AFTER years out of the spotlight, Aussie rock legends Midnight Oil have delighted fans by announcing their first world tour in two decades.
Lead singer Peter Garrett said the band has never felt "fresher, nastier or sweeter", confirming that they have already been rehearsing 160-170 songs.
The original line-up - vocalist Garrett, drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and guitarist Jim Moginie - will come together for The Great Circle 2017 tour, which will see them play 30 gigs around the globe.
The tour will finish with performances at 18 venues around Australia, including several regional centres, in October and November.
The tour was announced at a press conference on Sydney Harbour last week.
Frontman Garrett said despite not playing together much over the past 15 years, the long absence would not affect their performance.
"Your musical heart never stops beating, even if you're doing other things," said Garrett, who left the Oils in 2002 and went on to serve as a Labor minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments.
"We've got such a charted history of making music together and it just feels incredible walking back into the room."
Drummer and songwriter Hirst confirmed the magic was still there. "The chemistry is all intact."
After publishing his autobiography last year, Garrett - who retired from politics at the 2013 election - started writing songs for the first time in a decade and said at the time he was open to the idea of a comeback.
Dates:
October
2 - Alice Springs
4 - Darwin
7 - Cairns
10 - Townsville
12 - Rockhampton
14 - Sunshine Coast
15 - Brisbane
19 - Coffs Harbour
21 - Hunter Valley
24 - Canberra
26 - Adelaide
28 - Perth
November
1 - Hobart
3 - Wodonga
4 - Mt Macedon
6 - Melbourne
8 - Wollongong
11 - Sydney
People who sign up to Midnight Oil's mailing list midnightoil.com/mailing-list will get first access to Australian tickets in a special pre-sale on February 23 alongside Frontier Touring. Remaining tickets will go on sale to the general public on February 27.
Oils facts:
Midnight Oil formed in 1972 performing under the name Farm.
The last time the band played together was in 2009 at an MCG benefit concert to raise money for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires and Queensland floods.
Midnight Oil released 15 albums between 1978 and 2001 and cultivated a loyal following with its energetic live shows and politically-charged lyrics.
Classic hits included Back on the Borderline, Power and the Passion, US Forces and Beds Are Burning.
The band won 11 ARIA awards during its 26-year career.
Most memorable gigs include a 1985 show on Goat Island in Sydney Harbour and the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
To coincide with the tour announcement, journalist Andrew McMillan is releasing a book telling the story of the band.
Strict Rules tells the story of when Midnight Oil joined the Warumpi Band to play music in remote Aboriginal communities in 1986. The tour would change Midnight Oil forever and spark the creation of the song Beds Are Burning.
