RIP Midnight Oil drummer & songwriter Rob Hirst

From pancreatic cancer, which had been diagnosed in 2023.
[www.abc.net.au]

One of the best to do it. Obviously best known for his work with the Oils but Sydneysiders were lucky to discover up close just how good he was when witnessing his work on a stripped back kit playing smaller rooms with the Backsliders and the Angry Tradesmen.

Very sorry to see this news today. Was glad I saw Midnight Oil twice in some of their more recent reunion tours of the U.S.

Aw, man...that's a shame. Amazingly talented dude, as both a drummer and a songwriter. May he rest in peace.

I'd never heard of Midnight Oil until I heard "Beds Are Burning," so "my" era is the era a lot of folks think is when they started to go wrong. But I saw them at an outdoor theater in Houston (well, technically the Woodlands) in 1990 on the Blue Sky Mining tour, and it remains one of the best rock concerts I've ever seen by anyone. (Hunters and Collectors opened and provided the Oils a horn section.) "Only the Strong" was like a bomb going off. One of the highlights of my concert-going career.

I saw that same tour, when it stopped at Red Rocks. Both bands were fantastic that night.

Rest in peace, Rob, and thank you for all the great music.

I guess if you know someone is sick, their death is not a surprise. I was not aware of Hirst's diagnoses in 2023, so reading this hit me hard in the gut--completely unprepared. A legend, and so much more than "just" a drummer. A great songwriter and collaborator. One of my favorite musicians ever. This sucks.

Really awful news. He was a great songwriter and drummer, and those fills on "The Power and Passion" were completely mind-blowing to me as a 15 year old trying to figure out how to be a rock drummer. Not sure I ever did, but I'm grateful to Rob nonetheless.