Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") were an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1972. The band was composed of founding members Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard), Andrew (Bear) James (bass and vocals) Martin Rotsey (guitar) and Rob Hirst (drums and vocals); with James later being replaced by Peter Gifford (1980-1987) and later Bones Hillman (1987-2020).
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. By late 1976 Garrett had moved to Sydney to complete his law degree, and Farm changed its name to Midnight Oil by drawing the name out of a hat. The name was coined by Peter Watson, a short-term keyboard player with Farm.
Their manager Gary Morris successfully negotiated favourable contracts with tour promoters and record companies while frustrating rock journalists. Guitarist Martin Rotsey joined in 1977 and Midnight Oil, with Morris, established their own record label, Powderworks, which released their debut eponymous album in November 1978. Their first single "Run by Night" followed in December. Founding bass-guitarist James, forced to leave due to illness in 1980, was replaced by Peter Gifford. Gifford was himself replaced by Bones Hillman in 1987. Through a long career, the band became known for its driving hard-rock sound, intense live performances and political activism, particularly in aid of anti-nuclear, environmentalist and indigenous causes.
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:
"Power and the Passion" Species Deceases EP ("Progress"/"Hercules"/"Blossom and Blood"/"Pictures") "The Dead Heart" "Beds Are Burning" "Blue Sky Mine"
Aside from chart success, the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 2001 listed both "Power and the Passion" and "Beds Are Burning" in the Top 30 best Australian songs of all time, 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, and played covers of Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Led Zeppelin songs. They placed an advert for a band member; Peter Garrett (ex-Rock Island Line) became their new vocalist and synthesizer player and began introducing progressive rock elements of Focus, Jethro Tull and Yes, as well as their own material. Garrett was studying at the Australian National University in Canberra, so Farm was only a part-time band. They played for the northern-Sydney surfing community and, by 1975, were touring the east coast. In late 1976 Garrett moved to Sydney to complete his law degree. Farm then became a full-time group and changed its name to "Midnight Oil" by drawing a name out of a hat, leaving behind "Television", "Sparta", and "Southern Cross".
The name "Midnight Oil" was inspired by the Jimi Hendrix song "Burning of the Midnight Lamp", although the word "oil" appears nowhere in the lyrics. The expression "midnight oil" first appeared in a 1635 poem by Francis Quarles (1592-1644):Online Etymological Dictionary
1976–1981
After changing its name to Midnight Oil, the group began to develop an aggressive, punk-hard rock sound for their pub rock audiences. Guitarist Martin Rotsey joined in 1977 and Midnight Oil, with their manager Gary Morris, established their own record label Powderworks. In June 1978 they entered the Alberts Studio in Sydney with producer Keith Walker, from local radio station 2JJ, to record their debut eponymous album, Midnight Oil, which was released by Powderworks in November 1978 and peaked at No. 43 on the Australian albums charts. Midnight Oil's first single "Run by Night" followed in December, but had very little chart success, peaking at No. 100 on the singles charts.
The band built a dedicated fan base, initially restricted to Sydney, which was extended to other Australian cities through constant touring – performing some 200 gigs in their first year. They became known for their furious live performances, which featured the two guitarists Moginie and Rotsey, the drumming and vocals of Hirst, the bass lines of James and the presence of the towering, bald Garrett as lead singer.
The Midnight Oil LP disappointed some critics as it did not capture their powerful live performances, with undemanding playing and Garrett's vocals sounding stilted. Their second album Head Injuries, released on Powderworks in October 1979, was produced by former Supercharge member Leszek Karski. It mixed solid guitar rock with progressive flourishes and was an improvement by highlighting the group's strengths and growth. It peaked at No. 36 and by mid-1980 had achieved gold status. In April 1980 founding bass guitarist Andrew James left because of ill-health and was replaced by Peter Gifford (ex-Huntress, Ross Ryan Band).
Further interest in Midnight Oil was generated by the popular Bird Noises EP, also produced by Karski, which peaked at No. 28 on the Australian singles charts. One of its four tracks was the surf-instrumental "Wedding Cake Island" named after the rock outcrop in the ocean off Sydney's Coogee Beach. The band's third LP Place without a Postcard, released by CBS Records in November 1981, was recorded in Sussex with English producer Glyn Johns (The Rolling Stones, The Who). Creative tensions between the band and Johns plagued the recording and the group were not totally happy with the outcome. Johns had an arrangement with A&M Records and they asked Midnight Oil to return to the studio to record material suitable for an American single release – they refused and returned to Australia. Place without a Postcard peaked at No. 12 on the albums charts and related singles "Don't Wanna be the One" and "Armistice Day" reached the Top 40 in Australia.
Reception Driven largely by commercial pressures to stay with reliable chart-toppers and teenage pop sensations, the Australian music industry in the mid-1970s cast a dismissive eye toward most bands with an alternative outlook. Although consistently championed by Sydney alternative rock station Double Jay and its FM band successor Triple J, Midnight Oil were almost totally ignored by Australia's mainstream commercial radio stations in their early career. Manager Morris developed a reputation as one of the toughest managers and became notorious for banning critics or journalists, who were usually given free admission to concerts, for writing unfavourable reviews. Writer and critic Bruce Elder, in a mid-1980s newspaper review described their music as "narrow and xenophobic" and declared Midnight Oil were:
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