The time has come to watch the chronological documentary of one of Australia's greatest musical exports, "Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line".
I've loved this seminal Aussie bands songs since the beginning and one of my short memories is attending their live concert with my brother Robin at the old Jindalee Hotel, Brisbane 40 plus years ago.
The Oils weren't always a social conscience with melodies they started as a surf band on Sydney's Northern Beaches.
I know it's hard to picture the bald Peter Garrett as a blonde haired stompy wompy real gone surfer boy in the 80's, but this is just one of many reasons Oils fans must see this movie on the big screen now with limited screenings at selected cinemas.
Peter Garrett always was a politician in a rock stars body.
Garrett's years in politics on a break from the band are well documented too, but never boring.
For several years Garrett was King of the Mountain in Canberra as a Minister in the Labor Government.
This flick covers the bands stand on Nuclear Disarmament, Logging, Dams and many other issues they stood firm on.
"The Hardest Line" is loaded with unseen rare footage that takes you inside the machine that became this political juggernaut...including their outback tour with the Warumpi Band to see how our indigenous people really lived and reacted to this rock band from the big smoke.
It also includes a very moving Exon protest in New Yorks lunch hour, the famous "Sorry" performance at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, plus their farewell final concert performance.
This documentary is just the right balance of live performances and recorded studio sessions, stills and video clips.
Midnight Oil is one person with 5 heads, even if some of the heads changed over the years.
Bass player is the poisoned chalice in the Oils.
Several of their bassists burnt out from the constant strain of touring and recording, whilst Dwayne "Bones" Hillman (aka Wayne Stevens) paid the ultimate price and died from cancer in the United States, in 2020, aged just 62.
This film is written and directed by Paul Clarke who ensures we always know who's speaking in the voiceovers with quick supers of their names.
Congratulations Blink TV and Beyond Entertainment for giving us one of the best music doco's I've ever seen.
Enjoy the power and the passion of "Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line" with something for music geeks like myself and anyone who enjoys a good yarn it leaves no forgotten years during its 1 hour and 45 minutes.
