All language subtitles for Midnight Oil The Hardest.Line.2024.720p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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[audience cheering,
applauding faintly]

[audience] Oils, Oils!

Oils! Oils!

Oils, Oils!

Oils! Oils!

-["We Resist" playing]
-[audience] Oils, Oils!

-[indistinct chatter]
-[audience] Oils, Oils!

Oils! Oils!

Oils, Oils!

[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] It's life.

[camera whirring]

-[Peter] It's politics.
-[car horn honking]

Why don't you talk to us?

♪ Free market
And labour rights♪

[Peter] It's music. It's action.

[audience cheering]

[Peter] It's boisterous.
It's sometimes provocative.

♪ Women's vote
And hunger strikes♪

[Peter] It's Midnight Oil.

[indistinct chatter]

[Martin] You need to lend
your voice to things.

You can't stay silent.

[woman] Hey, we buy your shit!

[Martin] Let's run the risk
of being knocked down a bit.

Lend your voice.
More people need to do that.

♪ Please don't say
That nobody...♪

[reporter] The Prime Minister
again refused to make

an official apology
for the Stolen Generation.

[indistinct chatter]

[Jim] Sometimes you've
got to take the hardest line.

♪ Standing up to those
Who sell fear♪

[Jim] If someone said
to do something,

we say, "Well, no,
we're not going to do that."

-[car engine revving]
-[camera whirring]

[Jim] And I think
that was part of us

being a difficult bunch
of bastards.

[camera whirring]

[Rob] The band
is constantly curious,

constantly moving.

Not always in favour.

Not always delivering
the message

that people want to hear.

♪ We resist♪

[audience cheering]

[Rob] We wanted
to write material

that hits you right in the face
and say,

"This is the truth.

"We're not skirting
the truth here."

[car engine revving]

[audience cheering]

♪ Only if♪

♪ We resist♪

[reporter 2] The people of
Australia go to the polls today

to elect
a new federal government.

About six and a half million
electors are entitled to vote...

-["Lucky Country" playing]
-[lawn mower whirring]

♪ Speed♪

[indistinct chatter]

♪ And, and this♪

[Nick] If you were a kid

in Australia in the early '70s,

it seemed like
you were living in paradise.

[indistinct chatter]

[Nick] People said
it was "the lucky country".

-And maybe it was.
-[children exclaiming]

♪ It's so tough♪

-[crowd exclaiming]
-[Nick] But somehow

we could feel the bullshit
behind that line.

[phone ringing]

[Nick] It was like
the whole the country

was creaking under the weight
of all the things

that weren't being said.

-[machines whirring]
-[indistinct clamouring]

♪ We're all looking
For an easy way♪

[Nick] We knew something
wasn't being told to us

and we really wanted
to hear someone say it.

[indistinct clamouring]

[protester]
Kicking the establishment!

[protesters] We want jobs!

We want jobs! We want jobs!

[mid-tempo music playing]

[Martin] I was at school
with Rob.

I didn't know that many people
that played music

in those days,

so you'd seek those people out.

He had a band.

It was just Rob,
Andrew James and Jim...

...and I think they were called
Swampy Moose.

I remember
I was just blown away.

I just loved the sound
that they were making.

-[young Jim] Swampy Moose!
-[guitar playing]

[Jim] I was about ten or 11
and I was told I was adopted.

[young Jim]
Sounding great, Martin!

[Jim] It was a bit of a shock,
as it always is with people,

and I kind of lost my way
a bit at that point

because I thought everything

was a certain way, but actually

it just wasn't any more.

And then the music came along

and that was
my saving grace, really.

[young Jim] Repeat! [chuckles]

And we're done!

[Rob] There'd never be any
Midnight Oil music at all

had Jim not been guiding it.

We just kind of
hit it off immediately

and actually almost,
on day one,

started writing
songs together.

-[guitar playing]
-[indistinct chatter]

[Jim] We loved that whole
sort of surf culture

and a lot of it sort of
came from that.

Bands like Tamam Shud
and guitar bands.

Daddy Cool, I mean, I thought

they were
a fantastic guitar band.

[Rob] I was singing
behind the drums.

It was... was horrendous,

and it was clear that,
you know, singing and playing

behind the kit wasn't
cutting it for much longer.

So we held auditions in the...

...in the science auditorium
at Grammar.

[upbeat music playing]

[Rob] The only person
who actually answered the ad

was this fellow

who was a couple of years older
than us,

who had long blond hair
and was already driving.

He turned up
in an old Peugeot 404.

-["Head Over Heels" playing]
-[guitar playing]

[Jim] And he walked in the room

and saw these young guys
on stage

fiddling with their instruments

and plugging their amps in.

And I think he thought

we were all just
a bunch of teenage wankers

from the North Shore,
which I think we were, probably.

♪ Head over heels♪

♪ Holding back
The chills in love♪

[Peter] My musical life starts
as a roadie cum student

who felt that he could do
a little bit better

than whoever was up there.

They were very different kinds
of people from me,

and I think they felt
the same way about me,

that I was kind of remote
and just surfing

and turning up and singing
and jumping around a bit.

[Rob] Jim and I had a chat
afterwards and thought

no-one would ever forget him.

[Jim] He seemed
much more grown up

than the rest of us, I think,
and probably still does.

[introspective music playing]

[Mark] They are
a band of brothers.

You know, they feel incredibly
collectively responsible

to the band and each other.

[audience cheering]

[Mark] Rob is literally
the beating heart

of Midnight Oil.

Jim is like
the artist in residence.

A lot of the music
starts with Jim.

But Rob writes
a beautiful melody

and Jim has
a brilliant turn of phrase.

It's the way they work together.

Martin is the ultimate
gatekeeper of the band.

The bullshit detector,
if you like.

He's the glue in lots of ways.

-[audience cheering]
-[screams]

[Mark]
Pete's the chief activist.

Without his fine-tuning
of the message,

without his visceral response
to what's happening

with the musicians around him,

there's no Midnight Oil.

[mid-tempo music playing]

[Mark] But there's a chemistry
at work between those guys

that even
they probably can't explain.

The bottom line is that
Midnight Oil is much more

than the sum of its parts.

It's like a body
with four heads.

-[camera whizzing]
-["Used And Abused" playing]

♪ I said♪

-♪ No, no ♪
-♪ Don't pick on me again ♪

♪ No, no♪

♪ You're losing
All your friends♪

-♪ No, no♪
-♪ I'm going home to my♪

♪ Family and friends♪

[Rob] We basically formed
as a kind of a prog-surf band,

but discovering
the energy of punk

and then kind of surfing
that energy on stage

and becoming,
first and foremost,

a really strong live band.

♪ And I was taken to the man♪

♪ He said,
"We're gonna make a deal"♪

♪ I was fooled into thinking♪

♪ That the paper
In my pocket was real♪

♪ I said♪

-♪ No, no♪
-♪ You've been taken again♪

♪ No, no♪

♪ You're losing
All your friends♪

♪ No, no♪

♪ It's just a matter
Of sense♪

♪ It's just a matter
Of sense now♪

[audience cheering]

[John] There was something
about the period

of the Australian pubs
in the late '70s

that was like some Darwinian,

natural selection experiment

that forced bands
to get really good,

or go home.

[Rob] So that's when we started

playing French's Tavern,

just down the road
from where people like

Radio Birdman were playing

with all this energy and anger.

And so we toughened up
our sound.

♪ The smile of disbelief♪

[Peter] Midnight Oil
was a do-it-yourself band.

And at the time, do it yourself

was the only way
that you could survive.

["Back on the Borderline"
playing]

♪ I'm back on the borderline♪

[Jim] It was exciting,
you know, because

we were building a thing
that felt very authentic

and the industry to us
looked like

a bunch of shamateurs,

really just phonies.

And corrupt. Completely corrupt.

[Peter] And occasionally
a large and fat gentleman

with sort of, you know,
bad taste

in personal jewellery

would come around and say,
you know,

"Mugsy says you got to play
in Wollongong tonight."

[chuckles]

"Tell Mugsy..." you know,
that's what we were like.

["Bus to Bondi" playing]

♪ Push-start
That car tomorrow♪

♪ I'll take it
To the tip yard♪

♪ Leave it as a metal wreck
For cats to sleep in♪

♪ I'll catch
The bus to Bondi♪

[Nick] Yeah, I don't know if
Midnight Oil would have known

-we were out there.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Nick] All these beaches
were filled

with crazy young male energy.

-[engine roaring]
-[Nick] It was pretty manic.

♪ I'm making an inroad
To my one and only♪

[Mark] The extraordinary thing,
I think, about

the band plugging
into that culture

was mainly because
of the manager, Gary Morris,

who was a surfer himself

and was just
a master of promotion.

♪ Then I'll stop the games♪

[Jim] He was the bull bar
between us and the industry

to sort of blast through.

♪ Then I'll shop
At New World♪

[Jim] He was a hard-arse,

and so we all became hard-arses

a bit because of that.

[Rob] So we started off
at the Antler

and the first night
there weren't

very many people,
maybe 50 or 60.

And then we went back
a week later

and then there was about 150.

