The Story Behind “Beds Are Burning” and the Protest Hidden in a 1987 Rock Anthem

Professor of Rock

In the mid-80s, just when we thought we had seen everything, out came a large and possessed 6-foot-6 bald singer named Peter Garrett who scared the hell out of everyone. And strangely enough, his band Midnight Oil was one of the biggest draws at the box office. But as they were rising, they turned down lucrative concert offers and a huge tour to play the most remote places in their region. They wanted to be among the people. Midnight Oil witnessed the harsh conditions and poor health that ran amok within the communities they toured. For decades, the people there were mistreated and misrepresented... Outraged by what they saw, the band wrote a song called Beds Are Burning that conveyed their fury and beseeched the public to join them in a crusade to fight… It was a rock anthem that blared out of every radio in 1987, and we all sang along... not knowing that the anthem was actually a protest song. And one of the coolest parts of the music came when a band member put a metronome in their mouth! It made their album a masterpiece. Up next... the story behind Midnight Oil's biggest American hit, one that actually brought about real change, on Professor of Rock!!”

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