The year was 1980 and a five-piece pub rock band, formed in the northern suburbs of Sydney, was quickly making an impression on fans.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The new decade had barely ticked over when a 26-year-old Peter Garrett took to the stage in Bega as part of Midnight Oil’s support of their second studio album, Head Injuries.
From a report in the January 11 edition of the Bega District News it appears one Bega fan took the name literally, tossing a beer can in Garrett’s direction.
“A member of the audience threw the can, hitting the singer above the eyes,” the article hidden on page 10 reveals.
You can only assume the can was full as Garrett needed to be helped from the stage.
“The band immediately stopped playing and the injured singer was taken off the stage,” the article said.
“Local music fans are incensed about the incident as it could mean the end of outside bands visiting the area.”
During its constant touring the band became accustomed to confrontational audiences, with Garrett describing the pub rock scene in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine five years after the Bega incident.
“You get booked into a pub or hotel, say in the western suburbs of Sydney,” he said.
“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,” Garrett said.
Despite the band’s Far South Coast reception, by 1982 the group had received international recognition with their fourth album 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.