And then we started packing
this surf pub out.

♪ I've decided
I'm here to stay♪

[Nick] There's a bunch of kids
who played out their best

life moments
in that big smelly room.

We were young.

No-one was showing us
the way to anything.

Nobody gave a fuck.
We were the perfect audience.

It was a whirlpool of sweat
and human bodies

and screaming.

Everybody just descended
to the same level

of animal craziness.

[synth warbling]

[Peter] And I think,
in those days,

we were just trying
to stay alive,

sweaty night by sweaty night,

K after K doing it.

[Rob] Once we hit the road,
you know,

in late '78, we didn't stop.

We played an average
of 180 shows a year.

[upbeat music playing]

[Rob] And so these gigs
dictated the kind of music

you could play.

The audience
could dominate you...

...and that could have
grave consequences

for the band, and the crew,

you know,
it's lambs to the slaughter.

♪ Who can wear the fashion?♪

♪ This place is oh-so-hot♪

♪ I'm just part of this play♪

-[eerie music playing]
-[guitar amp hums]

[Andrew] I had developed
various problems.

Both mental problems
with anxiety...

...physical problems.

I got an ulcer.

So I had to announce

that I would have to
leave the band for my health.

It was...it was killing me,
basically.

[Jim] You know,
you had to be fit to sort of

endure the kind of workload
that we had.

He wasn't sort of built
of the same stuff we were.

[Andrew] There was no way
that the band

could continue with me in it.

[Giffo] I wasn't out
to change the world.

I was just a young,
blue-collar worker

from the wrong side
of the bridge,

you know,
that sort of happened to join up

with these pretty smart guys

from the other side
of the bridge.

♪ Playing games
With the light♪

[Rob] He had toughness and
like a tradesman attitude too.

And that very much
changed the image of the band

just when we wanted to look
and sound tougher.

["Run by Night" playing]

♪ We all run by night♪

♪ We all run by night♪

♪ We all run by night♪

♪ Through the night♪

[Jim] There was
a lot of anger there.

The first thing that Pete did
when he walked out...

...before we even played a note,
he's destroyed the stage

with a mic stand,
the heavy end of it.

[guitar playing]

[eerie music playing]

[Mark] Pete can do anger.

Pete can do fucking fury.

He lost his mum

when the house
burned to the ground.

He heard her screaming.
He couldn't get there.

I think if anyone
witnesses their mum

being burnt to death,

it changes you.

His dad had died a year earlier.

Suddenly they had
no money, no home,

and he was a single parent
of his two younger brothers.

[Peter] The fact
that I couldn't rescue my mum

and get her out of essentially
a burning house

stayed with me
and still... is still with me.

I know, rationally,
that I wasn't able to do it.

It's the trauma of it.

And then there is
how you cope with it.

[guitar playing]

[Jim] He was troubled,

I think, genuinely
by the events

after his mother died.

And he discovered this
incredible persona on stage.

[Nick] And the audience
was ready for his anger.

They saw in him
what they felt in themselves.

It was the emotional connection
with the band.

It was the spark.

["Stand in Line" playing]

[audience cheering]

♪ Get around, get around
All that money in the ground♪

♪ For the people
Who don't deserve it now♪

[Peter] But by the late '70s,
right-wing governments

were back in power.

Young people
were quite marginalised

and didn't have a voice,
quite often didn't have a job.

And we didn't have
any money either. [chuckles]

So we knew what it was like.

♪ Everything's set
Everything's fine♪

♪ You just got to
Stand in line♪

[Nick] So much
of Australian culture

at the time,
which was rejecting us

and saying, "Oh, no,
you're dole bludgers.

"Oh, no, you can't have a job.

"Oh, no, you can't have
an imagination.

"Oh, you can't have
any of that,

"you know, because life
wasn't meant to be easy."

I mean, let's face it,
if we taxpayers

are not paying tax,
how would the bludgers

in our society
continue to cop the dole?

[man] Who are the bludgers
in our society?

People who won't get off
their backsides

and bloody will go out and work.

♪ Everything's set
Everything's fine♪

♪ You just got to
Stand in line♪

♪ Everything's set
Everything's fine♪

♪ You just got to
Stand in line♪

[Tanya] It felt very,
very serious and political

to be singing the words
to those songs,

but it still felt kind of young

and carefree at the same time.

I don't know how both
of those things could coexist,

but they did.

[guitar playing]

♪ Everything's set
Everything's fine♪

♪ Just got to
Stand in line♪

[screams]

♪ Everything's set
Everything's fine♪

♪ You just got to
Stand in line♪

[Nick] When we heard
those songs,

we knew straightaway

that those songs were about us.

And what could be more seductive

than hearing your band
write songs for you,

about you,

when no-one else
was paying attention?

[lead guitar playing]

-See you later!
-[audience cheering]

-[guitar music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]

[Jim] The industry
didn't really

take to us that well,
they didn't get it.

Proggy music with this weird
bald guy jumping around.

[upbeat music playing]

[Martin] I don't remember
ever getting

any airplay, really, at all.

[audience cheering]

[Martin] Luckily, we had
this great live audience

that were there
to keep us going.

[Jim] The audience
were everything to us.

Like, you know,
we wanted to give them

everything we had.

Musically blitz them,
hurl stuff at them,

-you know, in big lumps.
-["No Reaction" playing]

♪ Are we going to be
The winners or the losers?♪

[Martin]
We'd really just decided

we just wanted
to make our own music

and not think about
the commercial aspects of it.

♪ We're getting no reaction♪

[audience cheering]

♪ We haven't heard a word♪

We sent the Blue album
to the radio stations,

you know, and they
didn't want to play it.

We're not in it for the money,

but if we're going to be
playing like this,

we want to do it our own
special home-grown way.

-[audience cheering]
-And of course...

...they politely told us
to fuck off and said,

"Look, we'll see you
at the bottom of the barrel."

[audience cheering]

And the only thing that radio
have ever really got behind

is the "Wedding Cake Island"
song,

which is an instrumental.

What are your thoughts on that?

Well, it figures, you know,
I mean, I think

AM radio in this country
is unbelievably bland.

I believe that
the majority of the music

they play on it is rubbish.

Of course, the story behind
"Wedding Cake Island"

on the Bird Noises EP

was that I'd originally put
a vocal over.

-Yeah.
-On that.

Which was quite insane, but...

Yeah, well, I mean,
unfortunately it was libellous

and obscene and, you know,
basically we had no chance.

I think the record wouldn't
have even been pressed.

So we pulled most of that out.

And then they played it.

[Peter] Stations like 2JJ,
which came before Triple J

and some
of the community stations

became incredibly important.

[Cassi] We play
a very wide variety of music.

We play
a lot of Australian music,

a lot of independent music
of young Australian bands

that often don't get airplay
on other stations.

Well, not until they become
big and acceptable

and maybe get a clip
on Countdown.

[upbeat disco music playing]

[disco song playing]
♪ I wanna be a superstar♪

[John] I think they're a band

that really fiercely believes
in their own vision.

And when you have to step
into the mass media,

you usually have to compromise
it a little bit.

You know, "Don't say that,
don't wear that.

"Turn that down."

And the way
that they conducted themselves

was always proudly contrary.

They had this way
of doing things

that was their way

and they simply
weren't going to bend.

[Jim] There was an era where
bands would go on Countdown

and they'd sell their souls
to get on.

You could go on on Sunday night
and have the performance

and then on Monday morning

you'd have a number one
record kind of thing.

That was the logic behind it,

and they were
the kind of kingmakers of pop.

[disco music playing]

[Rob]
The producers of Countdown,

would have had us on
but wanted to produce us.

We said, "No, that's not
how we want to be seen.

"We don't want to be seen
on the flashing floor

"with the really young girls -
that's not our audience.

"No, it's not our floor either,
by the way."

[audience cheering]

[Rob] So Gary, of course,
went down there early.

He said, "This is how we're
going to remodel the set."

They said, "Fuck off.
This is how we do Countdown."

We said,
"OK, fine," and backed off.

-[eerie music playing]
-[audience cheering]

[Peter] The idea was that
you couldn't break through

if you didn't go on Countdown,
so it was a case of saying,

"Well, yes, you can and we will,

"and we'll show you that
you can do it another way."

[audience cheering]

[Molly] I find musical snobness
an absurd situation.

So I'd often argue with Peter.
I'd say, "Look, Peter,

"if you're trying
to get out your message,

"the people that are
going to your concerts,

"you converted them.

"Surely, you know,
with our audience,

"they're the audience
that you can have

"some influence on and they
may be taught something."

And he just could never see it
that way, you know?

[camera whirring]

[Peter] Because everybody
in the music industry,

with one or two exceptions,

for at least five years
of Midnight Oil's career,

spent most of their time
telling us why we would fail

and why what we wanted to do
couldn't be done.

And we're pretty stubborn

and slightly determined
and sort of thought,

"Well... [grunts]
...maybe not.

"Let's just see
where we end up."

