Cold Chisel are an Australian pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. They were soon joined by Jimmy Barnes on lead vocals and, in 1975, Phil Small became their bass guitarist. The group disbanded in late 1983 but subsequently reformed several times. Musicologist Ian McFarlane wrote that they became "one of Australia's best-loved groups" as well as "one of the best live bands", fusing "a combination of rockabilly, hard rock and rough-house soul'n'blues that was defiantly Australian in outlook."
James (Jimmy) Dixon Barnes is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer and songwriter. His career both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music artists of all time. The combination of 14 Australian Top 40 albums for Cold Chisel and 13 charting solo albums, including nine No. 1s, gives Barnes the highest number of hit albums of any Australian artist.
"Khe Sanh" is an Australian song, released as a 45 rpm single in May 1978, and named after the district capital of Hướng Hóa District, Quảng Trị Province, Vietnam. The song, performed by Cold Chisel, having been written by pianist Don Walker, is about an Australian Vietnam veteran dealing with his return to civilian life. According to Toby Creswell's liner notes for the band's 1991 compilation album Chisel, the song is also a story of restless youth.
"Flame Trees" is a song by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel from their 1984 album Twentieth Century. It is one of their best known songs, and was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and keyboardist Don Walker. It reached No. 26 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart originally but also resurfaced in August 2011 due to download sales.
East is the third studio album by Australian pub rock band Cold Chisel, released in June 1980. The album peaked at No. 2 and spent 63 weeks on the national chart. It was the biggest-selling Australian album release of the year. It was the only Cold Chisel album to chart in America, reaching 171 on the Billboard 200. It also reached number 32 on the New Zealand charts.
Bodyswerve was the debut solo album by former Cold Chisel vocalist Jimmy Barnes. The album was released in on 10 September 1984 and went to No. 1 on the Kent Music Report Albums Chart. It contained covers of tracks by Sam Cooke and Janis Joplin. "No Second Prize" was the album's first single.
Circus Animals is the fourth studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel, released on 8 March 1982. It was recorded and mixed at Paradise Studios and EMI Studio 301, Sydney. It reached number one on the Australian charts, remaining in the charts for 40 weeks, and also topped the New Zealand charts. The working title for the album was "Tunnel Cunts".
Swingshift is a live album released by Australian band Cold Chisel in 1981. It was their first album to reach No. 1 on the Australian chart, debuting there in its first week. It peaked at number 9 in New Zealand. A press release said the title referred to, "the midnight to dawn shift that the staff in asylums dread: the hours when the crazies go crazy."
Twentieth Century is the fifth and final studio album by Australian band Cold Chisel until the group reformed in 1998. The album was written and recorded over various sessions during the period of the band's break-up and during breaks in their final tour. It was released in early 1984 and peaked at No. 1 on the Australian albums chart, their third consecutive album to do so. It charted for a total of 46 weeks.
"Saturday Night" is a 1984 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the second released from the album Twentieth Century and the first to be issued after the band's official break-up. The vocals are shared between Ian Moss and Jimmy Barnes. It just missed out on becoming the band's third Top 10 single, stalling at number 11 on the Australian chart for two weeks, but it remains one of Cold Chisel's highest charting songs.
"You Got Nothing I Want" is a 1981 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the first released from the album Circus Animals. One of the band's heaviest and most aggressive songs, it was written by singer Jimmy Barnes in response to the treatment they received at the hands of a record company executive during a U.S. tour earlier in the year. Don Walker said, "After we came back, Jim wrote 'You Got Nothing I Want' more or less as a personal tribute to Marty Schwartz." "You Got Nothing I Want" was also the first song on the album and representative of the different sound Cold Chisel was attempting on Circus Animals in a conscious effort to move away from the slick commercial pop rock of East. It spent 19 weeks in the national charts, peaking at number 12.
"Misfits" was a 1991 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, issued to promote the compilation album Chisel. The single only reached number 61 in the national charts and was later dropped from subsequent Chisel re-issue packages. The song was written by organist Don Walker and was recorded during the sessions for the 1980 album East. "Misfits" was originally used as the B-side for that album's third single "My Baby".
Australian Made was a festival concert series held during 1986–1987 in the six state capitals of Australia and featured local rock acts Mental as Anything, I'm Talking, The Triffids, The Saints, Divinyls, Models, Jimmy Barnes and INXS. The series started in Hobart on 26 December 1986 and concluded in Sydney on 26 January 1987. Rock journalist Jeff Jenkins rated it as one of his 50 most significant events in Australian music history, "It wasn't a huge success, but it showed that an all-Australian festival could work." Australian Made was conceived to counter tours of international acts, like Dire Straits' 1985–1986 world tour, which were drying up funds for Australian groups. As from October 2010, the following artists have been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame: INXS and The Saints, Barnes, Divinyls (2006), The Triffids (2008), Mental As Anything (2009), and Models (2010).
"Choirgirl" is a 1979 single by Australian rock band Cold Chisel. A ballad with an R&B influenced melody, the single was released months before the album East that it featured on. It was the first time the band had recorded with producer Mark Opitz. It peaked at number 14 in Australia
"Forever Now" is a 1982 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be penned by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number 2 in the New Zealand charts, and number 4 in Australia, the band's highest chart placement. It stayed in the charts for 18 weeks. The single was released in more countries than any other by Cold Chisel. In America it was titled "Forever Now ".
"Cheap Wine" is a 1980 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album East, the single was released in May, a month before the album. It reached number 8 on the Australian charts, the band's first top-ten single, and would eventually remain the band's second highest chart performance. It has been described as, "one of Don's finest commercial songs."
"Hold Me Tight" is a 1983 song from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, and appeared on the album Twentieth Century. Released as double A-side single with No Sense it reached number 14 in the Australian charts. Although the song charted, it failed to receive much radio airplay and didn't appear on any later greatest hits compilations.
"Goodbye " was a 1978 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. Written by keyboardist Don Walker and vocalist Jimmy Barnes, it was released as a single in 1978, peaking at number 65 on the Australian charts. It appeared as a track on the 1979 album Breakfast at Sweethearts.
"Lost" was a 2015 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The single was released weeks before the album, The Perfect Crime, that it featured on. A mid-tempo ballad, it reached number 92 in the Australian charts.
"Breakfast at Sweethearts" was a song from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. Written by keyboardist Don Walker, it was released as a single in 1979, peaking at number 63 on the Australian charts. It appeared as a track on the album of the same name.
