Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst Releases New EP Amid Cancer Battle

Skip to main content Rob Hirst, Peter Garrett, Martin Rotsey, Bones Hillman, Jim Moginie of Midnight Oil photographed on May 29, 1988 in Ghent, Belgium. Gie Knaeps/Getty Images Trending on Billboard Midnight Oil’s Rob Hirst has unveiled a deeply personal new EP, A Hundred Years or More, recorded while undergoing treatment for stage three pancreatic cancer. The celebrated drummer and songwriter, 70, collaborated with longtime bandmates Jim Moginie and Hamish Stuart, and enlisted his daughters Gabriella and Lex Hirst to contribute vocals on the emotionally resonant four-track release. Jelly Roll Cancels New Zealand Show Due to Illness: 'Please Forgive Me' Mod Sun on Breakup With Avril Lavigne: 'If I Run Into You, It's All Love' 35 Years After Milli Vanilli's Grammy Was Revoked, Fab Morvan Lands Another Grammy Nod Midnight Oil See latest videos, charts and news The EP was created in pockets of time when Hirst felt well enough to sing and strum, following a major gastro bypass operation earlier this year. “It’s completely replumbed the inside because the tumour was pushing against the guts and I couldn’t eat,” he shared as per news.com.au. Despite the challenges, the sessions became a space of defiant creativity and familial healing. Gabriella, an artist based in Berlin, delivers the lead vocal on the EP’s title track—a tender, melancholic ballad inspired by Hirst’s diagnosis. “May you live to be a hundred years or more,” she sings, with her father joining for the final line: “May you take another turn around the sun.” “I was just working it up at home with an incomplete lyric and Ella was out for a while looking after me and checking up on all her arty friends in Sydney and she came in and said ‘Dad, I really like this song you’re singing and I said, ‘Well, here’s the rough lyric, you sing it,’” Hirst said. Lex Hirst lends backing vocals to the opening track, “First Do No Harm,” while Hoodoo Gurus bassist Rick Grossman makes a surprise appearance on the EP as well. Hirst, who co-founded Midnight Oil in the 1970s, has also led acclaimed side projects like Ghostwriters, The Break, and Backsliders. The band played their final show in October 2022 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. A Hundred Years or More follows 2023’s Red Continent and will be released Nov. 14. Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Want to know what everyone in the music business is talking about? Get in the know on Visit Billboard Pro for music business news Billboard is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2025 Billboard Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Powered by WordPress.com VIP optional screen reader Manage Account Billboard Hot 100™ Billboard 200™ Hits Of The World™ Songs Of The Summer Year-End Charts Decade-End Charts R&B/Hip-Hop Business News Record Labels View All Pro Songwriters & Producers Artist Index Royalty Calculator Market Watch Industry Events Calendar Billboard Español Cultura y Entretenimiento Crossword Puzzle GET ACCESS TODAY