Which Midnight Oil song featured Rob Hirst's famous drum solo?

The Midnight Oil song featuring Rob Hirst’s famous drum solo is “Power and the Passion.” The track was released in 1982 as a single from the band’s album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Hirst’s drumming gives the song its tense, propulsive character, and the solo became one of the most recognizable instrumental moments in Midnight Oil’s catalogue. The studio recording is especially notable because it is the band’s only studio track to feature a drum solo. Hirst reportedly recorded the original solo in one take, helping preserve its spontaneous, explosive feel.

The song also reflects Midnight Oil’s political identity. Its lyrics question Australia’s dependence on foreign military power, consumer culture, and fossil-fuel wealth, while Peter Garrett’s intense performance made the band’s message difficult to separate from its music. It predates the group’s international breakthrough with 1987’s Diesel and Dust, which included “Beds Are Burning,” but “Power and the Passion” was already a major Australian rock statement. The title is sometimes shortened informally, but the canonical song title includes “The.”