[introspective music playing]

[cow mooing]

[birds chirping]

-[sheep bleating]
-[cow mooing]

[Peter] Glyn Johns, who produced
Place Without a Postcard,

was a very,
very well known producer,

came and just saw us and said,

"Look, come and record
at my place."

[Rob] He was one
of the producers

of the '60s and '70s.

Well, for example, he took
the Rolling Stones in

for their first-ever
recording session.

He produced "Who's Next"
for The Who,

"Desperado" for the Eagles,

Joan Armatrading's albums.

And so that was our big break.

["Don't Wanna Be the One"
playing]

[Giffo] Recording with Glyn

was a very interesting
experience. [chuckles]

It was like a barn
converted to a studio.

[upbeat music playing]

[Giffo] We were there
just as the hay had been cut.

We helped him bale the hay.

And we had this old
World War II style trailer

that had timber sides on it

and the hay kept falling off.

♪ I'm just like you♪

♪ We end up in home units♪

[Giffo] So I found some tools
in his shed

and some old things,
and I stripped the trailer

and rebuilt it.

Well, in between, you know,
guitar solos or whatever.

♪ And I don't want
To be the one♪

[Peter]
Well, it's a quixotic record.

I think it's very,
very Australian

in many senses,
but it was made by a guy

that sort of
would only work between

sort of 6:00 and 9:00 at night.

And then when he got full
of brandy would fall over

and go out, shoot rabbits.

We'd be sitting there
twiddling our thumbs

till the next day.

I mean, it was an impossible
record to make.

♪ I cut up all the options♪

♪ And went running
For my life♪

♪ And I don't want
To be the one♪

♪ And I don't want
To be the one♪

[Jim] And that was going to be
the big thing.

It was going to break the band,
and it didn't.

♪ I don't want to be the one♪

[Jim] And the record was
rejected by the record label.

[audience cheering]

["Don't Wanna Be the One"
playing]

[Andrew] Glyn Johns
was a big-name producer

promising a shortcut to the top.

And it just
didn't work for them.

They were gonna have to
do it their own way.

[guitar playing]

[Jim] We came back
under our own bat,

played in Australia for months,

tried to make some money
to come back again to England.

[guitar playing]

[Rob] Then went back
to London the next year.

We felt like
we'd gone about as far

as pub-rock in Australia
could take us.

[indistinct chatter]

[Rob] And the band
was almost breaking up

-with frustration.
-["Only the Strong" playing]

♪ When I'm locked in my room♪

[indistinct chatter]

♪ I just want to scream♪

[woman shrieks]

♪ And I know what they mean♪

[indistinct chatter]

♪ One more day
Of eating and sleeping♪

[car engine revving]

-[indistinct clamouring]
-[guitar playing]

[Jim] I think we just had
in our minds to crack England.

We had a very unified front.

Slightly miserable and intense
bunch of Aussies abroad.

We're all living together
in the one house.

It was claustrophobic
and relentless.

[indistinct chatter]

Tryin' to connect
with an audience

in a place
that really didn't seem

to want to know about us.

-[indistinct chatter]
-[introspective music playing]

[Peter] Our backs
were literally to the wall

and we were going to try
anything and everything

to make
the best record imaginable.

[Andrew] They were taking
this huge risk.

They put their pub-rock sound
in the hands of Nick Launay,

this post-punk kid that hardly
anyone had ever heard of,

and they completely
reinvented themselves.

[expectant music playing]

[Jim] Meeting Nick was terrific

because we just knew
from the stuff

he was playing us with Kate Bush

and the stuff he was doing
was much more out there

than anyone in Australia
was capable of producing

at that time.

[Rob] Nick was sort of like
this hyperactive stick insect,

you know, with his long limbs,
and, you know, he was just

so obviously excited
about new music

and about the new technologies
coming in.

[button clicks]

[Nick] I mean,
I'm not a musician.

To this day, I'm not a musician,
but I am a huge fan of music.

And I'm really into sounds,
and I thought,

"Well, I can control
how they sound

"through the desk.

"I can basically fuck this up."

[chuckling] "I can fuck shit up
for them.

"In a good way."

[upbeat music playing]

[Nick] I was like, "Hey, Rob,
don't play the hi-hat

"because I can't get
the drum sound I want.

"I want to get this
bombastic drum sound.

"If you play the hi-hat,

"it sounds like
two big dustbin lids."

[upbeat music playing]

[Nick] Imagine that - imagine
you've got this great drummer

who's got a great groove

and this 20-year-old,

you know, starts saying,

"Can you play it
without the hi-hat?" you know?

We actually used a drum machine,

which was almost like blasphemy.

He was pretty pissed off.

[upbeat music playing]

[Rob] I wasn't coping
very well, to be honest.

I was...

...at one point
rushed off to hospital

with-- I thought I was dying.

It was, of course,
was a panic attack.

[camera whirring]

[Rob] I think the pressure
manifested itself

with the musicians
in different ways.

In my case, I think combination

of not having
the family and friend support,

of being deeply unhappy
with some of the things

that the band were doing.

[eerie music playing]

[Rob] I'd gone for a big run
directly before

just to sort of ease
these anxieties,

these panic attacks
that I was having...

...and I sort of walked in
the door and it was all there.

And he said,
"Where have you been"?

You know? So I go...
You know, I go.

And so I just threw myself,

straight off this run,
at the drums.

[drum kit and drum machine
playing]

[Rob] But when I hear back to
the album, I hear me

and the performance I gave

as someone actually driven
pretty much to the edge.

[drum kit and drum machine
playing]

["Power and the Passion"
playing]

♪ Oh-oh
The power and the passion♪

♪ Oh-oh
The temper of the time♪

♪ Oh-oh
The power and the passion♪

♪ Sometimes you've got to
Take the hardest line♪

[Peter] We brought 10 to 1 home,

absolutely uncertain of what
people would think of it.

You know, you just got no idea

how people are going to respond.

["Power and the Passion"
playing]

-[audience cheering]
-[guitar music playing]

[Richard] I got to see
the first shows

for the 10, 9, 8 Tour
at the Capitol Theatre

and it was incredible.

-[guitar playing]
-[audience cheering]

[Richard] Well, most bands
work up to fifth gear

through a set list.

Midnight Oil
started in fifth gear

within 30 seconds
of that performance.

["Only the Strong" playing]

♪ When I'm locked in my room♪

♪ I just want to scream♪

♪ And I know what they mean♪

♪ One more day
Of eating and sleeping♪

[audience cheering]

[Nick] You're standing
in a room. You're not running.

You're still, yet when
you listen to music like that,

you feel like you're going
at 100 miles an hour.

♪ When I'm locked in my room♪

♪ I just want to scream♪

♪ And I know what they mean♪

♪ Only the strong♪

♪ Only
the strong♪

♪ Only the strong♪

♪ Only the strong♪

[guitar playing]

[Nick] You know,
everybody in the band

is just a phenomenal musician.

[guitar playing]

[Nick] There is no better
two guitar players

in a band than Jim and Martin.

I mean, the way
they play off each other

is absolutely unique.

[guitar playing]

[Jim] We felt it was
the first record

that we were really
kind of proud of.

[Rob] It was
a real breakthrough.

Took off big-time.

Three years later,
we were still in the top ten.

[guitar playing]

[audience cheering]

[Peter] Thank you.

[soft music playing]

[woman announcing in Japanese]

[indistinct chatter]

[Rob] Once again,
where can we put ourselves?

We're completely
out of our depth.

And we're challenging
each other for reinvention.

And no musical challenge
was enough.

You know, so we set ourself

a ridiculous task of six weeks

in the Victor Aoyama Studio
in Tokyo.

[indistinct chatter]

[Nick] Which is a very,
very strange place

to be at the time - it's like
going into the future.

[Rob] Members of the band
went down to Hiroshima

and to Nagasaki.

I don't know if you've been
to those museums

of what happened
in those places,

but then you were confronted by
this recent past.

You know, this is the past
of our parents,

not even grandparents.

[reporter 3] The children
of Hiroshima must go now

in search of memories,

to hear about
the horrors of war,

to realise
what they have in peace.

[bell tolling]

[Rob] My father fought
the Japanese in the war

in New Guinea,

and the end of that war

catastrophically
and very definitively ended

with the atomic destruction
of those two cities.

But to actually be
in those cities

and to walk around those places,

it was very moving.

And so there's songs

that reflect that
from that time.

-[indistinct chatter]
-[bell tolling]

["Harrisburg" playing]

[mid-tempo music playing]

[Nick] The one thing
that became very obvious

when we were there
was that Peter,

in particular,
was very, very consumed

with politics
much more than before.

♪ The Government said
It might♪

♪ Harrisburg, oh, Harrisburg♪

[Peter] I was feeling
quite driven

to try and get to the core

of what was actually
going on in the world.

Why were we spending
all this money

on these massive, horrible bombs

that you can't let off.

And the one occasion
when they were let off,

they caused such destruction.

♪ There's something
I must say to you♪

♪ You cannot get it out♪

[Jim] And that's
when he realised

that he could make
a difference in the world

and change things.

And we were already starting
to do that anyway

within the band.

He sort of took the lead

and then he went off to become

the Peter Garrett we know now.

