Rob Hirst
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Rob Hirst (born in 1956 Camden, New South Wales as Robert Hirst) is an Australian musician. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil with whom he played Drums from the 1970s until the band's break up in 2002. He also wrote a book, "Willie's Bar & Grill", recounting the experiences on the tour Midnight Oil undertook shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
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[edit] The Midnight Oil Years (1976 - 2002)
In 1976, Hirst together with Jim Moginie formed a band called Farm (not to be confused with the British '90s band of the same name) while attending university for a Law degree. Farm evolved into Midnight Oil (nicknamed "the Oils" by Australian fans). They first developed a following of listeners in the Sydney beach suburb of Narrabeen, and later became famous on Australia's "pub circuit" as a blistering live act. While Midnight Oil's musicianship was often overshadowed by their frankly political lyrics, reviewers and fans often singled Rob out for his intense style of drumming. This intensity carried over into his live performances - after some gigs in tightly packed clubs of the 1970s, Hirst (along with other Oils) was administered oxygen.
Although lead singer Peter Garrett was perhaps more famous, by virtue of his status as frontman and also his political activities, the gregarious Hirst was often called upon as a spokesperson, and considered the most "camera-friendly" of the band. Hirst and guitarist Jim Moginie were also the primary songwriters for the band. While Hirst's voice could often be heard as a backing vocalist, he sometimes handled lead singing duties as well - notably on the Midnight Oil songs "When the Generals Talk" and "Kosciuszko".
The band officially dissolved when lead singer Garrett quit the group in December 2002. They briefly reunited in 2005 for the WaveAid charity concert and a warm-up gig the night before WaveAid. They last appeared together (although not playing any music) when they were inducted in the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006.
Rob Hirst has claimed (during his 2003 interview with Andrew Denton, on ABC's Enough Rope) that he began drumming when, during childhood, he broke his foot. While he was recovering he was given a drumset, and did little else during his recovery. As a result, his foot healed slightly misshapen, better formed for the bass drum pedal than for walking.
[edit] Side projects & post-Midnight Oil
Hirst has always been the Midnight Oil member most active outside the band and remained a prolific musician and songwriter ever since the band's split.
His first (and so far only) endeavour outside the music business was his book "Willie's Bar & Grill", published in Australia in 2003. In it, he recounts his experiences on a North American tour Midnight Oil undertook shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 to promote what turned out to be the band's final album, "Capricornia". The book was amended by material from three subsequent tours of the US and Canada in 2002. The title is a reference to the band's overseas tour manager, Willie MacInnes.
[edit] Ghostwriters
- See main article Ghostwriters
In the mid-1990s, while Midnight Oil were taking a break, Hirst joined up with guitarist Andrew Dickson and Hoodoo Gurus bassist Rick Grossman to form a side project called Ghostwriters. So far, the band has released four albums, Ghostwriters (Virgin Records, 1991), Second Skin (Mercury Records, 1996), Fibromoon (self-released, 2000), and Political Animal (SonyBMG Australia, 2007).
[edit] Other Musical Projects
Since the early 2000s, Hirst is the drummer for The Backsliders, an Australian Blues group, which have so far released three albums, "Hanoi" (2002), "Live" (2005) and "Left Field Holler" (2007) as well as a DVD, "Live at the Basement" (2003), with Hirst as part of the group.
In 2005 he joined forces with former Olympic athlete Paul Greene to release the album "In the Stealth of Summer" as Hirst & Greene. The album coincided with the release of a DVD, "Hirst & Greene Live at the Basement".
In the same year he also teamed with Dom Turner, of The Backsliders, to create The Angry Tradesmen, with a focus on a re-creating a vintage 80's rock sound. Former Oils guitarist Martin Rotsey joined the band in September 2006. The Angry Tradesmen have produced some music for an Australian surf film but not released any singles or albums. Hirst and Rotsey are also featured on the track "Around the world" from fellow Midnight Oil guitarist Jim Moginie's solo debut album "Alas Folkloric".
