Legendary Australian rock band Midnight Oil will re-form for a worldwide reunion tour next year.
The five-piece outfit, which achieved widespread success in Australia and overseas during the 1970s, '80s and '90s, made the announcement on its homepage.
"We know it's been a while but we wanted to tell you that the five of us are finally making plans to get together again for some gigs next year. We're looking forward to hopefully playing overseas and touring our homeland for the first time since 2002," they wrote.
Frontman Peter Garrett - who left the Oils in 2002 and went on to serve as a Labor minister in the Rudd and Gillard governments - had earlier offered a hint of the band's intentions by tweeting: "In the midst of everything else there's music in the air. #aussierock #MidnightOil and a few songs from me. God knows it'll be fun".
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After publishing his autobiography last year, Garrett - who retired from politics at the 2013 election - started writing songs again for the first time in a decade and said he was open to the idea of a comeback.
"I was surprised to find the creative juices were still flowing when I finished this book, so who knows," he told Triple J after the release.
The last time the band played together was in 2009 at an MCG benefit concert to raise money for victims of the Black Saturday bushfires and Queensland floods.
Midnight Oil released 15 albums between 1978 and 2001 and cultivated a loyal following with its energetic live shows and politically charged lyrics.
Their classic hits included "Back on the Borderline", "Power and the Passion", "US Forces" and "Beds Are Burning".