[reporter 4] One-issue parties

are normally doomed to failure,

but then again,
even if it's one issue,

it's hard to imagine
a bigger one

than avoiding atomic war.

And even if the candidate
in this story

is a political unknown,

he also happens to be

one of Australia's
best-known rock stars.

Peter Garrett,
lead singer of Midnight Oil.

You know, the environment

and the environment
that we live in

in Australia is just such
an extraordinary, great place

that the thought of it
being put at risk

by military policies of people
that we,

for the most part, don't have
a great deal to do with,

horrifies me,

especially when
the ultimate conclusion

of those military policies
is extinction.

I reckon we've got to do
something about it

and that's why I'm running
as a candidate.

♪ US Forces give the nod♪

["US Forces" playing]

[audience sing]

Alright. Alright.

♪ Bombs and trenches
All in rows♪

♪ Bombs and threats
Still ask for more♪

[audience sing]

[Peter] Australia is
still contributing

-to nuclearism at the moment.
-[camera shutter clicking]

So long as we have the bases,

so long as we have

weapons-carrying ships
and aircraft

using Australia,

using Australian facilities
and ports and airfields

and so long as we allow
the mining of uranium,

we are part
of the nuclear world.

[Peter vocalises]

♪ Sing me songs
Of no denying♪

♪ Seems to me
Too many trying♪

[Mark] Pete doesn't do
anything in half measures.

You know, it's...
he's either fully in

or he's not in at all.

And he wasn't just going to
help around the edges.

He's got such a clear vision.

And with this, he could see

how marshalling young people
was the most important element

of the Nuclear
Disarmament Party.

♪ Now market movements
Call the shots♪

[Peter] You see, one of
the things that's happened

is that it's old people

who have got us into this state.

We've got a 74-year-old

president of the United States,

we've got 70-
and 80-year-old leaders

of the Soviet Union,

and they've built
this huge monster

and this is the monster
which young people

in the world inherit.

And this is the monster

which young people are having
to come to grips with.

[indistinct chatter]

[reporter 5] This week
Midnight Oil are performing

seven sell-out concerts
at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion

to no fewer than 50,000 fans.

No Australian band
has ever attracted

such support,

and everyone we spoke to

said they would vote
for the NDP.

[reporter 6]
Will you be voting for him?

-Yes.
-[reporter 6] Why?

-[chuckles]
-[indistinct chatter]

Because...

...I want to live.

["Sleep" playing]

[Mark] When you look back
at the press of the time

and the front page
of every newspaper

every day, virtually, was
Nuclear Disarmament Party.

Hawke was scared,

the Liberal persons,
they were scared.

The Democrats were scared.

In fact, they all gave
each other preferences

to keep Pete out.

The ALP, in an astonishing move,

has given its Senate preferences

to pro-nuclear candidates,

...the Liberal Country Party,

even to
the Call to Australia Party

ahead of Nuclear Disarmament
Party candidates.

An extraordinary,
extraordinary action

for a political leader
who professes

to be pro-disarmament.

♪ Waiting for the next big♪

[Peter] If I had got elected,

we'd all agreed, even me,
that the band wouldn't stop.

-[upbeat music playing]
-[audience cheering]

♪ We're waiting♪

[Peter] How that
would have manifested itself

through a term in the Senate
is anybody's guess.

But I had too much music
coursing through my veins

just to, you know, shut it off
at that point in time.

♪ We're waiting♪

[Jim] I'm kind of glad
that he didn't make it,

to be honest.

But at the time,
we were supportive.

[audience cheering]

[introspective music playing]

[crowd whistling]

[Rob] It did feel like,
once again,

throw away the rule book.

Start our music
from scratch again.

[Peter] The normal thing
for a band to do

would be to keep on towards
the bright, shining lights,

but instead we went completely
in another direction.

-[aeroplane engine whirring]
-[introspective music playing]

[Rhoda] Midnight Oil
came to the attention

of Aboriginal people

because the Warumpi enabled them

that entrée
into the Aboriginal community.

Everyone knew the Warumpi

but they didn't know
Midnight Oil.

["The Dead Heart" playing]

[crows cawing]

♪ We don't serve
Your country♪

♪ Don't serve your king♪

♪ Know your custom...♪

We're less inclined to believe

what we read
and what we see on the box

than we are to go out
and experience firsthand.

And I think that Midnight Oil
has always had

a direct relationship
with the people

that it's played to anyway.

These people out here
won't often get an opportunity

to hear or see
a band like this.

♪ The true country ♪

♪ And that cannot be stolen♪

♪ We follow in the steps
Of our ancestry♪

♪ And that cannot be broken♪

♪ We carry in our hearts
The true country♪

♪ And that cannot be stolen♪

♪ We follow in the steps
Of our ancestry♪

♪ And that cannot be broken♪

[intense guitar chord]

-♪ Broken ♪
-[indistinct chatter]

[Rob] It was remarkable
for us,

but I think it was also

something quite... [chuckling]

...like those communities
had never seen before.

["Helps Me Helps You" playing]

♪ My policy helps me
Helps you♪

♪ Generosity helps me...♪

[Jim] We came in like a 747 jet.

It really wasn't
going over well.

♪ Put your trust in me
I'll help you too♪

[Martin] We carried
our pub-rock sound

out there to the outback,

and it was a lot to take on
in a tin shed.

[Gordon] Yeah, the community
was a bit different.

Country music, gospel...
A bit laidback.

So the Oils performance,

"Too loud, man!" [laughs]

[upbeat music playing]

[Peter exclaims]

♪ Blackfella♪

[Neil] But that was
really good for them.

They became a great catalyst
for their creativity.

They just had songs coming out
of them

that included in them songs
references to that experience.

They felt that they could write
something about it.

♪ All the people
Of different races♪

♪ With different lives
In different places♪

♪ It doesn't matter
What your name is♪

♪ We got to have
Lots of changes♪

♪ We need more brothers
If we're to make it♪

♪ We need more sisters
If we're to save it♪

♪ Are you the one who's gonna
Stand up and be counted?♪

[introspective music playing]

[Rhoda] When they first
went out with the Warumpi...

...they're a group of white,
middle-class boys,

lawyers and so forth,

and they go out
into the centre of the country

to communities that would
possibly make you feel

like you're in India
or somewhere.

So you're looking
at a different climate,

different landscape,
different language.

Everything's different,
everything's remote,

everything's tough.

[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] That's the ribs.

[woman 2]
Yeah, that's the ribs.

[Peter] Yeah.

Not exactly
like barbecue ribs, are they?

[woman 2] Nothing gets wasted.
We eat everything.

The guts, the eyes, brains,
tongue, everything.

[Mark] I think
for most of the band

it was their first real contact

with Aboriginal people.

Their tour was
a culture shock, essentially.

["Warakurna" playing]

♪ There is enough♪

[Martin] I don't think
I really knew what to expect

going out there.

It was almost too much
to take on at first.

I just realised
there was so much to learn.

We didn't know anything.

♪ There is enough♪

♪ In Redfern as there is♪

-♪ In Alice♪
-♪ There is enough♪

[Jim] As whitefellas
growing up in the suburbs,

it was a genuine moment
of clarity.

I think a lot of what's wrong
with Australia is the...

...it's a simple lack of...

...recognition of
what happened here

with the invasion.

So, how many
of the people's families here

would have been shot and killed
in that time?

It's not that long ago,
really, is it?

They just spread
a bit of poison on a...

...piece of bread
and give it to them.

Just like a dog.

-[sombre music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]

[Sammy] The members
of the Oils learned so much...

...I guess coming into NT

to learn from each other.

[Gordon] We took them on
a tour of the Western Desert.

And they learned a lot
from different elders,

from different communities,
different languages.

You know, they felt
"This is home.

"This is open space.

"This is free."

-And that's where it stuck.
-[indistinct chatter]

-♪ Stand up!♪
-Everybody!

♪ Stand up and be counted♪

♪ Uh!♪

[Jim] Blackfella-Whitefella
Tour was key.

I mean, we were radicalised
by that trip.

We weren't... we didn't
come back kind of going,

"Oh, yeah, hey, we rocked out
in the desert."

We were, like, we came back
going, "Holy shit!

"What? What happened?

"What was that experience?"

♪ Stand up♪

♪ Stand up and be counted♪

♪ Stand up
Stand up♪

[Martin] Nothing has affected us
so much as that did.

And once we'd been out here

and experienced that,
it entered the band's DNA

and we were changed forever,
I think, by that experience.

♪ Are you the one♪

♪ Who understands
This family plan?♪

[guitar playing]

[Rob] We came back
with a completely new way

of looking at the absurdity

of whitefella life
in the big cities.

[audience cheering,
applauding]

["Beds Are Burning" playing]

[Peter] And you end up
with Diesel and Dust.

Probably our most
successful record.

But for us,
much more important,

an addition to our way
of thinking and feeling

and seeing that we never
otherwise would have had.

And which actually made us,

I think, probably
just better people.

[Rob] Our whole sense of time,

spatial qualities,
had been changed

and that's why
the Diesel and Dust album has

so much more space.

