Rob Hirst: The Final Interview

HEART & SOUL with DAVID LESER

Ep 4 Rob Hirst: The Final Interview

Recorded just months before his death in January 2026, Midnight Oil co-founder, drummer and songwriter Rob Hirst joins his close friend David Leser for one of his final filmed interviews.

In a candid, generous and deeply moving conversation, Rob reflects on his childhood, his early love of The Beatles, the profound influence of his parents, his creative partnership with his Midnight Oil “blood brothers”, and his enduring passion for poetry, melody and history.

He also speaks about the things that mattered most to him: family, friendship, gardens, music and creativity. In the face of terminal illness, Rob reflects with characteristic honesty and grace on mortality, gratitude and what he describes as a blessed life.

About the guest
Born in Camden, New South Wales, Rob Hirst was a founding member of the internationally successful Midnight Oil and one of Australia’s most influential musicians.

As drummer, songwriter and lyricist, Rob wrote or co-wrote many of Midnight Oil’s most iconic songs, including Beds Are Burning, The Dead Heart, Power and the Passion, Short Memory, Forgotten Years, King of the Mountain and Armistice Day.

For more than fifty years, Rob gave voice to the storm and rage of the times through Midnight Oil and a range of other musical projects, including Ghostwriters, Hirst & Greene and Hirst & O’Shea, the latter producing the acclaimed album The Lost and the Found with his daughter, Jay O’Shea.

About Heart & Soul with David Leser
Heart & Soul is a filmed and recorded interview series exploring the seminal experiences shaping the inner lives of remarkable Australians.

Hosted by award-winning journalist and author David Leser.

These are the conversations we rarely hear from people we think we know.

Credits
Host: David Leser — Director: Ian Darling — Camera: Harry Keilly — Sound: Mary Macrae — Editors: Harry Kielly and Sally Fryer.  Filmed on location.