Biography of Midnight Oil

An Australian quintet formed in 1978 and led by singer Peter Garrett. Other members: Peter Gifford, bass (replaced by Bones Hillman in 1987); Martin Rotsey, guitar; James Moginie, guitar and keyboards; and Rob Hirst, drums. The group came up playing for the surf crowd in Sydney bars but always had a serious, political side. Its first three albums, Midnight Oil (1978), Head Injuries (1979), and Place without a Postcard (1981), were released only in Australia. (They appeared in the U.S. in 1990.) Midnight Oil's first two U.S. releases, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (1983) and Red Sails in the Sunset (1985) had only modest sales, but Diesel and Dust (1988) was a major hit, selling a million copies and featuring the Top 20 hit "Beds Are Burning." Blue Sky Mining went gold in 1990, and Midnight Oil released an album of concert recordings dating from 1982 to 1990, Scream in Blue Live, in 1992. ~ William Ruhlmann