[audience cheering]

[Rob] We realised
that we could write

slower-paced music

on a single groove
rather than hectic music,

which changed gears five times.

[Warne] I mean,
"Beds Are Burning",

Rob started the song, I think,
and then Jim contributed.

It's just, like,
over six minutes long, the demo,

and it has no verses on it.

We recorded the vocal
three or four times, I think,

and redid it
for improving lyrical content.

I said down
the talkback mic afterwards...

..."Boys, you've just recorded
your first number one."

♪ The time has come♪

♪ To say fair's fair♪

[Giffo] I resigned
when I was out

on the Aboriginal tour.

I burnt out. And I couldn't...

I couldn't play anymore.

I just cracked up.
That's really what happened.

I was quite sedated when
I was sitting in that truck

doing "Beds Are Burning"
with my beard.

That's how I felt.

I felt I was too sick
to even shave, you know?

I was very sick there.

-[traffic rumbling]
-[aeroplane engine roaring]

[camera whirring]

[introspective music playing]

[Jim] Well, when Giffo left,
that was a real shock.

I thought
it was forever with him.

And he did tell me one night
he was going to go

and I didn't believe him,
and he did, he did go.

[Giffo] Bones took over from me

and he's picked up
where I couldn't keep going.

He picked it up
and carried the baton.

-[bus engine idling]
-[indistinct chatter]

[Rob] What happened
basically was

we were caught unaware
that the songs

about Aboriginal people
in Australia would find

an acceptable
listening audience overseas.

And then we went on the road
and we got in the bus

and we were shuttled
all around the United States

and Canada and Europe.

-[audience cheering]
-[MC] Please welcome

Midnight Oil!

♪ How can we dance
When our earth is turnin'?♪

♪ How do we sleep
While our beds are burnin'?♪

[Connie] With
"Beds Are Burning", it erupted.

We started going into major,
major concert halls

and major outdoor shows.

And instead of playing number,
you know,

third from the top,
you are at the top.

♪ How do we sleep
While our beds are burnin'?♪

♪ The time has come
To say fair's fair♪

♪ To pay the rent now
To pay our share♪

[man 2] You got to
wind it on twice, Jodie.

♪ The time has come♪

[Rob] Australian band like us

should never have
gone to England.

We should have
immediately gone to France

or Germany or Canada.

I was at my happiest
playing in those countries.

♪ To pay our share♪

♪ The time has come♪

♪ A fact's a fact♪

♪ It belongs to them♪

[audience]
♪ Let's give it back♪

[guitar playing]

♪ How can we dance
When our earth is turnin'?♪

[acoustic guitar playing]

[Rob] Each of the bass players
that we had

brought something different
to the party.

Bones, kind of, I always think
saved the band in one way.

Although he didn't play
as hard as Giffo,

or as technically proficiently
as Bear

with a background
more in Kiwi pop

played on "Counting the Beat"
obviously.

["Counting the Beat" playing]

♪ I'm thinking about you♪

♪ I'm thinking about me♪

[Rob] Here comes Bones

modelling the latest
in Lakewood fashions.

Oh! [chuckling]

He's gone off for a pee.

[Rob] He brought a sense of fun

and not taking ourselves
so seriously,

which the band
desperately needed.

Particularly on those long,

three-month, you know,
bus hikes.

Worst band in the world!

[Rob] And Bonesy would just
send the whole thing up

and reduce us
to tears of laughter.

And that was as important
as his musical contribution.

We can go and play in Berlin
to 7,500 people

and with a dying rig.

[all laughing]

[Rob] But he could sing.
It was an angelic voice.

So he opened up
the band's vocal capacity.

["Blue Sky Mine" playing]

♪ But if I work all day ♪

♪ On the blue sky mine♪

♪ There'll be food
On the table tonight♪

♪ Still I walk up and down
On the blue sky mine♪

♪ There'll be pay
In your pocket tonight♪

[John] "Beds Are Burning"
was the song

that put the band on the map
around the world,

but they then had
this incredible run

of song after song after song.

♪ There'll be pay
In your pocket tonight♪

[John] "Blue Sky Mine"
dealing with asbestosis,

you know,
like all great hit singles do.

♪ And nothing's as precious♪

♪ As a hole in the ground♪

[machine whirring]

[guitar playing]

-[bomb exploding]
-[introspective music playing]

[reporter 7] An oil tanker
ran aground today

off the nation's
northernmost ice free port,

Valdez, Alaska.

[reporter 8] One of the worst
oil spills in US history.

[reporter 9] The oil slick
from the ruptured tanker,

Exxon Valdez, has now grown

to more than 30 square miles

-and is continuing to expand...
-[seal barks]

...throughout
Prince William Sound.

[introspective music playing]

[Rob] Like most people,
we were appalled by the fact

that Exxon just wanted to

really forget about
the whole incident.

[suspenseful music playing]

[Rob] And we hatched
this scheme

to do a kind of lightning raid
right in Midtown Manhattan.

[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] We pretended
that we were a video crew,

-sort of setting up to play.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] It was like
a guerilla raid,

with split-second timing
and fingers crossed.

And, you know, it's just
one of those things.

You can either fall flat
on your face

or you're gonna pull it off.

[introspective music playing]

Greetings, New York.

[audience cheering]

[Peter] This is Midnight Oil.
We decided to play

some songs in the street
for you today.

We chose a special location
in front of the Exxon building.

I think you can work out why.

["Dreamworld" playing]

♪ The Breakfast Creek Hotel
Is up for sale♪

♪ The last square mile...♪

[Peter] There's a cop that runs

that whole Midtown precinct
who decides to let it run.

♪ Your dreamworld
Is just about to end♪

♪ Fall♪

♪ Your dreamworld
Is just about to fall♪

♪ Fall ♪

[Rob] And the copper said,
"OK, you got one song."

Which we did, you know,

and the crowd started to gather

and the cops started to,
you know, get into it.

And you could see foot start--
"OK, play one more. It's OK."

♪ Hey♪

♪ Hey!♪

[Rob] We ended up playing
about 45 minutes.

♪ Is just about to end♪

[Rob] So the last 15 minutes

corresponded
with Manhattan lunch hour.

And so the last 15 minutes,

this vast audience
poured out of these skyscrapers.

[audience cheering]

[Peter] And before then,
a special message for you,

a song called "Sometimes"

from the Midnight Oil
Diesel and Dust record.

[audience cheering]

The key line is, even if
you're pushed to the wall,

for the things
that you believe in,

-you don't give in.
-[indistinct chatter]

["Sometimes" playing]

[audience cheering]

[Jim] It's an important thing
to stand up there

and deliver the goods,

you know, as we did at Exxon.

There's a courage
that comes from having music

like that that you can play

and it's cogent

and it can reach people
in a different way.

♪ There's a floodgate
And a raging river♪

♪ And I say!♪

[Peter] We just
happened to end up

with activist communities.

But once it picked up
steam and momentum,

people were really
landing stuff on us

from every corner
of the country to begin with

and then every corner
of the globe.

♪ Sometimes you're beaten
To the call♪

♪ Sometimes♪

♪ Sometimes you're taken
To the wall♪

♪ But you don't give in♪

♪ Sometimes you're beaten
To the call♪

♪ Sometimes♪

[John] Throughout their career

Midnight Oil have been

not just willing
to get in people's faces

but keen to get in
people's faces.

♪ Sometimes you're beaten
To the call♪

♪ Sometimes♪

♪ Sometimes you're taken...♪

[Rob] On Vancouver Island,

a company there
were clear-felling

and we thought that was
a really lousy idea

and a lot of local people
and Greenpeace people as well,

plus the local Indian community

also thought
it was a really bad idea.

So we did this dawn concert.

-[guitar playing]
-[audience cheering]

Everybody in Canada
ought to be aware

of the fact that

the international community
of people,

particularly young people,

considers what's
happening out here

to be a wrong

and are prepared to do
something about it.

-Thank you.
-[audience cheering]

-[man 3 exclaiming]
-[car engine revving]

[indistinct chatter]

[Rob] And after the concert,

the loggers' families decided

that we weren't going anywhere.

We were actually wedged in
by the community.

-[car horn honking]
-[indistinct chatter]

[man 4] Did anyone push you away

from the logging truck?

Did anyone push you away
from the logging truck?

-[car horn honking]
-[man 4] Oh, you're gonna

-run us down, are you?
-[man 5] Hey.

[woman 3] I think you should
roll up both your windows

or you're never going to
get through.

[Peter] I think it's inevitable

that if you stick
your neck out far enough

for long enough,
whoever you are,

wherever you are,
someone's going to come along

and try and chop it off.

-[introspective music playing]
-[indistinct chatter]

Hey, open your window.
Why don't you talk to us?

-[woman 4] Get out.
-You got no balls, or what?

[indistinct chatter]

You got your say.
Let us have ours.

[indistinct clamouring]

Where you come from?

[indistinct clamouring]

[woman 5] Why are they putting
everything on our car?

-[car horn honking]
-[indistinct clamouring]

Come on out! Come outside!

Talk! [muffled]

[woman 6] Get out
of the car, you idiot!

