Home / Arts and Entertainment / Midnight Oil Drummer Rob Hirst Dies at 70
Midnight Oil Drummer Rob Hirst Dies at 70
21 Jan
Summary
- Midnight Oil drummer Rob Hirst has passed away at age 70.
- Hirst died peacefully surrounded by loved ones after a cancer battle.
- He was a co-founder of the influential Australian rock band Midnight Oil.
Australian rock drummer Rob Hirst, a founding member of the influential band Midnight Oil, has died at the age of 70. The news was announced on Tuesday, January 21, 2026, by his bandmates, who revealed he had been battling stage three pancreatic cancer since 2023.
Hirst passed away peacefully surrounded by his family. His oncologist had noted in April 2025 that he was in stable condition despite undergoing extensive treatments. Hirst was born in Camden, Australia, in September 1955 and began his musical journey at age 12.
He co-founded Midnight Oil in the early 1970s, and the band rose to prominence with topical songwriting and politically charged performances addressing issues like Aboriginal rights and nuclear disarmament. Midnight Oil released ten studio albums between 1979 and 2001, including the platinum-selling 'Diesel and Dust'.
The band reunited in 2017, releasing two more albums, 'The Makarrata Project' (2020) and 'Resist' (2022), the latter topping the Australian albums chart. Hirst also performed with bands Ghostwriters and Backsliders. He is survived by his wife, Lesley Holland, and his daughters.
