Midnight Oil's Founding Drummer & Songwriter Was 70
Deadline • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Robert “Rob” Hirst, co-founder and drummer of Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has died at age 70 after battling pancreatic cancer diagnosed in 2023; the band announced his peaceful passing surrounded by loved ones.
- Midnight Oil, fronted by Peter Garrett, gained international fame in the 1980s and ’90s with politically charged hits like “Beds Are Burning” and albums such as Diesel and Dust (1987) and Blue Sky Mining (1990), many co-written by Hirst.
- Hirst co-founded the band in 1972 and contributed as a drummer, vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist, helping Midnight Oil become one of Australia’s most popular and influential rock groups with multiple platinum albums.
