Midnight Oil are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by Hirst, Moginie and original bassist Andrew James as Farm: they enlisted Garrett the following year, changed their name in 1976, and hired Rotsey a year later. Peter Gifford served as bass player from 1980 to 1987, with Bones Hillman then assuming the role until his death in 2020. Midnight Oil have sold over 20 million albums worldwide as of 2021.
Head Injuries is the second studio album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released in October 1979 on their own Powderworks label and distributed by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Leszek J. Karski, recorded at 'Trafalgar Studios' in Sydney. It was the last Midnight Oil album to feature founding bass guitarist Andrew James, who quit the band due to illness. It peaked at No. 36 on the Australian Kent Music Report and by mid-1980 had achieved gold status in Australia.
Diesel and Dust is the sixth studio album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released in August 1987 by SPRINT Music label under Columbia Records. Diesel and Dust was produced by Warne Livesey and the band. It is a concept album about the struggles of Indigenous Australians and environmental causes, issues important to the band. It drew inspiration from the Blackfella/Whitefella Tour of remote Indigenous communities with the Warumpi Band and Gondwanaland in 1986. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart for six weeks.
Indigenous or Aboriginal rock is a style of music which mixes rock music with the instrumentation and singing styles of Indigenous peoples. Two countries with prominent Aboriginal rock scenes are Australia and Canada.
Warumpi Band were an Australian country and Aboriginal rock group which formed in the outback settlement of Papunya, Northern Territory, in 1980. The original line-up was George Burarrwanga on vocals and didgeridoo, Gordon Butcher Tjapanangka on drums, his brother Sammy Butcher Tjapanangka on guitar and bass guitar, and Neil Murray on rhythm guitar and backing vocals. Their songs are in English, Luritja and Gumatj. Their key singles are "Blackfella/Whitefella" (1985), "Sit Down Money" (1986), "My Island Home" (1987) and "No Fear" (1987). The group released three albums, Big Name, No Blankets (1985), Go Bush! (1987) and Too Much Humbug (1996). From late 1987 to mid-1995 the group rarely performed as Murray focused on his solo career. In early 1995, Christine Anu, issued a cover version of "My Island Home". Warumpi Band regrouped before disbanding in 2000. Burarrwanga died on 10 June 2007 of lung cancer, and Gordon Butcher died in early 2020 of unreleased causes.
WaveAid was a fund raising concert held on Saturday, 29 January 2005, as a means for raising funds for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known as the Boxing Day tsunami. It was held at the Sydney Cricket Ground and broadcast on television by Channel [V] and MTV, and on radio by Triple J, Triple M, NOVA and World Audio Radio 2. The event was organised by Michael Chugg, Joe Segreto of IMC/Homebake Festival and Mark Pope.
Odyssey Number Five is the fourth studio album by the Australian rock band Powderfinger, produced by Nick DiDia and released on 4 September 2000 by Universal Music. It won the 2001 ARIA Music Award for Highest Selling Album, Best Group and Best Rock Album. The album is the band's shortest yet, focusing on social, political, and emotional issues that had appeared in prior works, especially Internationalist.
George Rrurrambu Burarrwanga, known in life as George Rrurrambu and George Djilangya, was known as the frontman of Warumpi Band, an Aboriginal rock band.
"Beds Are Burning" is a 1987 song by the Australian rock band Midnight Oil, the first track from their album Diesel and Dust. This song was released as the second single from the album. It reached No. 1 in New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, No. 3 in the Netherlands, No. 5 in France, No. 6 in the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland, No. 17 in the United States and Sweden.
"My Island Home" is a rock song written by Neil Murray for George Burarrwanga. It was originally performed by the Warumpi Band. The song references lead singer's home up at Elcho Island off the coast of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. It was recorded in 1986 and released as a single from their second album, Go Bush!, in January 1987.
Neil James Murray is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter-guitarist and writer. He was a founding member of the Warumpi Band which was the first major influential Aboriginal rock group with mostly Indigenous members. Murray was recognised as one of Australia's foremost songwriters at the APRA Awards of 1995 by winning Song of the Year for "My Island Home".
Blackfella is an informal term in Australian English to refer to Indigenous Australians, in particular Aboriginal Australians, most commonly among themselves.
"(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" is the first single from the fifth studio album by Powderfinger. It was released as a single on 16 June 2003 and reached No. 9 on the Australian Singles Chart, the band's third-highest-charting single to date. In January 2018, as part of Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time, "(Baby I've Got You) On My Mind" was ranked No. 97. The music video, directed by Scott Walton, was nominated for Best Video at the ARIA Music Awards of 2003.
"D.A.F." is a song by Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger, released as a single from their second studio album, Double Allergic, on 5 August 1996.
"Read About It" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released as the third and final single from their 1982 studio album, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. It was a favourite with the band and with fans, appearing at least once on every tour since its release and appearing at the WaveAid concert. Very few other Midnight Oil songs have appeared so often.
"The Dead Heart" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil. It was first released as a single in Australia in 1986 and in the United Kingdom and the United States in 1988 after it had been included on the 1987 album, Diesel and Dust. It peaked at number four on the Australian singles chart and at number 11 on the U.S. Mainstream rock chart.
"US Forces" is the first single released from Australian rock band Midnight Oil's fourth studio album, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The song, which denounces US military intervention in foreign affairs, charted at no. 20 in Australia.
Andrew McMillan was an Australian writer, music journalist and musician who was based in Darwin, Northern Territory from 1988.
Bad Dreems are an Australian rock band from Adelaide, South Australia. The band comprises Ben Marwe, Alex Cameron, Alistair Wells and Miles Wilson (drums). The band first formed in 2011, releasing their debut EP in 2013. They have released four studio albums to date, with all reaching the top 40 on the ARIA charts. The group have also performed alongside the likes of Midnight Oil, DMA's, the Scientists and the Chats, and have toured internationally on numerous occasions.
