REVIEW: Midnight Oil 1984 reconnects to the power and the passion of our greatest live band

MIDNIGHT Oil 1984 is a riveting documentary time capsule reconnecting fans to the power and the passion of our greatest live band in their irresistible prime.

Painting of Tsunehisa Kimura's 1984 post-apocalyptic vision of Sydney used as album cover for Midnight Oil's ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’, is part of ‘Sydney Vistas’ exhibition at Museum of Sydney.

FOR the seminal Australian rock band Midnight Oil, the year of 1984 was at once a turning point, a launch pad and a broadening of ambitions.

In this exciting new documentary, we are catapulted in a rough-and-ready time machine to the era in the Oils’ vibrant history where they were already well and truly at the height of their powers.

However, while it had taken Midnight Oil a mere six years or so to become one of the most electrifying and incendiary live acts on the planet, we here in Australia still had them all to ourselves.

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A scene from the documentary Midnight Oil 1984. A Madman release.

The world would later catch on to the band’s unique sound - a potent blend of dynamics and doctrines - and buy their records in the millions.

For now, however, the Sydney-based five-piece were big fish in a small pond, fiercely determined to make a splash on their terms, by their own rules.

The documentary is the work of Ray Argall, who as a young filmmaker in the early 1980s, had the privilege of running a camera on several of the band’s crucial live performances and music videos of the period.

The impressive barrage of previously unseen footage we bear witness to here was primarily taken by Argall as the Oils toured the nation incessantly to promote their ‘Red Sails in the Sunset’ album.

The group’s previous release, the breakthrough classic ‘10, 9, 8 ...’, had secured the Oils a fervently devoted following that responded to each live performance as it were a religious experience.

If that sounds like a big call, you will be persuaded otherwise once the doco reminds you of the supercharged command the Oils could summon and hold over every crowd they played for.

A scene from the documentary Midnight Oil 1984. A Madman release.

Though clearly a valuable and lasting testament to Midnight Oil’s extensive musical legacy, Midnight Oil 1984 also touches upon the avowedly political nature of their work.

This aspect of the doco eventually takes us to lead singer Peter Garrett’s key role in the formation of the Nuclear Disarmament Party, and shows how tantalisingly close he went to winning a Senate seat at the first time of asking.

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A scene from the documentary Midnight Oil 1984. A Madman release.

MIDNIGHT OIL 1984 (M)

Rating: Four stars (4 out of 5)

Director: Ray Argall (Return Home)

Starring: Peter Garrett, Rob Hirst, Jim Moginie, Martin Rotsey, Peter Gifford.

A power reconnected, a passion relentless

Midnight Oil 1984 opens in general release next Thursday May 10 for a strictly limited season. Check local guides for locations and session times.

Originally published as REVIEW: Midnight Oil 1984 reconnects to the power and the passion of our greatest live band