The Real Pirates, the Real Heroes

The brouhaha over good old Rupert Murdoch gives rise to looking a bit at Mr Wrinkle again and some of those who've opposed him over the years.

http://torrentfreak.com/fox-news-rupert-murdoch-all-pirates-100503/

Murdoch is Australian. Or was once upon a time. He was the emperor of Aussie media along with Alan Bond. He invented the media blackout to deal with his opponents: don't write bad things about them - just don't write anything at all.

Aussie rockers Midnight Oil were also hit by this tactic early on. Murdoch never liked them. When they released their 2nd album 'Head Injuries', his staff were instructed to not review the album, not write anything at all. Amazingly the album went gold several times over on word of mouth alone and remains the sole evidence in rock history worldwide that an album can succeed with no advertising whatsoever.

Midnight Oil later penned and recorded 'Read About It' in love of Rupert Murdoch. You can find the lyrics elsewhere; they're typically eloquent of Midnight Oil and basically say that no matter what's happening in the world at large, you won't hear about it if Rupert Murdoch doesn't want you to know.

Midnight Oil started as a surfer club group at the Hotel Adlon on the Sydney coast. They caused quite the sensation because they concentrated only on musical gymnastics, pulling off some of the most incredible acrobatics heard to this day.

No major label would sign them on their terms - retain rights to masters, full artistic control, and so forth - so they bundled together some cash and recorded and produced their first album themselves. It was a huge hit.

Midnight Oil then took the proceeds from their sales to start an artist management company for the Sydney coast and succeeded in signing up most big groups at the time. Their objective - which was met - was to force the venue owners to treat their guests better: more reasonable entry fees and nice bouncers. They effectively held the entire coastal entertainment business in an iron grip.

The ABS and other media - such as Rupert's - wanted contact with them back then but the group weren't interested in participating in silly 'pop' shows. They became the enemy of the media and of Rupert.

Their second album 'Head Injuries' really took off. It was at this point Herb Alpert became interested in them and sent two emissaries with a suitcase full of songs to meet them. The A&M reps were told to turn up at 2JJJ to find out where the group were playing. 2JJJ told them Midnight Oil were in fact playing at the MCG. The A&M reps asked if the group had left any free tickets. They had not.

The reps traveled to Melbourne and bought tickets to attend the concert. Back in Sydney they met the group who were recording with Glyn Johns. They were met politely. They asked if there had been a misunderstanding so their concert tickets weren't supplied in time. The group explained that free tickets were only for their friends.

The reps then opened their suitcase full of songs. 'You guys are going to be the sensation of the 1980s', they were told. But A&M didn't believe their material had a broad enough appeal, what with its Australian references and its all too complex musical structure. 'And so here we are with a suitcase full of covers we'd like you to look at', they ended.

The reply from the group was 'when's your flight back?' The A&M reps, offering a multimillion dollar contract with A&M, were perfunctorily turned away.

Midnight Oil went back to work in the studio and wrote and recorded a song about the incident called 'Don't Wanna Be The One'.

I'm an innocent victim, I'm just like you
We end up in home units with a brick wall view
I can't believe the perfect families on my colour TV
If I don't make it to the top it'll never bother me

I'm an innocent bystander caught in the path
Waiting out the back while the corporate attack
Assaults the senses with relentless scenes of passion and delight
I cut up all the options and went running for my life

And I don't wanna be the one

England joined the EU at long last, Australia lost their favoured trading status, and unemployment became rampant in the Lucky Country. Midnight Oil responded by organising a series of pan-Pacific concert telecasts and funneling all the proceeds to the labour unemployment compensation funds. At this point they were no longer controversial - they were heroes.

Rupert Murdoch? He got as big as he could in Australia and set his sights on the US. But the US has a rule about who can own media corporations: you have to be a US citizen. Murdoch traveled to Las Vegas, was given contacts with mobsters, and the mobsters pulled strings so Murdoch could pick up a US passport in a single fortnight.

Now the problems began back home because Australia had the same rule. But no worries! Rupert had the PM in his back pocket. So when the issue arose in Canberra, the PM simply killed it. Rupert was now the king of Aussie media but no longer able legally to retain his hold - yet he just did anyway. And his sojourn in the US didn't last long - he moved to the UK instead where he's been ever since.