[man vocalising]

[indistinct clamouring]

[man 6] Well done, everybody.
Full-tilt blockade, huh?

[introspective music playing]

[Mark] Well, there was
a while where

the band felt part
of the zeitgeist

that things were changing,

that community
was moving with them.

And then there was
this backlash,

this shift, this lurch
to the right, a full-on lurch.

[crowd] We want John!
We want John!

-We want John!
-[camera shutter clicking]

[crowd] We want John!
We want John!

We want John!

-[crowd cheering]
-[Kerry] When John Howard

came into power

in 1996

and you'd had 12, 13 years
of Labor,

socially, he wanted
to lead Australia back

into a more conservative
position, and he did.

-Order!
-[Paul] Mr Speaker,

-give him a Valium.
-[crowd chuckling]

[Paul] Give him a Valium,
Mr Speaker. He needs it.

[Michelle] And one of
the sort of surprises,

although I think it's probably

less of a surprise in hindsight,

is that
that election throws up

is the election
of Pauline Hanson.

[upbeat music playing]

[Rob] And I remember thinking

this... this is a game changer.

This is the beginning
of something...

-[indistinct chatter]
-...different and sinister.

I won the seat of Oxley
largely on an issue

that has resulted in me
being called a racist.

[crowd] Racist!
Racist! Racist!

[Pauline] Just because
you're an Aboriginal

is a weak excuse.

[intense guitar music playing]

We will decide
who comes to this country

and the circumstances
in which they come.

[intense guitar music playing]

[children] "It's a book
for all of you."

Thank you...

♪ This story's right
This story's true♪

♪ I would not tell lies
To you♪

♪ Like the promises
They did not keep♪

♪ And how they fenced us
In like sheep♪

[reporter 10]
For 150 years, Aboriginal

and Torres Strait Islander
children

were forcibly removed
from their families.

[indistinct chatter]

[Michelle] In 1996,
the Bringing Them Home Report

had been released
into the Stolen Generations

and had demonstrated the fact
of Indigenous child removal.

And it also indicated
the extent

of that removal.

[children exclaiming]

♪ The children away♪

[Mick] Aboriginal people
were the only people

in this country

ever to be automatically

wards of state at birth
because of law,

because their Aboriginality
was perceived as a problem

and that had to be expunged.

The Day of Reconciliation
was also marked by division.

The Prime Minister
again refused to make

an official apology
for the Stolen Generation.

And I absolutely repudiate it.

-[crowd booing]
-[Howard] So, ladies

and gentlemen,
I believe that the plan...

This is not an issue
that should be manipulated

for political purposes.

[Peter] It had been

a very controversial
political debate

for a number of years,
and a lot of people

on both sides of politics

could see nothing wrong
with saying sorry.

It was really Howard

and some
of the extreme right wing

in the Liberal Party that
were digging their heels in,

which was extraordinary
and quite repugnant.

[Howard] We must not join those

who would portray
Australia's history

since 1788

as little more

than a disgraceful record
of imperialism,

exploitation and racism.

[George] It's going to be
a big finish.

Cathy lifting!

Goes up to Graham,
takes the lead,

looks a winner.

This is a famous victory.
A magnificent performance.

What a legend. What a champion.

[John] Anybody who was alive

at the time
of the Sydney Olympics

remembers
how incredible it felt

to have the eyes
of the world upon Australia.

[crowd cheering]

[John] The Oils took that moment

and turned it into a moment
to make people stop

and think about
who we are as a people

and the unfinished business
that we've got.

-[triumphant music playing]
-[crowd cheering]

[David] When we started working

on the closing ceremony,
we want to do

this moment of celebrating
Australian music,

and of course
you couldn't do that

without the Oils.

[indistinct chatter]

[Rob]
When the opportunity came up

to be part
of the closing ceremony,

there was a lot of debate
as there is always

with every
Midnight Oil decision,

particularly ones involving
a big public arena

and international audience.

It's all pomp and circumstance.

It doesn't sound like us at all.

It's the kind of thing
we would never have done.

You know,
it's like a giant Countdown.

-[introspective music playing]
-[birds chirping]

[Rob] We actually decided
that we would go back

to the desert
and camp outside Papunya

in a riverbed
for two or three days

and talk about it.

We felt like we could actually
get our story straight

and see the big picture
if we just got out

of the noise
and the smoke of Sydney

and went out bush,
under those amazing stars,

and thought about it
and talked about it.

[Jim] And then it was,
"Well, we're going to do

"our latest single.
We'll do that.

"That'll be great publicity
for the single."

Eventually we thought, no,

we've got to do the song
that connects us

with what we're about
to the world.

Then we can really drive
the message home

and be Midnight Oil.

This way
for city Central-bound train.

[indistinct chatter]

[Rob] And we told
David Atkins,

who was organising the bands,

what our proposal was.

["Olympic Fanfare and Theme"
playing]

[Rob] Atkins said,
"We didn't have

"this conversation."

[David] The Olympics, as
an organisation, no politics.

And we had that

very, very firmly... [chuckling]
...stated over and over again.

I was in the control room.

It was only me
and the band that knew

what was going to happen.

[Rob] As we came out,
even at that point,

the band was uncertain

whether we should be doing this.

And as we walked up on stage,
this enormous roar,

the like of which
never heard before.

[announcer] Ladies
and gentlemen, Midnight Oil.

-["Beds Are Burning" playing]
-[audience cheering]

♪ How can we dance
When our earth is turnin'?♪

[Rob] And we did it.

And it was one of the most
extraordinary moments.

♪ How do we sleep
While our beds are burnin'?♪

[Rob] And people saw
for the first time

what was written on the overalls

and the look
on John Howard's face.

This look of absolute horror.

We knew that it was worth it.

♪ How do we sleep
While our beds are burnin'?♪

[Rhoda] I get goosebumps
thinking about it

and I could actually
cry with pride.

♪ The time has come
To say fair's fair♪

♪ To pay the rent now
To pay our share♪

[Rhoda] And every single athlete

was singing that song.

[Peter] And I had
a brief moment on the stage

of just pausing
for a second and thinking,

"Well, this is something
that, for me,

"in terms of everything
that we've ever done,

"means a great deal."

[upbeat music playing]

[crowd cheering]

[Commentator]
Midnight Oil, never afraid

to make a statement.

[insects chirping]

[Peter] Midnight Oil was
always about the big issues,

but the question then became...

...how do we win the big issues?

And for me, having a second job

ultimately
as a conservation activist

and working with organisations
like Greenpeace and the ACF

was a way of trying
to win some of those issues.

[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] And eventually,

you can't do two things
really well at the same time.

[introspective music playing]

[Bones] I mean,
we played so much, you know.

The touring schedule was huge
for a long period of time.

[Rob] So we're all overseas,

we're all out
of our comfort zone.

We all miss home.

Increasingly having families
and small children

who came and went, you know.

Sometimes they could be with us,

but mainly not.

[indistinct chatter]

[waves crash]

[Jim] To be honest,
myself, I'd felt

a certain weariness about it.

I had a few moments
in Holiday Inns

where I was walking up
to my room

with my guitar
and my suitcase going,

"How long am I going to be
fucking doing this?"

[Jim] Great hairdryer.

[hairdryer whirring]

Helsinki.

Eight more shows to do
on the tour.

Here's the hotel room.

[acoustic guitar playing]

Trusty Dove, the video camera.

Jacket.

Guitar case.

Flannelette shirt.

♪ Trying to turn
The world around♪

♪ Trying to turn the world
Around♪

♪ Trying to turn
The world around♪

[Jim] And you're, like,
dragging the load

of who you were in the '80s
around

and it's 2002

and you kind of go,
"Well, what does this mean?"

You know, like, no-one wants
to hear your new music.

They don't play it on the radio.

They just see you
as this thing from the past.

[acoustic guitar playing]

[Rob] And I remember, you know,

one by one people going,
"I don't think

"I can do this much longer.

"I don't want to do this,"
you know?

[suspenseful music playing]

[Jim] One of these gigs
on this tour,

Pete just said,
"Jimmy, I've had enough."

I think it needed to just stop.

And Pete... recognised that

and he was the first one
to pull the pin.

And I think, when he did,
it was a shock to some.

[Bones] We only had
six weeks notice, really.

I mean, we'd toured
United States and Europe,

returned home and he said
that, you know,

"At the end of this, I'm done."

[Peter] They were brothers
and they are brothers.

And we done
something very special.

To take that other direction,

that was a day
that I remember very well,

and it was a hard one for me.

[reporter 11]
Midnight Oil, it seems,

doesn't burn forever.

The legendary Australian
rock band has broken up

after the sudden resignation

of energetic frontman
Peter Garrett.

A fierce and powerful
environmentalist,

he's expected to devote
more of his energy

towards his politics.

Come on in and duck your head.

[upbeat music playing]

Full of people, usually,

volunteers who come in and help.

Frida at the front desk today.

And she'll smile
at the camera. No?

[chuckles]

[Rob] The band really
never broke up.

Pete left.

And then it was
up to the band to decide

whether we were going to,
you know,

be one of those bands
that will continue on

in some shape or form.

