasons for the boxsets.”
Collecting all the studio LPs and EPs is the Vinyl Collection. All the CDs and videos are collected in the Full Tank (complete with oil drum packaging) and the Overflow Tank includes all of the above and a total of 14 hours of previously unreleased and/or rare material. The Canadian release is Friday, May 26. Fans are certain to be drawn to such celebrated previously limited release projects as a mid-80s broadcast gig on Sydney’s Goat Island, rare covers and B-sides and a 1993 MTV Unplugged session. Pre-orders are available at midnightoil.com.
The Great Circle 2017 Tour began in Brazil on April 25 before winding its way up the East Coast of the United States. The band is selling out consistently and dates keep getting added. As of press time, the Vancouver show has now been joined by Montreal (Place Des Arts, August 23), Toronto (Budweiser Stage, August 25), Winnipeg (MTS Centre, August 30), Calgary (BMO Centre, September 2) and Edmonton (Shaw Conference Centre, September 3).
“We’re really excited to be getting back to Canada and getting a chance to hear new Canadian bands,” said Hirst. “There was always great stuff going on there when we toured the country in the past.”
For his part, the drummer suggests Aboriginal hip hop duo A.B. Original as a “must hear” new Australian crew.