''Species Deceases'' is an extended play by
Australian rock
Rock music in Australia, also known as Oz rock, Australian rock and Aussie rock, is rock music from Australia. The nation has a rich history of rock music and an appreciation of the roots of various rock genres, usually originating in the United ...
music group,
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...
, which was released on 26 November 1985 under the
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
record label. ''Species Deceases'' debuted at No. 1 on the Australian
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...
Singles Chart for six weeks from December 1985 to January 1986.
[ Note: Used for Australian Singles and Albums charting from 1974 until ]Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing th ...
(ARIA) created their own charts
A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabul ...
in mid-1988. In 1992, Kent back calculated chart positions for 1970–1974. It was the first Australian single and/or EP to reach the number-one spot on its chart appearance and remains Midnight Oil's only No. 1 on the national singles chart.
Background
On 26 November 1985, Australian rock music group,
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil (known informally as "The Oils") are an Australian rock band composed of Peter Garrett (vocals, harmonica), Rob Hirst (drums), Jim Moginie (guitar, keyboard) and Martin Rotsey (guitar). The group was formed in Sydney in 1972 by ...
, released a four-track extended play, ''Species Deceases''.
At the time Midnight Oil consisted of
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician.
In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...
on lead vocals and
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
;
Peter Gifford
Peter Gifford (born 5 April 1955), sometimes known as "Giffo," is an Australian musician. From 1980 until 1987, he played bass guitar, Chapman Stick and sang backing vocals for Australian rock band Midnight Oil.
Midnight Oil
Gifford is credi ...
on bass guitar and backing vocals;
Rob Hirst
Robert George Hirst (born 3 September 1955) is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band t ...
on drums and backing vocals;
Jim Moginie
James Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter.
Career
In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie has work ...
on lead guitar and keyboards; and
Martin Rotsey on lead guitar.
It was produced with
Francois Kevorkian at Paradise Studios,
Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. I ...
for Sprint Music and distributed by the
CBS/Columbia label. ''Species Deceases'' became a big favourite of FM Radio around the world, with all four songs enjoying frequent airplay, sometimes all of them played back-to-back.
According to Australian musicologist,
Ian McFarlane
Ian McFarlane (born 1959) is an Australian music journalist, music historian and author, whose best known publication is the '' Encyclopedia of Australian Rock and Pop'' (1999), which was updated for a second edition in 2017.
As a journalist ...
, ''Species Deceases'', with the track "Hercules", featured "a stripped-back pub-rock sound. In terms of sheer sonic firepower, it was one of the band's hardest hitting works".
A line from the song "Blossom and Blood" appeared in the message that got flashed on infected computers by the worm
WANK
Wank may refer to:
* WANK (computer worm), a computer worm that attacked DEC VAX/VMS systems through DECnet in 1989
* WXTY, a radio station (99.9 FM) licensed to serve Lafayette, Florida, United States, which held the call sign WANK from 2010 to 2 ...
: "You talk of times of peace for all and then prepare for war."
Trivial Note
''Species Deceases'' was certified platinum on 14 December 1985, two weeks after its release.
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Personnel
;Midnight Oil
*
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett (born 16 April 1953) is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and former politician.
In 1973, Garrett became the lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil. As a performer he is known for his sign ...
– lead vocals,
harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...
*
Peter Gifford
Peter Gifford (born 5 April 1955), sometimes known as "Giffo," is an Australian musician. From 1980 until 1987, he played bass guitar, Chapman Stick and sang backing vocals for Australian rock band Midnight Oil.
Midnight Oil
Gifford is credi ...
– bass guitar, backing vocals
*
Rob Hirst
Robert George Hirst (born 3 September 1955) is an Australian musician from Camden, New South Wales. He is a founding member of rock band Midnight Oil on drums, percussion and backing vocals (sometimes lead vocals) from the 1970s until the band t ...
– drums, backing vocals
*
Jim Moginie
James Moginie (born 18 May 1956) is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he is a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter.
Career
In addition to Midnight Oil, Moginie has work ...
– lead guitar, keyboards
*
Martin Rotsey – lead guitar
;Production work
* Producer – Midnight Oil,
Francois Kevorkian
* Engineer – David Price
** Assistant – Tom Colley
* Mixer – David Price, Midnight Oil
* Studio – Paradise Studios,
Darlinghurst
Darlinghurst is an inner-city, eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the City of Sydney. I ...
;Art work
* Artwork concept – Midnight Oil, Philip Ellett
Credits:
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
1985 EPs
Sprint Music EPs
Columbia Records EPs
Midnight Oil EPs
Number-one singles in Australia
Albums produced by François Kevorkian