Latest news with #RobHirst
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Rock musician battling cancer has had almost ‘every treatment known to man'
The drummer for a revolutionary Australian rock band has opened up about his battle with pancreatic cancer. Rob Hirst, who co-founded Midnight Oil in the 1970s, said he has been battling the disease for two years in a recent interview with The Australian. 'So it's ongoing,' he told the newspaper. 'I've had pretty much every treatment known to man — every scan, ultrasound, MRI. I've kind of had 'the works.'' Hirst said he was diagnosed 'early' and that the cancer was at stage 3 when he found it. The drummer then underwent months of chemotherapy before having an unsuccessful, eight-hour surgery to remove his tumor. Hirst is still getting both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Cancer Australia reports that the survival rate for men with pancreatic cancer between 2016 and 2020 was 12% for men. 'Coming up to two years, I thought I just need to get this, literally, off my chest,' Hirst told The Australian. 'Also, I think that lesson for me — and maybe why I've lasted this long — is because, if you do have any of that kind of symptom, where there's something that you feel is wrong, just go and get a simple blood test. It could be life-changing, and life-extending.' Midnight Oil is multi-platinum-selling, award-winning band whose material has brought 'a new sense of political and social immediacy to pop music,' according to AllMusic. The band's 1987 single 'Beds Are Burning,' which advocates for Indigenous land rights, is regarded as a landmark of Australian music. The song peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at No. 6 in Australia. The band first formed in Sydney in 1972 as Farm, before changing its name to Midnight Oil in 1976. Midnight Oil released three albums before the band's breakthrough project, '10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,' arrived in 1982. The album peaked at No. 3 in Australia and contained the top 10 single, 'Power and the Passion.' Midnight Oil's next three albums — 1984's 'Red Sails in the Sunset,' 1987's 'Diesel and Dust' and 1990's 'Blue Sky Mining' — all topped the Australian charts. The latter peaked at No. 20 on the Billboard 200 chart. Midnight Oil earned two more chart-topping albums with 2020's 'The Makarrata Project' and 2022's 'Resist,' which was released just one week before longtime bassist Bones Hillman died of cancer at the age of 62. The band was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006. Rock icon has been engaged to longtime partner for 'two or three years' '90s rock singer says he was 'high 24/7′ while making band's biggest hits Country music legend snaps picture with worker at Dairy Queen drive-thru Drummer 'surprised and saddened' by firing from legendary rock band Trump admin 'tried every trick' to stop rock legend's US citizenship
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Midnight Oil Drummer Rob Hirst Reveals Cancer Diagnosis
Rob Hirst, the drummer of Australian rock veterans Midnight Oil, has revealed he is currently battling pancreatic cancer. 69-year-old Hirst, who co-founded the Sydney rock outfit in the '70s, revealed his diagnosis publicly in an interview with The Australian, explaining that he has been living with the disease for two years. Hirst noted he had received confirmation of his condition about six months after Midnight Oil wrapped up the Australian leg of their farewell tour in October 2023, and he's been receiving constant medical assistance since. More from Billboard Luis R. Conriquez Decries Concert Violence, Says 'I'll Make Significant Changes to My Lyrics' Fans Choose Cynthia Erivo's 'Worst of Me' as This Week's Favorite New Music Playboi Carti's 'MUSIC' Moves Back to No. 1 on Billboard 200 for Third Week 'So it's ongoing,' Hirst told the publication. 'I've had pretty much every treatment known to man – every scan, ultrasound, MRI. I've kind of had 'the works.'' Hirst explained that he was diagnosed 'early,' with his tumor being caught while at stage three. Upon learning of his condition, Hirst embarked upon months of chemotherapy before an unsuccessful eight-hour 'Whipple' surgery to attempt the removal of the tumor. He has since continued with both chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Though initially keeping his diagnosis a secret, Hirst has since gone public to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, noting that it 'hasn't really attracted the attention, for example, of skin cancers or breast cancers or others.' According to data from Cancer Australia, the average survival rate of individuals between 2016 and 2020 was 13%, with men given a chance of 12%. 'Coming up to two years, I thought I just need to get this, literally, off my chest,' Hirst explained. 'Also, I think that the lesson for me – and maybe why I've lasted this long – is because, if you do have any of that kind of symptom, where there's something that you feel is wrong, just go and get a simple blood test. It could be life-changing, and life-extending.' Midnight Oil first formed in Sydney in 1972 as Farm, before adopting their later moniker in 1976. The group initially released eleven albums before splitting in 2002, with their breakthrough coming in 1982 with 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, which hit No. 3 in Australia. Their following three albums – 1984's Red Sails in the Sunset, 1987's Diesel and Dust, and 1990's Blue Sky Mining – all topped the Australian charts, while the latter gave them a peak of No. 20 on the Billboard 200. Their 1987 single 'Beds Are Burning' is often considered a landmark of Australian music, with its message of Indigenous land rights also resonating internationally and peaking at No. 17 on the Hot 100. While the band would be inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006, they would reform a decade later in 2016, and following a global reunion tour, they issued The Makarrata Project in 2020 and Resist in 2022. While both albums would reach No. 1 in Australia, the former was released just one week before longtime bassist Bones Hillman passed from cancer at the age of 62. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
