APRA AMCOS has announced that Midnight Oil will be the recipients of the 2018 Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music at the 2018 APRA Music Awards. Spawned from the northern beaches of Sydney, Midnight Oil have always played by their own rules. Decades on, their rock n’ roll fury has remained intact – from when they first started making music together at school in 1972 to the final note played on their 2017 Great Circle World Tour. Always more than just a rock band Midnight Oil are environmental crusaders, social justice activists and powerful songwriters. In 2001, 100 music industry heavyweights polled by APRA placed Beds Are Burning at No #3 on the list of the Top 10 Best Australian songs of all time.
APRA Chair Jenny Morris said, “Midnight Oil’s uniquely Australian songs took on societal issues with fiery determination and a musical conviction that continues to connect on a global scale. I don’t want to say there will never be another Midnight Oil because the world will always need a band like Midnight Oil – now, more than ever.”
On hearing news of the honour Midnight Oil said, “Midnight Oil is proud to receive the Ted Albert Award for 2018. It’s a great honour for our band. Ted’s great skill was his knack for picking talent, his genuine love for original Australian music, and the creation of his legendary production house – which has become a by-word for excellence and success. Midnight Oil’s connection to Alberts began in 1978, when the band – in between playing sweaty pub gigs in and around Sydney – recorded our first album at the Boomerang House studio in King St (‘Whoah! A band that eats!’ said Harry Vanda, when he caught us scoffing burgers). Nine years later we were back at Alberts, this time at Neutral Bay, to record Diesel and Dust – an album inspired by the Australian desert and Top End communities, but which opened doors for us right around the world.”
The 2018 APRA Music Awards will be held on Tuesday 10 April.
