Rob Hirst | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Robert George Hirst |
Born | Camden, New South Wales, Australia | 3 September 1955
Genres | Rock, alternative rock, blues, delta blues, surf music |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion, guitar, keyboards, vocals |
Years active | 1971–present |
Labels | Virgin, Mercury, SonyBMG |
Website | http://robhirst.com.au/ |
Robert George Hirst (born 3 September 1955) is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band took a hiatus in 2002. The band resumed activity as a group in 2017. Hirst also wrote a book, Willie's Bar & Grill, recounting the experiences on the tour Midnight Oil embarked on shortly after the 11 September terrorist attacks in 2001.
In the early 1970s schoolboys Rob Hirst and close friends Jim Moginie and Andrew "Bear" James played their first public performance in a school hall in Sydney's leafy northern suburbs under the name Schwampy Moose playing mainly Beatles covers. By 1976 the band had changed their name to Farm, and Hirst, now a student at University of Sydney (BA/LLB), placed an advertisement in The Sydney Morning Herald for a singer to join the trio. The new line up of Peter Garrett (lead vocals), Hirst (drums and vocals), Moginie (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), and James (bass guitar) was joined soon after by Martin Rotsey on guitar and their manager and sixth member Gary Morris. The band changed their name to Midnight Oil. [1] [2]
With a blistering intensity to their live performances, the band's early music was a unique brand of surf punk. However, by the early 1980s the key songwriters in the band, Hirst, Moginie, and Garrett, had become increasingly interested in the political issues of the day. This had a significant influence on their song writing and soon spilled over into their live performances as the dynamic and outspoken Garrett used the stage as a platform for the band's views on issues including Aboriginal rights, nuclear disarmament and social justice.
In 1979 James left to be replaced by Peter Gifford. In 1987, after touring the outback and recording the band's best-known album Diesel and Dust , Gifford suffered ill health and resigned. New bass player Bones Hillman (formerly of New Zealand band The Swingers) brought a new vocal dimension to the band. Midnight Oil continued to record and tour internationally for a further 15 years, chalking up a final tally of fourteen albums and two extended plays before lead singer Garrett quit the group in December 2002, taking up a career in politics. The band have resumed activity as of 2017, including undertaking a 2017 world tour.
In the mid-1990s, while Midnight Oil were taking a break, Hirst joined up with guitarist Andrew Dickson and Hoodoo Gurus bass guitarist Rick Grossman to form a side project, Ghostwriters. So far, the band has released four albums, Ghostwriters (Virgin Records, 1991), Second Skin (Mercury Records, 1996), Fibromoon (self-released, 2000), and Political Animal (SonyBMG Australia, 2007).
In the year 2000, Hirst joined Backsliders, an Australian Blues group formed in 1986 whose members include founding member Dom Turner and harmonica players Brod Smith, Ian Collard and Joe Glover. The line-up with Hirst has released six studio albums, one EP and a live DVD.
Turner and Hirst formed another band in 2002, the Angry Tradesmen, with the idea of taking the guitar/drum music of North Mississippi and blending it with drum/bass music of the 1990s and experimental post-punk rock. Their only album Beat the House was released in 2008 and featured studio performances by Midnight Oil's Martin Rotsey. Hirst and Rotsey also play on the track "All Around the World" on Jim Moginie's 2006 solo album Alas Folkloric.
Other musical collaborations have included working with Australia's Olympic athletes on a record commissioned by SOCOG for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and an unrelated collaboration with former Olympic athlete, Paul Greene. Hirst and Greene have released an album, In the Stealth of Summer, and a DVD, Hirst and Greene - Live at the Basement.
In 2010 Hirst, Moginie and Rotsey teamed up with Violent Femmes bass player Brian Ritchie and Hunters & Collectors trumpet player Jack Howard [3] to form a new surf rock band, The Break. Their debut album, Church of the Open Sky, was released on 16 April 2010 on the independent label Bombora, distributed by MGM. A tour of Australia followed. Their second album, "Space Farm", was released on 15 March 2013, [4] again followed by an Australian tour.
In 2015, Hirst collaborated on music with his eldest daughter Jay O'Shea [5] of the band O'Shea. Hirst had given Jay up for adoption at a young age and it was through her birth mother and Rob's bandmate from Midnight Oil Bones Hillman that the two eventually connected. The song The Truth Walks Slowly is the second time Rob has collaborated with his children after previously having his younger two daughters complete backing vocals on his solo album.
Hirst has three daughters. He has two daughters with his wife, Leslie Holland. One of his daughters, Gabriella Hirst, is an artist. He also has another daughter, Jay O'Shea, who was born to a former girlfriend and was later adopted. They reunited in 2010 and have subsequently collaborated. [6]
Title | Details |
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Fibromoon (as Rob Hirst and The Ghostwriters ) |
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In the Stealth of Summer (as Hirst & Greene) |
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The Sun Becomes the Sea |
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Crashing the Same Car Twice (with Sean Sennett) |
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Crashing the Same Car Twice (with Jay O'Shea) |
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Title | Details |
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Red Continent (with Jim Moginie and Hamish Stuart) |
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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. [8] From 1982 to 1990, the best songs were given the Gold Award (also called the Special Award). [8] [9]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
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1989–90 | "Beds Are Burning" (Peter Garrett, Robert Hirst, James Moginie) | Gold Award | Won |
2001 | "Beds Are Burning" (Garrett, Hirst, Moginie) | APRA Top 10 Australian songs | no. 3 |
"Power and the Passion" (Hirst, Moginie, Garrett) | APRA Top 30 Australian songs | 11–30 | |
2018 | Midnight Oil (Garrett, Hirst, Martin Rotsey, Moginie, Bones Hillman) | Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music | awarded |
2021 | "Gadigal Land" (Joel Davison, Rob Hirst, Bunna Lawrie) | Song of the Year [10] | Won |
2022 | "First Nation" | Song of the Year [11] | Pending |
The Country Music Awards of Australia is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival. Celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They commenced in 1973.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result (wins only) | Ref. |
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2017 | "The Truth Walks Slowly (In The Country Side)" O'Shea featuring Rob Hirst | Video of the Year | Won | [12] |
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.
