Growing up in the ’80s it was fairly hard to not know Midnight Oil. They were, for many of us, the band of the moment with some incredibly powerful songs. They were huge political activists particularly in aid of anti-nuclear, environmentalist and indigenous causes. I remember my Uncle Alan telling me that my cousin had been pulled up on stage to dance at one of the concerts (I’m still unsure if that’s true or not) but he immediately gained ‘super cool’ status in my eyes. With his bald head and gangly limbs, Peter Garrett (the lead singer) was a rock and roll star that was worth looking up to.
By chance, when visiting the Manly Aquarium, I popped into the Manly Art Gallery and Museum (MAG&M) for a look around and was excited to find inside The Making of Midnight Oil which featured stage costumes, posters, previously unseen film, documents, lyric sheets, music industry awards, band instruments, memorabilia and photographs from the Oils journeys over the years. I pulled my kids inside to have a look but they only know Garrett from his days as Federal Education Minister and were not that impressed.
This has led to a new Bucket List addition: “Introduce the kids to 80s classic rock!”. I’m hoping they’ll appreciate it.
Always loved Midnight Oil – this exhibition sounds great!