Editing Midnight Oil (section)

=== Fans, music industry, media ===
Driven largely by commercial pressures to stay with reliable chart-toppers and teenage pop sensations, the Australian music industry in the mid-1970s cast a dismissive eye toward most bands with an [[alternative rock|alternative]] outlook. Although consistently championed by Sydney alternative rock station [[Triple J|Double Jay]] and its FM band successor Triple J, Midnight Oil were almost totally ignored by Australia's mainstream commercial radio stations in their early career. Manager Morris developed a reputation as one of the toughest managers and became notorious for banning critics or journalists, who were usually given free admission to concerts, for writing unfavourable reviews. Writer and critic [[Bruce Elder (journalist)|Bruce Elder]], in a mid-1980s newspaper review described their music as "narrow and xenophobic" and declared Midnight Oil were:

{{blockquote|"a kind of [[antipodean]] pub rock version of [[Queen (band)|Queen]] [...] life-denying, sexist, secular and bigoted [...] endless touting of Australia and all things Australian"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.vicnet.net.au/~abr/Sept06/Rose%20review.htm |title=Rose Review |work=[[Australian Book Review]] |last=Rose |first=Peter |year=2006 |access-date=21 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080930052915/http://home.vicnet.net.au/~abr/Sept06/Rose%20review.htm |archive-date=30 September 2008 }}</ref>|Bruce Elder quoted in ''Crème de la Phlegm: Unforgettable Australian Reviews'' (2006), ed.:Angela Bennie. {{ISBN|0-522-85241-6}}}}

In retaliation, Morris banned Elder from Oils shows permanently. Elder later recanted, describing them as the only Australian band to have developed a truly Australian sound.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

The frostiness of Midnight Oil's relationship with the traditional music media quickly saw the band develop a strong "street cred" and a reputation for making no compromises with the music industry. In the early 1980s the band was scheduled to appear on an episode of the all-powerful [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC) TV pop show ''[[Countdown (Australian TV series)|Countdown]]'' but on the day of the show they were "bumped" from the line-up. ''Countdown'' required artists to mime their songs during 'live' performances, Midnight Oil and Morris insisted they perform completely live and have their sound engineer supervising – neither side backed down.<ref name="Verrender">{{cite news |url=http://www.deadheart.org.uk/opinion/articles/essay.php?article_id=18 |title=Is anyone listening? |last=Verrender |first=Ian |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=14 September 1996 |access-date=22 October 2008 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031019054525/http://www.deadheart.org.uk/opinion/articles/essay.php?article_id=18 |archive-date=19 October 2003 }}</ref> According to ''Countdown'' producer Michael Shrimpton, the band had arrived late for rehearsal and, due to the show's very tight schedule and budget, there was a strict policy that latecomers were not allowed to appear; and, as such, they were told they could not perform that day. In response, the group declared that they would never appear on the show, a promise they faithfully kept.<ref name="Quirk">{{cite news | title=The quirks that made it work |work=Sydney Morning Herald |date=5 August 2006 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/tv--radio/the-quirks-that-made-it-work/2006/08/04/1154198331689.html |access-date=21 October 2008 }}</ref> ''Countdown'' presenter [[Ian Meldrum|Molly Meldrum]] shaved his head bald, imitating Garrett, for its final show on 19 July 1987 and expressed regret that Midnight Oil had never appeared on the show.<ref name="Jeff" /><ref name="Quirk" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.countdownmemories.com/exclusive_interviews/molly_interview.html |title=An interview with Molly Meldrum by Jason |date=19 August 2004 |last=Grech |first=Jason |work=Countdown Memories |access-date=22 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720033612/http://www.countdownmemories.com/exclusive_interviews/molly_interview.html |archive-date=20 July 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Fans of the group were drawn to the band's "us and them" mindset, and fan loyalty to the Oils' ideas and music was fierce. Two venues at which they built significant fan bases from their early live performances were the Sydney northern beaches [[pub]] The Royal Antler at [[Narrabeen]] and the Bondi Lifesaver club near Sydney's [[Bondi Beach]]. Politically oriented rock of the style produced by the band was something of a new concept for the Australian music scene, and Peter Garrett quickly earned a reputation as one of the most charismatic and outspoken musicians in the country. He recalled that there were dangers in playing the pub scene:

{{blockquote|You get booked into a pub or hotel, say in the western suburbs of Sydney. Halfway through your set, two large, drunk truck drivers decide to have a fight. They're beating each other up and careening towards the corner where the band is set up. Meanwhile, everyone else is going, 'Aaah, turn it down, I'm trying to watch TV.' Try to contemplate that as an environment to play music in every night for three years.<ref name="Cockington">{{Cite book |last=Cockington |first=James |date=August 2001 |title=Long Way to the Top |publisher=ABC Books |location=Sydney, N.S.W. |page=188 |isbn=0-7333-0750-7 }}</ref>|Peter Garrett quoted in ''The Big Australian Rock Book'' (1985) published by ''Rolling Stone'' Magazine, ed.:Ed St John, {{ISBN|0-9590615-0-9}}}}