Rob Hirst, the renowned drummer and songwriter for the iconic Australian band Midnight Oil, has unveiled a profoundly personal new EP titled “A Hundred Years or More.” This four-track release holds significant emotional weight, as it was recorded while Hirst, 70, was undergoing treatment for stage three pancreatic cancer. The creative process unfolded in brief intervals when Hirst felt well enough to contribute vocals and guitar, following a major gastro bypass operation earlier this year. He candidly shared that the surgery was necessary due to the tumor pressing against his internal organs, making it difficult to eat, and effectively “replumbed” his insides. Despite the immense challenges, these recording sessions became a sanctuary of defiant creativity and a space for familial healing.

Hirst enlisted the support of his longtime bandmates, Jim Moginie and Hamish Stuart, for the project. Notably, his daughters, Gabriella and Lex Hirst, also lent their voices to the EP, adding a deeply personal and poignant layer to the music. Gabriella, an artist based in Berlin, takes the lead vocal on the EP's title track, “A Hundred Years or More.” This tender and melancholic ballad was directly inspired by her father's diagnosis, featuring the poignant line, “May you live to be a hundred years or more,” which Hirst joins her for on the final line, “May you take another turn around the sun.” Hirst recounted how Gabriella, while visiting and caring for him, expressed her fondness for the song he was developing and subsequently took on the lead vocal after he shared the rough lyrics with her.

Lex Hirst contributes backing vocals to the opening track, “First Do No Harm,” further solidifying the family's involvement. The EP also features a surprise appearance from Hoodoo Gurus bassist Rick Grossman. Rob Hirst, a co-founder of Midnight Oil in the 1970s, has a distinguished career that also includes acclaimed side projects such as Ghostwriters, The Break, and Backsliders. Midnight Oil performed their final show in October 2022 at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion. “A Hundred Years or More” is set to be released on November 14 and follows his 2023 release, “Red Continent.”