Rob Hirst, the co-founder, drummer, and a key songwriter for the Australian rock band Midnight Oil, has passed away.
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The band announced Hirst’s death on social media and its website yesterday. While they did not specify a date or cause of death, he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023.
“After fighting heroically for almost three years, Rob is now free of pain – ‘a glimmer of tiny light in the wilderness,’” the band wrote on Facebook. “He died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones. The family asks that anyone wanting to honour Rob donate to Pankind, Pancreatic Cancer Australia or Support Act.”
“We are shattered and grieving the loss of our brother Rob. For now, there are no words, but there will always be songs. Love Always from Jim, Martin & Pete,” the group wrote in a different post.
Hirst co-founded Midnight Oil in Sydney in 1972. The band released their debut album in 1978 and went on to win 11 ARIA Awards. They were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006.
Hirst co-wrote several of the band’s biggest hits, including “Beds Are Burning,” “The Dead Heart,” “Blue Sky Mine,” “Forgotten Years,” and “King of the Mountain.”
The band went on hiatus in 2002, reuniting in 2016 to release two more albums. Their final album, Resist, was released in 2022 and was followed by a farewell tour.
Rob Hirst’s Music Career Outside of Midnight Oil Included a Collaboration with His Daughter
Outside of the band, Hirst began a solo career in 2005. His final project, an EP titled A Hundred Years or More, was released last November.
In 2020, Hirst released a collaborative album with his daughter, Jay O’Shea, after reconnecting with her only a few years prior. After the release, O’Shea posted on Instagram detailing their relationship.
“For those who don’t know, I was adopted as a baby, and 10 years ago found my birth parents. The story of how we all came together sounds like bad fiction writing as it’s quite unbelievable,” O’Shea wrote.
“We really made this music as a way of getting to know each other better, and after much laughing, drinking some good wines, and eating too much cheese, these songs were born,” she continued. “There were no parameters, guidelines, or pressures of what a reunited Father/Daughter collaboration should sound like. Each song is a snapshot. Each song has its own space and story.”
After his passing was announced, O’Shea paid tribute to her father on Instagram.
“There are no words right now to describe the feeling of losing this great friend and Father. We are all just…. heartbroken. Love you so much, Dad, J💙,” she wrote alongside a candid shot of her with her father.