Editing Diesel and Dust (section)

==Background==
Midnight Oil spent several months in mid-1986 on the Blackfella/Whitefella Tour of [[outback|outback Australia]] with indigenous music groups [[Warumpi Band]] and [[Gondwanaland (band)|Gondwanaland]], playing to remote Aboriginal communities and seeing first hand the seriousness of the issues in health and living standards.<ref name="McF"/> The tour was criticised by some journalists for being a one-off event instead of a long-term attempt to build bridges between communities.<ref name="Vellutini"/> The band was galvanised by the experiences and made them the basis of their next album, ''Diesel and Dust'', which was released in August 1987 and produced by [[Warne Livesey]] and the band.<ref name="ARDb"/> The album focused on the need for recognition by white Australia of past injustices involving the Aboriginal nation and the need for reconciliation. [[Peter Gifford]] left the band before the album's release due to extensive touring schedules,<ref name="Howl"/> and was replaced on bass guitar by [[Bones Hillman]], formerly of [[The Swingers]].<ref name="ARDb"/> The track "Gunbarrel Highway" was not included on the United States version of the album, reportedly, because the line "shit falls like rain on a world that is brown" was deemed too offensive for US audiences.<ref name="DeadHeart"/>

''Diesel and Dust'' peaked at No.&nbsp;1 on the Australian albums charts for six weeks,<ref name="Kent"/> No.&nbsp;21 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] in 1988,<ref name="BillA"/> and No.&nbsp;19 on the [[UK Albums Chart]].<ref name="UKCharts"/> "[[Beds Are Burning]]" was their biggest international hit single, peaking at No.&nbsp;6 in Australia,<ref name="Kent"/> No.&nbsp;17 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]<ref name="BillS"/> and No.&nbsp;6 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name="UKCharts"/> "The Dead Heart" peaked at No.&nbsp;4 in Australia,<ref name="Kent"/> and charted on the Hot 100<ref name="BillS"/> and in the UK.<ref name="UKCharts"/> "Put Down that Weapon" also charted in Australia,<ref name="Kent"/> while "Dreamworld" charted on ''Billboard'''s [[Mainstream Rock Tracks]] and at No.&nbsp;16 on its [[Modern Rock Tracks]].<ref name="BillS"/>

At the [[Australian Recording Industry Association]] (ARIA) [[ARIA Music Awards of 1988|1988 Awards]] ceremony, Midnight Oil won "[[ARIA Award for Best Cover Art|Best Cover Art]]" for ''Diesel and Dust''. The album cover was designed by photographer Ken Duncan (b.1954, Mildura, VIC) and visual artist Wart (also known as Jen Waterhouse) (b.1958, Geelong, VIC). It also won "[[ARIA Award for Single of the Year|Best Single]]" and "[[ARIA Award for Song of the Year|Best Song]]" for "[[Beds Are Burning]]".<ref name=arialist/><ref name=aria1988/> A fracas developed between Gary Morris, their manager who was accepting awards for Midnight Oil, and former ''[[Countdown (Australian TV series)|Countdown]]'' compere [[Molly Meldrum|Ian Meldrum]] who was presenting: Meldrum objected to Morris making political commentary from the podium.<ref name=aria1988/>

There were concerns about ''Diesel and Dust'' and Midnight Oil's attempts to express [[Indigenous Australians|indigenous issues]] to [[white people|white]] urban audiences – namely, the question "who holds the power to tell whose history?"<ref name="Vellutini"/> The lyrics of "The Dead Heart" tell the story of [[colonisation]] from an indigenous [[Point of view (literature)|point of view]], but some critics felt they reinforced the "primitive" [[stereotype]].<ref name="Vellutini"/> Use of the [[bullroarer (music)|bullroarer]] was criticised as belonging to sacred rituals, and therefore not appropriate for rock songs.<ref name="Vellutini"/> "The Dead Heart" had been written in response to a request by organisers of the 1985 ceremony to return control of [[Uluru]] to its indigenous [[Property caretaker|caretakers]]; Midnight Oil originally resisted being added to a concert bill that they believed should contain indigenous groups, but the organisers insisted, arguing that the band would reach a wider audience within the predominantly [[white people|Caucasian]] urban centres.<ref name="BBCBio"/> Midnight Oil requested that all [[royalties]] from the song go to [[Indigenous Australians|indigenous communities]].<ref name="MemTV"/> In addition, two indigenous groups, Warumpi Band and Gondwanaland, toured with them.

Hirst said, "There's been a kind of folky element in Midnight Oil for a very long time. I think you first heard it in songs like "Kosciusko", but it really burst forward when we did ''Diesel and Dust''."<ref>{{cite magazine| magazine= Australian Musician | title=A Studio Tour| date=Winter 1998|page=15|issue=14}}</ref>

Following the 1988 American tour in support of ''Diesel and Dust'' with Australian band [[Yothu Yindi]], Midnight Oil launched the ''Burning Bridges'' album with various artists contributing, including [[Paul Kelly (Australian musician)|Paul Kelly]], Scrap Metal, Coloured Stone, [[Hunters & Collectors]], [[James Reyne]], [[The Saints (Australian band)|The Saints]], [[Crowded House]], and [[INXS]].<ref name="McF"/> All sales proceeds were donated to the National Coalition of Aboriginal Organisations.<ref name="McF"/>