And I think, you know, wisely,

we decided that Midnight Oil
was the five of us

and it had to be all of us.

[Peter] My headquarters,
so to speak.

["Home" playing]

[Jim] Well, it was hard
when Pete went into politics.

It was a tricky one
to sort of learn how...

...to be without the band...

...behind you and with you,
you know,

financially, emotionally.

Everything.

♪ It is a place
I've never seen♪

[Jim] It's very much like
losing your family.

♪ Where it is♪

[Jim] It was difficult to
find my place in the world

and make sense of anything
after I've been in it

since I was a kid.

I mean,
I met Rob when I was 13 or 14.

♪ Where is home?♪

♪ Where is my home?♪

[Peter] Music and activism
is partly about

shouting at governments
and powerful institutions

either to stop doing something

or to make something happen.

Getting in government
gives you the opportunity

to stop something
and make something happen.

[upbeat surf music playing]

[Jim] Martin and Rob himself
formed a surf band,

of all things, because I think
we didn't want to

go around calling ourselves
Midnight Oil without Pete.

We just didn't want
to do that.

[Rob] So we formed The Break.

-Really enjoyable...
-[water gurgling]

...and very improvisational

compared to the kind of
nailed-down arrangements

that Midnight Oil do.

[Martin] The amps
got smaller and smaller

because you had to
carry them yourself

and just took us back
to the very basic thing

of really enjoying
playing music together.

You've been pretty much
your own person up to now.

I imagine you've had to make

very few political compromises.

Do you have any real idea
of what lies ahead for you

on Compromise Alley?

I do, and I know

that some of those compromises
will be hard for me,

but I also accept that
if I want to work effectively

in national politics,

in the alternative government
or in a government in time,

then I'm going to have to be
in a political party,

accept the rules of the party,
follow the policies,

and express myself strongly
and positively

in the party room
but not outside of it.

Not on the media, not on TV.

I'm Peter Garrett,
standing for Labor

-for Kingsford Smith.
-[woman 7] Yep. I know

-who you are.
-[laidback music playing]

[camera shutter clicking]

[Billy] You know,
when Peter Garrett

became a politician,
he stepped up,

he didn't step down.

He went beyond
where very few of us would go.

[indistinct chatter]

[Billy] He took
the responsibility for it,

because you can get away
with a lot of shit

when you're in a rock band

and you can say
all sorts of bollocks.

Keep the Frogs out and stop
them bombing Mururoa too,

the rotten Frog shits.

[Billy] When you put on a suit

and you're on telly
and you're representing people

and you got to take
responsibility,

you're accountable.

[imitating explosion]
There's not many people

in my industry who could
deal with that.

[indistinct chatter]

I came into politics
to make a difference.

It might sound as though
it's the sort of thing

that people say
when they enter public life,

but that is the fact,
that's why I came here.

[indistinct chatter]

[Tanya] He knew he was giving up

-the demigod status of...
-[audience cheering]

...the kind of political purity

that he could
quite rightly claim

from all of his years
of activism.

I will be Prime Minister
for all Australians.

[crowd cheering]

[reporter 12]
Kevin Rudd claims victory

in one of the most extraordinary

election triumphs
in living memory.

Howard government
removed from power

-for a Labor government...
-[camera shutter clicking]

...a result which will
fundamentally change

the political landscape
in Australia.

[introspective music playing]

[Peter] I think that Australia

was a pretty conservative place

in some ways in those days,

as it still is
in some ways today.

[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] And people
have got to be fearless.

You know,
they've got to stand up

for what they believe in

and be prepared
to put it out there.

[crowd applauding]

On behalf of the Government
of Australia,

I am sorry.

[crowd cheering]

[Peter] Having been on stage

at the Sydney Olympics
and then in the House

as a minister,
when the apology was moved

by the prime minister
and read out

were probably two of the most
meaningful moments of my life.

-Certainly my public life.
-[all applauding]

-[introspective music playing]
-[camera shutter clicking]

[Natasha] I suspect
a lot of his fan base,

particularly that really
rusted-on political fan base...

[indistinct chatter]

...at times found it challenging

to understand
the mechanics of politics,

to understand that compromise

is almost an inevitable part

of wielding power
and making change.

[Peter] Some people don't like
the idea

of this wild,
outspoken rock singer

suddenly, as they see it,
being hobbled.

-I never felt hobbled.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] I understood what
I was getting myself in for.

If you don't suffer a little,

then you don't get
anything achieved.

-[audience cheering]
-["Say Your Prayers" playing]

♪ Don't want to live in...♪

[Nick] He told them
what he was going to do...

...that he was going to abide
by the party's decisions...

...and they just
didn't hear him.

This is his old audience.
They're in their 40s.

But they had that
golden part of themselves,

that golden idealism

which they'd given to him

and they just
didn't listen to him at all.

♪ Say your prayers
For the future♪

♪ Say your prayers
For the past♪

[Anthony] If you're on stage
at Selina's, let alone,

you know,
Sydney Football Stadium,

then you're in charge.

[speaker] Order.

[Anthony]
When you're in Parliament,

you're not alone.

-[speaker] Lock the doors.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Anthony] You're there with
the noise coming back at you.

One word
the opposition leader said.

[Anthony] It's loud.
It's full-on.

[speaker] Order! Order!

[Anthony]
Politics is about power.

-Order!
-[upbeat music playing]

-Yeah.
-[Anthony] And someone

gaining power

is often at the expense
of someone else.

-[indistinct chatter]
-Now, hang on. Hang on.

[reporter 13]
The Abbott-Bishop team

will now try to save

-the Liberals from themselves.
-[camera shutter clicking]

You'll need this.

Sloppy Joe there went out

-all guns blazing.
-[speaker] Order!

And the Coalition
has vacated the field.

-[camera shutters clicking]
-[indistinct chatter]

We have thrown
our absolute all at this.

[upbeat music playing]

First woman,
maybe first redhead.

[camera shutter clicking]

[Tanya] What we're seeing
at the moment, this level of

nastiness, personal attack.

-You're a gutless loser!
-Well, I'm here, mate.

Offensive words.
Reflections on members.

-And it must stop. Righto.
-[upbeat music playing]

[all laughing]

[Malcolm] Have a listen
to the lyrics.

[Peter] I didn't realise
we had so many music fans.

We are down
the bottom of the barrel now.

[reporter 14] Resurrected,
reinstated, revenged.

Kevin Rudd's
second prime ministership

began the same way
the first ended,

with a brutal nighttime ambush.

I wouldn't seek
to serve in his ministry

even if he chose to ask me.

[upbeat music playing]

[Anthony] Peter. Greg Combet.
Julia Gillard. Craig Emerson.

-All decided to go.
-[indistinct chatter]

[Peter] If you look
at the record

of the Rudd-Gillard governments

and including the stuff
that I was involved in,

a lot was done.

We took the Japanese to court,

the International Court
of Justice

on whaling
in the Southern Oceans,

and we won that case.

You know, we stopped
the Mary River Dam.

We established, you know,
e-waste recycling schemes,

you know, a whole bunch
of different things.

[indistinct chatter]

[Tanya] The work
that he did as a minister,

particularly
in the education portfolio,

I think is really
phenomenally important

and will affect
generations of kids' lives.

He's going to get
less credit for that

than for any song he ever sang

in some respects.

And I think that
that's really unfair.

From my friends and family

and also from many
in the community

who provided support to me

over time as well,
my deep gratitude,

and I wish all of you
in this House

well in the future -
thanks very much.

[all applauding, cheering]

[Peter] I think you've got to
leave your comfort zone

if you really want to
get stuff done in the world

and in your life,
you just can't...

...think about
"Maybe this isn't going to work,

"maybe we'll fail."

Go and do it.

-[crickets chirping]
-[birds chirping]

[Rob] And so we'd all gone off
doing our thing and then,

you know, not sure whether
the band would ever play again.

And then after ten years
of politicking,

I called everyone up

and asked the question.

[Martin] I really wanted
the band to play again.

Who wouldn't, you know?

What a great band to play with.

[upbeat acoustic music playing]

[Jim] I was almost like,
"Really? Wow. OK, great."

Pete's ready to do it,
so let's do it.

[Rob]
I actually didn't want that,

you know, the anxiety,
if you like,

of the Oils to come back

along with all the great bits
of the band.

And the decks
had to be cleared

and then we move forward.

So it's about 30 years,
isn't it,

since we played that song
out here,

and that was just before

the Blackfella-Whitefella Tour.

Like, you never would have
thought when we were

sort of taking off
and doing all those pub shows

that we'd actually end up

somewhere like here,
playing out where it's quiet,

-playing acoustic guitar.
-[Rob] Yeah, it changed

everything about the band,

-I mean.
-Absolutely.

[Peter] I think
particularly at this time,

you know, there's
a lot of really difficult,

challenging stuff happening
in people's lives

in different countries
in the world.

I think that

coming at music
from that perspective,

with that kind of motivation
and intent,

sort of feels to me
like it's the right time

to be playing.

[Peter] We agreed
to see what would happen.

