Midnight Oil bassist Bones Hillman loses cancer battle as the Makarrata Project tops charts
Midnight Oil fans are mourning the loss of one of Australia’s greatest rock legends just days after the band’s new record soared to number one.
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Midnight Oil bassist Bones Hillman died of cancer at 62 at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday.
Hillman, born Wayne Stevens in New Zealand in 1958, first topped the charts in Australia with his band The Swingers and their unforgettable hit Counting The Beat in 1981.
He joined the Oils in 1987 and was back in the fold when they reunited for the Great Circle world tour in 2017.
Hillman played on the songs for the Makarrata Project, the band’s first new material in almost two decades, which claimed No. 1 on the ARIA album charts this weekend before his passing.
The Oils paid tribute to their “brother”, who was widely acknowledged as the band’s comedian with a “beautiful voice” and essential to their rhythmical backbone with drummer Rob Hirst.
“We’re grieving the loss of our brother Bones Hillman, who has passed away at his home in Milwaukee today after a cancer battle,” the band wrote in a statement posted on their social media pages.
“He was the bassist with the beautiful voice, the band member with the wicked sense of humour, and our brilliant musical comrade.
“Bones joined Midnight Oil way back in 1987 after stints in various Kiwi bands, most notably, The Swingers. He played and sang on every Midnight Oil recording since Blue Sky Mining and we did thousands of gigs together.
“We will deeply miss our dear friend and companion and we send our sincerest sympathies to Denise, who has been a tower of strength for him.”
hillman was living in Australia after The Swingers disbanded in 1982, and was house-sharing with Neil and Sharon Finn and working as a house-painter in between gigs with Melbourne bands when he got the call-up to audition for the bassist role in the Oils after Peter Gifford quit.
“One night when I got home from work, Neil told me that Rob Hirst from Midnight Oil had called, and that they were looking for a new bass player. Of course I thought he was pulling my leg,” Hillman wrote on his website.
“Luckily for me, a few nights later Rob rang back again wondering why I hadn’t returned his call. He was actually quite serious. He offered to send me the Oils new album Diesel and Dust, and asked if I could learn a few tracks and come up to Sydney for a bit of a play.
“I met with the guys in their damp cell-like rehearsal room. Rob, Jim and Martin (no sign of Pete) and I ran through some Oils tracks, and played a couple of covers for fun.
“Eventually after 3 trips to Sydney, always to this same rehearsal room, Pete showed up. We played through a few tracks with him singing, and then they asked me to wait outside.
“Decision time. I shook hands and said thanks. I knew then that I had the gig – it was just one of those moments.”
Hillman returned to New Zealand when the Oils called time out for Peter Garrett to pursue his political career in 2002. He then shifted to Nashville to explore other opportunities in the fertile music scene, working with many of the country, blues and Americana acts there.
Ironically, he became close to Australian country duo Mark and Jay O’Shea while living overseas. She would later discover after years of searching for her biological parents that her father was Hillman’s bandmate, Hirst.
Hillman played on the songs for the Makarrata Project, a collaboration with First Nation artists released on October 30 and also those slated for the next Midnight Oil studio record expected to be released next year.
The musician was missing from the band’s recent photos and performances on new ABC music show The Sound, with fans assuming the COVID-19 border closures prevented him from travelling back to Australia for the Makarrata Project campaign.
Hillman writes on his website how much he loved traversing the globe and playing live with Midnight Oil, often sitting up front with the truck drivers hauling their equipment to the next town for the next gig.
“Life as an Oil was great. It was one big adventure, and I was totally excited. Even long hauls in a rental were fun. I often did overnighters in the truck or on the crew bus – there was always a laugh to be had, and some of those guys worked with us for 10 years,” he wrote.
“My father drove a truck, and I spent the early years of my life perched on a box in the passenger’s seat with him at the wheel. I took the wheel of the equipment truck myself one night, and when some of the gear broke down on stage at the next gig, Pete (Garrett) told the audience he blamed it on my driving skills.”
Among those from around the world to pay tribute to the stellar bassist as news of his passing swept social media was actor Russell Crowe.
Hillman joined Crowe’s band on tour in the early 2000s after the Oils had disbanded.
“What a grand chap he was. Sad sad news,” the fellow Kiwi posted.
Earlier this week, The Makarrata Project beat out records by pop superstars Ariana Grande and Sam Smith to claim No. 1 on the ARIA charts.
A collaboration for 16 First Nation artists, the work got to the top in old school fashion – their fans bought thousands of CDs.
While stream queen Ariana Grande’s latest record Positions was a leader on the streaming services, physical sales of CDs and vinyl are given greater weight than streams when calculating the chart.
For their comeback record, Midnight Oil collaborated with Indigenous artists including Jessica Mauboy, Troy Cassar-Daley, Alice Skye, Tasman Keith, Dan Sultan and Kev Carmody on songs Frist Nations, Gadigal Land and Terror Australia.
Their album’s goal – and any profits – seeks to promote the Uluru Statement from the Heart and government action on Indigenous issues.
Its arrival at the chart summit couldn’t be more timely as NAIDOC Week 2020 kicks off.
“It’s great to see this new music striking such a chord, particularly in NAIDOC Week which invites all Australians to embrace our true history,” frontman Peter Garrett said.
“Hopefully these songs and the amazing contributions of all our collaborators will get us thinking seriously about The Uluru Statement From The Heart.
“It’s a roadmap to a unified nation. If you haven’t read it yet you really should.”
Mauboy has said the album was “a cry for help, a battle cry” and she was grateful so many Australians had embraced it.
“Working with Midnight Oil on such an incredible song as First Nations is something I will never ever forget. It’s a collaboration I’m so proud of and one I know that I a lot of people have connected with,” she said.
“What this mini album stands for is so important for so many reasons, and knowing that people have embraced it this week to make it No. 1 … just means the world to all of us that have collaborated on The Makarrata Project. God bless you all,” she said in a statement.
The band showcased First Nation and Terror Australia on new music show The Sound and return to perform on Sunday night with Change The Date which features an unreleased recording from Gurrumul and Dan Sultan.
Check out Kathy McCabe’s story on The Sound in today’s BINGE guide.
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