{"id":425055,"date":"2026-01-20T08:19:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/425055\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T08:19:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T08:19:11","slug":"midnight-oil-drummer-rob-hirst-dies-aged-70-after-cancer-battle-leaving-australian-music-in-mourning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/425055\/","title":{"rendered":"Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst dies aged 70 after cancer battle, leaving Australian music in mourning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has died, aged 70, following a battle with pancreatic cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The legendary performer, who was described as \u201cthe engine driving one of the greatest live bands of all time\u201d, was diagnosed with the disease in 2023.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter fighting heroically for almost three years, Rob is now free of pain – \u2018a glimmer of tiny light in the wilderness\u2019,\u201d his bandmates said on social media on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHe died peacefully, surrounded by loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirst had shared news of his illness<\/a> in April 2025, saying he could not play the drums due to problems with his breathing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to get the story of pancreatic cancer out there, because it\u2019s one of those cancers that most people don\u2019t really register,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

His death has shattered the music world, with tributes from fans and industry figures highlighting him as a \u201cbeast behind the kit\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cRob Hirst has had a massive impact on Australian culture,\u201d rocker Jimmy Barnes said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the engine driving one of the greatest live bands of all time.<\/p>\n

\u201cRest in peace, dear Rob.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are irreplaceable, one of a kind, and myself, my family, and all the rest of this great country will miss you so much.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hoodoo Gurus said the world \u201chas lost a great musician\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour creativity, passion and joy has left its mark on all of us, and the strength of your spirit will be an inspiration forever,\u201d the band said.\u201cA life well lived.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MidnightMidnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has died following a battle with cancer. Credit: Dean Lewins\/AAP<\/p>\n

Hirst formed Midnight Oil in 1976 before the band went on to become one of the most prolific acts in Australian music history with hits like Beds Are Burning and The Power and The Passion.<\/p>\n

Hirst, who also played with the Ghostwriters, Backsliders and the Angry Tradesmen, is survived by his wife Lesley Holland and three daughters.<\/p>\n

Hirst\u2019s family has asked people wanting to honour him to donate to Pankind \u2014 Pacreatic Cancer Australia, or music industry charity Support Act.<\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has died, aged 70, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. The legendary performer,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425056,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[64,63,447,134,136,44,14179],"class_list":{"0":"post-425055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-celebrities","11":"tag-entertainment","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-sunrise"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425056"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}