Little did I know
that it would take on

a completely new life
of its own.

[audience cheering and chanting]

[John] The Oils forged this

unusually deep bond
with audiences

because they never took
the easy option.

So when the band came back,
the fans were still right there.

[audience] Oils, Oils!

Oils! Oils!

[Nick] Didn't really
feel like nostalgia.

It was...
something stronger than that.

It was...
maybe an appreciation...

...for so many years saying what
so many of us kids back then

in the '70s in Australia

needed someone to say
on our behalf.

[audience cheering]

[Rob] Songs played and conceived

and written by teenagers
and 20-somethings.

And here we were
in our early 60s

going out to do it.

That was one
of my main apprehensions.

As far as the intensity
and the speed

and the energy,
the buck stops with me...

...just because the drumming
is so much more physical.

[audience cheering]

["Read About It" playing]

[audience cheering]

♪ The rich get richer
The poor get the picture♪

♪ Bombs never hit you
When you're down so low♪

[Rob] 2017 tour
pretty much sold out

within five or ten minutes
internationally, I mean.

♪ The bosses want decisions
Workers need ambitions♪

♪ Won't be no collisions
When they move so slow♪

♪ Nothing ever happens♪

[Jim] You know we played
a million people,

or something like that,
extraordinary amount of people

that wanted to see us
all around the world.

♪ What am I to know?♪

♪ You wouldn't read about it♪

♪ Read about it♪

♪ One unjust...♪

[Rob] I didn't want
the band to be seen

as simply a nostalgic exercise.

You know, one more time
with the same material.

I wanted us still to be seen
as a creative force.

-[song fades]
-[audience cheering]

[John] For any band
who's had a long break,

the acid test is
really going back

into a recording studio.

Will people still want to hear
what they've got to say?

Will they be able
to create something

that stands up
to their earlier work?

[Jim] I wasn't too sure
we could do it.

[waves crashing]

[Jim] I just thought... [sighs]

..."How the hell are we going to
pull this off?

"We've got such a past
to live up to."

And we went around
for a songwriting session

at Rob's house.

He played straight up.
He played "First Nation"

and "Gadigal Land" straight up.

And I was like,

"Holy fucking shit.

"You bastard. You've nailed it.

"And that is the Midnight Oil
essence, those songs."

-[audience cheering]
-["First Nation" playing]

♪ First nation♪

♪ First nation♪

[Rob] There's been quite a bit
of water under the bridge

since the band made an album.

It's almost 20 years
and quite a lot has happened

in the relationship between
black and white Australia.

[Peter] Promises of a treaty
that historically

had been made by
a Labor prime minister, Hawke.

-[indistinct chatter]
-That there shall be...

...a treaty.

[Peter]
Which weren't fulfilled.

-[crowd applauding]
-[Peter] We really felt that

that was such an important thing

that couldn't be
let just fade away

and disappear down the plughole.

We needed to come back
and recognise how important,

-how fundamental it was.
-[indistinct chatter]

-[wind blowing]
-[Troy] We leave base camp

and start our trek
across this vast country.

We invite you to walk with us
in a movement

of the Australian people
for a better future.

-[audience cheering]
-["Gadigal Land" playing]

[Martin] Then that became
a very exciting idea

that we could have

First Nations people
on that record with us.

♪ Welcome to Gadigal land♪

♪ Welcome to Gadigal country♪

♪ Welcome to Gadigal land♪

♪ It's unfolding
You're unloading♪

♪ Your high and mighty
Prison ships♪

♪ Ah ♪

♪ Welcome to Gurindji land♪

♪ All of your lands♪

♪ Oh, welcome!♪

[audience cheering]

[introspective music playing]

[birds chirping]

[Jim] It hit all of us very hard

because we were very close.

Even though he lived
in the States, we were...

He was like a family member.

[Peter] He managed his departure

to that other place
with an incredible amount

of bravery and dignity.

For him, his life
had turned out to be

much greater than
what he'd originally thought

when he was
essentially a street kid

in Auckland back in the day.

And I was very heartened
and very moved to hear that.

Anyway, we miss him terribly,
as you can imagine.

But one of the things that
he did say very clearly was,

he expected us
to get out there

and keep on playing
so long as our legs were up...

-[audience cheering]
-...our hearts were beating.

And I figure
if we're all standing here

on the stage today,
that means

that there's more music
to come.

[upbeat synth music playing]

-[machine whirring]
-["Nobody's Child" playing]

[machine whirring]

[Rob] You know, some folks
came to us and said,

"Have you been waiting
for the political situation

"of the world to turn
as shit as it is?"

-Do not shoot!
-[indistinct clamouring]

[Rob] All of this happened
to conspire at the very time

that the band was
treading the boards again.

It's quite uncanny.

[indistinct chatter]

♪ Look around the world♪

♪ 'Cause nothing less
Will do♪

[Martin] We've just had
this wonderful time together.

In my mind,
I'm not saying farewell.

I'm just out there
doing it one more time.

♪ Nothing less will do ♪

[Peter] It's as much about
leaving yourself

at a point when you're
as good as you can be

and you're able to do
what you do

as well as you can.

And that's an acknowledgement
of human frailty and mortality.

There's so much flashing lights

this rocker can take.

[Jim] You've dedicated
your life to something

that's amazing
and bigger than you are,

but the band
just means so much to me.

I would hate to see it less than
anything than what it was.

Where is the line that you cross
where it goes to that...

You don't know
where the line is.

♪ Alright
'Cause nothing less will do♪

[audience cheering]

[Peter] Thank you
for having us tonight.

Thank you for having us
for the last 40 years.

Take care. Be safe.

We've cherished
every second of it.

["Forgotten Years" playing]

♪ Few of the sins
Of the fathers♪

♪ Are visited upon the son♪

♪ Hearts have been hard♪

♪ Hands have been clenched
In a fist too long♪

♪ Our sons
Will never be soldiers♪

♪ Our daughters
Will never need guns♪

♪ These are
The years between♪

♪ These are the years that
Were hard fought and won♪

♪ Contracts torn
At the edges♪

♪ Signatures
Stained with tears♪

♪ Seasons of war and peace♪

♪ These should not be
Forgotten years♪

♪ Still it aches
Like tetanus♪

♪ It reeks of politics♪

♪ How many dreams remain?♪

♪ This is a feeling
Too strong to contain♪

♪ The hardest years
The darkest years♪

♪ The roarin' years
The fallen years♪

♪ These should not be
Forgotten years♪

♪ The hardest years
The wildest years♪

♪ The desperate
And divided years♪

♪ We will remember♪

♪ These should not be
Forgotten years♪

♪ Our shoreline
Was never invaded♪

♪ Our country
Was never in flames♪

♪ This is the calm
We breathe♪

♪ This is a feeling
Too strong to contain♪

♪ Still it aches
Like tetanus♪

♪ It reeks of politics♪

♪ Signatures
Stained with tears♪

♪ Who can remember?
We've got to remember♪

♪ The hardest years
The darkest years♪

♪ The roarin' years
The fallen years♪

♪ These should not be
Forgotten years♪

♪ The hardest years
The wildest years♪

♪ The desperate
And divided years♪

♪ We will remember♪

♪ These should
Not be forgotten years♪

♪ Years ♪

[audience cheering]

♪ I said
It's the hardest years♪

♪ The darkest years♪

♪ The roarin' years
The fallen years♪

♪ These should
Not be forgotten years♪

♪ These should not be
Forgotten years ♪

[Peter vocalising]

["Hercules" playing]

♪ My life is
A valuable thing♪

♪ I want to keep it that way♪

♪ I won't cry♪

♪ My life's
Such a valuable thing♪

♪ And some things
Don't fade away♪

♪ But I don't mind♪

♪ We give the best
We can give♪

♪ We won't forget
We can't forgive♪

♪ Keep us radioactive free♪

♪ Strike a bell
In Hiroshima park♪

♪ You know that
We can't see in the dark♪

♪ We try and we try and we try
And we try and we try♪

♪ Who waits
For the planes to come♪

♪ When everybody's
Got you on the run?♪

♪ South Pacific, carry on♪

♪ It seems to me
That what we're saying♪

♪ Nobody wants to talk about♪

♪ This is no time
To be wondering why♪

♪ I do the best I can do♪

♪ The human jungle
And the global zoo♪

♪ I'll find my way
It's a very special way♪

♪ Why wait
For the planes to come♪

♪ When everybody's
Got us on the run?♪

♪ South Pacific, carry on♪

♪ Here come the Hercules♪

♪ Here come the submarines♪

♪ Sinking
South Pacific dreams♪

[lead guitar playing]

♪ This is something
I will remember♪

♪ This is something I will
Remember♪

♪ This is something
I will remember♪

♪ Remember♪

♪ Remember...♪

♪ Why wait
For the planes to come♪

♪ When everybody's
Got us on the run?♪

♪ South Pacific, carry on♪

♪ Here come the Hercules♪

♪ Here come the submarines♪

♪ Sinking South Pacific

♪ Dreams♪

[audience cheering]

[upbeat music playing]

[song ends]

[audience cheering]