Midnight Oil

Midnight Oil sold over 20 million records while championing Indigenous rights and environmental causes, making them Australia's most politically outspoken rock band. Frontman Peter Garrett, who later served as a federal minister, led anthems like 'Beds Are Burning,' which raised over $1 million for Aboriginal land rights. This impact exceeds #1 AC/DC's apolitical stance by a wide margin, as the Oils used their platform to drive tangible change rather than pure entertainment. Their 1987 album 'Diesel and Dust' spent 170 weeks on the Australian charts, a duration 40% longer than the average top-10 rock release.