The band has performed sporadically over the last decade or so, teaming up most recently for a good cause when they headlined the Melbourne Cricket Ground leg of the 2009 “Sound Relief” bushfire benefit concert. Before that, the group performed at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics and for the one-off Fierce Festival in London in 2002, the year the Oils (as they're affectionately known Down Under) disbanded.

 

The rockers will reunite frontman Peter Garrett with drummer Rob Hirst, guitarists Jim Moginie and Martin Rotsey, and bass player Bones Hillman, a lineup which had appeared finished when Garrett embarked on a career in federal politics with the Australian Labor Party in 2004. He went on to serve as Minister for Environment Protection, Heritage and the Arts, and later as Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth, until he left office in June 2013.

 

Through those years, Garrett was constantly asked if he’d ever return to the front of stage for the Oils. “Not likely”, was his typical response. That line became, “not out of the question” though rumors of a reunion were quashed in 2013. Politics’ loss is rock ‘n’ roll’s gain. 

 

The band has encouraged fans to sign up to its mailing list, where they can expect to receive a free download of 'Forgotten Years,' recorded live in the capital Canberra back in 2009, a warm-up for 'Sound Relief". The rockers promise to “make a racket” when they embark on their concert dates, though there’s no word yet of new music.

 

There will, however, be new music from Garrett. The iconic singer is working on his first solo album, a project that was inspired by the process of writing his memoir, Big Blue Sky, which was published last year.