[Bjorn Blomquist]

> But I must say it is totally different when a band member wants to leave, 
> like in Peter Giffords case.  The Oils were making an impact in America, 
> doing well in Australia and felt they still had something to say. Bones has 
> brought something extra to the band and we love him as much as any other 
> member of the Oils.

Well, it's a different thing to change "just" a bass player than to change a lead singer/front man, which makes the band sound very different. Even if the front man is not the main songwriter in a band, it's always his (or her) voice that makes you recognise the band. You don't really hear if somebody else plays the bass.

Like Queen without Mercury, Midnight Oil would miss a charismatic stage persona if they lost Garrett. *Musically* they could go on without him - we know that Jim and Rob writes most of the material anyway - but I'd rather have them continuing with themselves singing instead of bringing in a new front man. After all, we have a band with no less than three backing singers who sometimes sing lead as well. In how many other bands does that happen? Three or more songwriters in the same band is unusual, and four singers in the same band as well... Midnight Oil is a unique band in many ways!

/Bjorn