Midnight Oil have announced the death of drummer Rob Hirst.
The musician – full name Robert George Hirst – was a founding member of the Australian rock band, which was formed in Sydney in 1972.
From the 1970s, he took on drums, percussion and backing vocals. The band took a hiatus in 2002 but later came back together in 2017.
Hirst was also a member of the bands Ghostwriters, Backsliders, the Angry Tradesmen, and The Break.
However last year he publicly revealed he’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2022 and had undergone ‘pretty much every treatment known to man’ to fight it.
Nearly a year on, the band has now announced that Hirst has ‘died peacefully’.
Posting photos of him performing on stage in the band’s early days, they shared: ‘After fighting heroically for almost three years, Rob is now free of pain – a ‘glimmer of tiny light in the wilderness’.
‘He died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. The family asks that anyone wanting to honour Rob donate to @pankind_australia or @supportact.’
In a statement to the ABC, the band added: ‘We are shattered and grieving the loss of our brother Rob. For now, there are no words but there will always be songs.’
Many fellow musicians and fans rushed to pay tribute to Hirst, with many crediting him with inspiring them to take up drumming too.
‘A star that will continue to burn bright in my heart, A wonderful human ♥️, country singer Troy Cassar-Daley commented.
‘What a drummer. Formidable, powerful, he was an absolute force. Sad day ❤️’ TV personality Ryan Fitzgerald wrote.
‘I wasn’t ready for this. Rob is Midnight Oil. Gone too soon. Thank you for all you gave us,’ fan Paul shared.
‘Absolutely gutted 🙁 one of the best drummers the world ever got to hear. Wouldn’t have picked up the drums without his influence. Rest in Peace,’ Mick added.
Speaking to The Australian last year, Hirst shared how he’d been living with cancer for two years.
‘I’ve had pretty much every treatment known to man – every scan, ultrasound, MRI. I’ve kind of had “the works”,’ he said.
He recalled being diagnosed ‘early, with the tumour being caught while at stage three. Soon after he underwent months of chemotherapy before an unsuccessful eight-hour surgery to attempt the removal of the tumour.
Hirst then continued with both chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Bill McCay/ Getty Images)
After initially deciding to keep his diagnosis a secret, Hirst said he decided to go public to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer as it ‘hasn’t really attracted the attention, for example, of skin cancers or breast cancers or others’.
Speaking to the publication, Hirst said he’d been forced to stop playing the drums as he ‘hadn’t got the breath power’ anymore.
Midnight Oil – whose frontman Peter Garrett went on to become a Labor Party politician – released their self-titled debut album in 1978 and gained a cult following in their home country despite initially struggling to get mainstream media success.
However, their 1987 album Diesel and Dust saw them gain worldwide attention with the single Beds are Burning charting at number one in multiple countries.
Follow-up albums included Blue Sky Mining and Earth and Sun and Moon, before they disbanded in 2002.
The band was also well- known for their political activism, particularly regarding anti-nuclear, environmentalist and indigenous causes.
Although they held concerts sporadically after that, Midnight Oil then announced a full-scale reformation in 2016.
They went on to release their 15th and final studio album, Resist, in 2022.
The Guardian once described Midnight Oil as ‘one of Australia’s most beloved bands’.
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