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.
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.
"Sweet Child o' Mine" is a song by American rock band Guns N' Roses, released on their debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction (1987). In the United States, the song was released on June 21, 1988 as the album's first single, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming the band's only US number-one single. In the United Kingdom, the song was released in August 1988, reaching number 24 on the UK Singles Chart the same month. Re-released there in May 1989, it peaked at number six.
"Always on My Mind" is a ballad written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James, first recorded by Brenda Lee and first released by Gwen McCrae in March 1972. Lee's version was released three months later in June 1972. The song has been a crossover hit, charting in both the country and western and pop categories. Elvis Presley's recording was the first commercially successful version of the song.
"Easy" is a song by American band Commodores from their fifth studio album, Commodores, released on the Motown label. Group member Lionel Richie wrote "Easy" with the intention of it becoming another crossover hit for the group given the success of a previous single, "Just to Be Close to You", which spent two weeks at number one on the US Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977.
"After Midnight" is a rock song by J. J. Cale, first released in 1966. Eric Clapton later covered it for his eponymous album, released in 1970. Clapton's rendition became a success, prompting Cale to re-record the song for his own 1971 album Naturally. In 1987, Clapton later re-recorded the song for a Michelob beer commercial and then released the re-recording as a single. "After Midnight" has been considered one of Clapton's signature songs throughout his career. Other artists covered the song in later years.
"Friday on My Mind" is a 1966 song by Australian rock group The Easybeats. Written by band members George Young and Harry Vanda, the track became a worldwide hit, reaching No.16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in May 1967 in the US, No.1 on the Dutch Top 40 chart, No.1 in Australia and No.6 in the UK, as well as charting in several other countries. In 2001, it was voted "Best Australian Song" of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) as determined by a panel of 100 music industry personalities. In 2007, "Friday on My Mind" was added to the National Film and Sound Archive's Sounds of Australia registry.
"Hocus Pocus" is a song by the Dutch rock band Focus, written by keyboardist, flutist, and vocalist Thijs van Leer and guitarist Jan Akkerman. It was recorded and released in 1971 as the opening track of their second studio album Moving Waves. An edited version was released as a single on the Imperial, Polydor and Blue Horizon labels in Europe in 1971, but failed to chart outside of the Netherlands(NL#09).
"Electric Blue" is a song by Australian rock band Icehouse. It was co-written by Iva Davies of Icehouse and John Oates of US band Hall & Oates. Oates became involved with Davies after contacting him to state he was a fan. The resulting collaboration produced this song and Oates has stated that if Davies had not released the song under the Icehouse name, then it would have been a Hall & Oates track.
"Never Tear Us Apart" is a power ballad by Australian rock band INXS, released in June 1988 by WEA as the fourth single from their sixth studio album, Kick (1987).
"Hungry Eyes" is a song performed by American musician Eric Carmen, a former member of the band Raspberries, and was featured in the film Dirty Dancing (1987). The song was recorded at Beachwood Studios in Beachwood, Ohio in 1987. "Hungry Eyes" peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 3 on the Cash Box Top 100 in 1988. The power ballad was not released commercially in the UK, but it managed to peak at No. 82 in January 1988, having charted purely on import sales.
"Send Me an Angel" is a song by the German rock band Scorpions, recorded for their 11th studio album, Crazy World (1990). The song was composed by Rudolf Schenker, written by Klaus Meine, and produced by Keith Olsen and the band. It was released as the album's fourth and final single in September 1991. Along with "Wind of Change", the song became the album's signature track, reaching number 44 on Billboard Hot 100 Chart on 25 January 1992, number 8 on the Mainstream Rock Chart on 19 October 1991, and high chart positions in many European countries.
"In These Arms" is a song by American rock band Bon Jovi, released on May 3, 1993 by Mercury and Jambco, as the third single from the band's fifth studio album, Keep the Faith (1992). The song was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and David Bryan.
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. While most sources state that O'Keefe was directly involved in composing the song, this has been questioned by others. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked in the United Kingdom on pirate stations Radio Atlanta and, as Tony Windsor, on Radio London.
"Feelings" is a song by the Brazilian singer Morris Albert, who also wrote the lyrics. Albert released "Feelings" in 1974 as a single and later included it as the title track of his 1975 debut album. The song's lyrics, recognizable by the "whoa whoa whoa" chorus, concern the singer's inability to "forget my feelings of love". Albert's original recording of the song was hugely successful, performing well internationally.
"New Sensation" is a song by Australian rock group INXS. It was the third single released from their sixth studio album, Kick (1987). The music was composed by Andrew Farriss and the lyrics were written by Michael Hutchence. The song features a signature Kirk Pengilly sax solo and lyrics about a partying lifestyle.
"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.
"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.
"Blue Sky Mine" is a song by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, released in February 1990 as the first single from their seventh studio album, Blue Sky Mining (1990). The song was inspired by the experiences of workers at the Wittenoom asbestos mines who contracted various asbestos-related diseases. The "blue" refers to blue asbestos, and the "sugar refining company" mentioned in the lyrics refers to the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Ltd, the owner of the mines.
The discography of Australian rock group Midnight Oil consists of thirteen studio albums, forty-three singles, two EPs, five video albums, seven live albums, and six compilation albums. The band have sold over 20 million albums.
