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Title: RIP Rob Hirst Post by: Downunder Dolphan on January 20, 2026, 03:37:47 pm https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-20/midnight-oil-drummer-rob-hirst-dies/106249816
One of the founders of the band Midnight Oil passed away yesterday after a battle with pancreatic cancer for just under 3 years. He was an incredible drummer and will be sadly missed by many. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pKPNnk-JhE Title: Re: RIP Rob Hirst Post by: Dave Gray on January 21, 2026, 12:00:14 pm RIP. I didn't know of him.
Title: Re: RIP Rob Hirst Post by: Sunstroke on January 21, 2026, 01:35:25 pm RIP... Dave... Midnight Oil's Diesel and Dust and Blue Sky Mining were both excellent albums. If you haven't listened to Diesel, I highly recommend it. The comment you made in the other thread about Aussie movies involving a lot of Indigenous issues...Midnight Oil hit that theme hard. Side note...if you can catch a Midnight Oil video performing live in concert, lead singer Peter Garrett dancing is proper entertainment. Title: Re: RIP Rob Hirst Post by: Downunder Dolphan on January 23, 2026, 07:11:05 am Rob Hirst was not only a great drummer, but also a key writer and vocalist in the band. He does lead vocals in a few notable songs in their catalogue (like Kosciusko, When The Generals Talk), and being a bit higher pitched than Peter Garrett, he was always a regular and powerful addition to any vocals in their songs. Very similar to Paul Hester (Crowded House) in that regard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92WQWp15sAU Title: Re: RIP Rob Hirst Post by: Downunder Dolphan on January 23, 2026, 09:30:36 am Very similar to Paul Hester (Crowded House) in that regard. That was one that hit me really hard back in 2005 when he tragically took his life. I thought I posted it here, but it must have been another forum here in Australia, so I guess not. He was the heart of Crowded House (as much as Neil Finn was the brain and sword, and Nick Seymore the bassist, album artist, and lesser comedy relief). When he quit, Crowded House stopped. When he died, I thought it finished right there and then. I haven't bought an album or gone to a concert since he died, it's not the same. I find a bit of irony in all of this... years ago when Midnight Oil played one of their farewell gigs here before Peter Garrett went full time into politics, in a rare event Rob Hirst was too ill to be able to do the gig... and they got Paul Hester to fill in. They had a spinning wheel of random songs for the night, and when one came up they asked if he knew it? He winged it anyway, and was still brilliant. |