Midnight Oil is the debut album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil which was recorded in 1977 and released in November 1978 on the band's independent Powderworks label. It reached the top 50 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart. The album was later distributed by CBS Records and issued as a CD. The LP has a blue cover, however, the CD has a black cover. Because of the blue cover, the former version is often referred to, by fans, as the "blue album" or "the Blue Meanie". The lead single, "Run by Night", became the band's first minor hit in Australia and appeared on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart Top 100. It also had a video clip.
Head Injuries is the second studio album by Australian pub rockers 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.
Place Without a Postcard is the third studio album by Australian alternative rockers Midnight Oil, released in November 1981 under Sprint Music and the Columbia Records label. It peaked at No. 12 on the Kent Music Report albums chart and the related singles "Don't Wanna Be the One" and "Armistice Day" reached the associated Top 40 chart.
Scream in Blue is a live album by Midnight Oil that was released in May 1992 under the Columbia Records label. It contains songs carefully culled from 5 live concerts recorded over a 9-year period. The audiences sound quite large, but also included is material from a 1990 protest concert held on the street in front of Exxon headquarters in New York City. The album is mixed so as to sound like one continuous concert.
Redneck Wonderland is the tenth studio album by Midnight Oil that was released in July 1998 under the Columbia Records label, which peaked at No.7 on the ARIA Albums Chart. The title of the album was inspired by a wall graffiti, a picture of which can be seen in the promotional Oil Rag Vol. VI issued along with album release. The album was certified Gold in Australia in 2014. The album's eponymous song was ranked number 93 in Triple M's "Ozzest 100", the 'most Australian' songs of all time. The album marked a shift to an electronic influenced hard rock style.
Bird Noises is the first extended play by Australian rock group, Midnight Oil, which was released on 24 November 1980 under the band's own independent label, Powderworks Records / Sprint Music. It was produced by Leszek Karski and manufactured and distributed by CBS/Columbia. Bird Noises reached the Top 30 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart.
Species Deceases is an extended play by Australian rock music group, Midnight Oil, which was released on 26 November 1985 under the CBS record label. Species Deceases debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Singles Chart for six weeks from December 1985 to January 1986. It was the first Australian single and/or EP to reach the number-one spot on its chart appearance and remains Midnight Oil's only No. 1 on the national singles chart.
Martin Rotsey is an Australian guitarist and a member of the rock band Midnight Oil, which was active from 1977 to 2002 and resumed performing in 2017.
James Moginie is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter.
Ghostwriters are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1990, principally involving Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst and Hoodoo Gurus bassist Richard Grossman. Their highest-charting single was "Someone's Singing New York New York" (1991) written by Hirst. It reached No. 29 on the ARIA Australian Singles Chart.
20,000 Watt R.S.L. is a compilation album by Australian rock band Midnight Oil released on 13 October 1997 on their own label Sprint Music. The word "Collection" appears on the front of the CD along the hinge in the same type face as the title and the name of the band and may have been intended as part of the album's title; however, it does not appear on the spine. The release has also been distributed inside a cardboard sleeve which adds "Midnight Oil: The Hits" to the album art, distinguishing it as a compilation album.
The Real Thing is a mostly acoustic live album by Midnight Oil, which includes four additional studio recordings, among them a cover version of Russell Morris's classic "The Real Thing". It was initially issued in Australia with a bonus disk of interview material listed as containing 2 tracks but the CD was divided into 30 tracks, dividing the interview up so that past albums and each track on "The Real Thing" gets a short discussion followed by snippet from the album or song being discussed. Later international releases had a bonus disk with videos of "Cemetery In My Mind" and "Redneck Wonderland".
"Power and the Passion" is the second single from Midnight Oil's 1982 album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. The song is one of the band's most famous, and it was performed on every Midnight Oil tour since the issue of 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 as well as at the WaveAid concert.
"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.
"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.
"Put Down That Weapon" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil. The song was released in December 1987 as the third single from their sixth studio album, Diesel and Dust.
O'Shea is an Australian country music duo composed of Mark and Jay. The duo commenced in 2007 and after relocating to Nashville in 2007, the duo has seen success as artists and songwriters, with nine #1 singles on the Australian country charts, as well as finishing fifth in the Country Music Television 2009 series Can You Duet. The duo have released four studio albums, all of which have peaked inside the ARIA top 50.
The Australasian Performing Right Association Awards of 2018 are a series of related awards which include the APRA Music Awards, Art Music Awards, and Screen Music Awards. The APRA Music Awards of 2018 was the 36th annual ceremony by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) and the Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS) to award outstanding achievements in contemporary songwriting, composing and publishing. The ceremony was held on 10 April 2018 at the International Convention Centre Sydney. The host for the ceremony was Julia Zemiro.
The Makarrata Project is the twelfth studio album by Australian band Midnight Oil, released on 30 October 2020 by Sony Music Australia. The album is the first new material from the band since 2002's Capricornia, their first studio album to hit #1 on the ARIA Charts since 1990's Blue Sky Mining, and one of the final releases to feature bassist and backing vocalist Bones Hillman before his death in November 2020.
Country singer Jay O'Shea recently discovered her father is Midnight Oil's Rob Hirst. The duo are now making music together.