Cold Chisel

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Cold Chisel

Background information
Origin Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Genre(s) Pub rock
Hard rock
Rock and roll
Years active 1973 – 1984; 1998; 2003
Label(s) Elektra Records
Members
Jimmy Barnes
Don Walker
Ian Moss
Steve Prestwich
Phil Small
This article is about the Australian band. For information about the cutting tool, see Chisel.

Cold Chisel produced the canonical example of Australian pub rock, with a string of hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, and they are acknowledged as one of the most popular and successful Australian groups of the period, although this success and acclaim was almost completely restricted to Australia and New Zealand.

Contents

[edit] Beginnings

The band formed in Adelaide in 1973 as a heavy metal band called Orange around keyboard player Don Walker and original bassist Les Kascmarek and while hard rock remained at the core of their sound Cold Chisel displayed considerable versatility. One year later in 1974 Orange renamed itself Cold Chisel. When Kaczmarek left in 1975, Walker became the major creative force of the band. Built around Walker's songwriting, the group also featured the guitar and vocal talents of Ian Moss and the powerful lead vocals of Scottish immigrant Jimmy Barnes.

[edit] Musical Style

While typically classified as a hard-driving rock and roll band, the Chisel repertoire included such Australian anthems as the landmark Vietnam War song "Khe Sanh", "Bow River", "Flame Trees" and "Saturday Night", but also included thoughtful ballads like "Choir Girl" (written about the subject of abortion), pop-flavoured love songs like "My Baby" and caustic political statements like "Star Hotel", an attack on the late-70s government of Malcolm Fraser and inspired by a riot at a Newcastle pub. The music was not overtly political but rather observations of everyday life within the Australian society and culture. One song from this period, "Misfits", which featured on the b-side to "My Baby", was written in the same vein as Chuck Berry, and was about homeless kids in the suburbs surrounding Sydney.

[edit] Reputation

The band is often the subject of somewhat classist disdain for its particular popularity among one generation of working-class men (roughly, those born in the 60s and 70s). This is in spite of the fact that they were one of the most broadly popular and best-selling bands of the day, often featured on the nationwide pop show Countdown, and were widely acknowledged as one of Australia's most accomplished live acts. Cold Chisel remains one of Australia's highest-selling bands, with sales in excess of 5 million by the beginning of the 2000s.

Cold Chisel weren't just a band, they were a lifestyle for many of their followers, who were known as some of the roughest in the land. This gave Chisel their hard living approach to their music and made them a tough live band as well. More than 30 years after they originally played together, they attract generation after generation of new listeners. This is also evidence of Chisel's dominance of the pub rock era. They are the only Australian band to have sold more records after breakup than before and are among other bands that have become transgenerational. "Khe Sanh" consistently ranks highly in lists of Australia's most popular songs and their music remains a staple of rock station playlists. The Ian Moss song "Never Before" (from the East LP) was chosen by FM rock station 2JJJ (Triple J) as the first record played on-air when the station made its transition from AM to FM in 1980.

Other Cold Chisel classics which still frequently get airtime on radio and in bars/pubs include Cheap Wine (1980), Forever Now (1982) and Flame Trees (1984).

Despite the continued dominance of Walker, during Chisel's later career all four of the other members began to contribute songs to the band, with Moss and drummer Steve Prestwich both emerging as highly accomplished songwriters in their own right. Barnes and Small also contributed significant songs to the group's repertoire and Cold Chisel is one of the few Australian rock bands to score hits with songs written by every member of the group.

Alongside contemporaries Midnight Oil, Cold Chisel was renowned as one of the most dynamic live acts of their day and from early on in their career Cold Chisel concerts routinely became sell-out events. The band was also famous for its wild lifestyle, and the hard-drinking Barnes (who has since given up alcohol) had a well-earned reputation as one of the true wild men of Australian rock.

[edit] The Break-Up

By 1983 the band had reached the zenith of their career in Australia and with overseas markets reluctant to accept them, Cold Chisel began to disintegrate. Their abortive US sojourn was commemorated in Barnes' excoriating rocker "You Got Nothing I Want" from the Circus Animals album, an emotional volume created from the frustration of the band’s experiences overseas.

Increasing internal tensions and the pressures of touring took their toll and Steve Prestwich -- who was often in conflict with Barnes -- left the band, to be replaced by veteran Australian drummer Ray Arnott (ex Spectrum). Shortly afterward Cold Chisel announced their split and a series of farewell concerts, for which Prestwich re-joined. That tour became a legend in itself and was not without incident when Barnes lost his voice before the Sydney shows, which then had to be rescheduled. The band's final performance was filmed for the documentary concert film The Last Stand, which remains to this day the best-selling concert film of any single Australian act[citation needed].

[edit] Solo Careers

Immediately after the break-up, Barnes launched a solo career that earned him an unprecedented six consecutive Number One albums, a feat no other Australian artist is likely to match[citation needed], and has now sold in excess of two million albums in his own right[citation needed]. Walker went on to a more low-profile career as a songwriter for other artists while dabbling in blues and roots music. Prestwich joined Little River Band and was later a drummer for John Farnham. Moss lay low for most of the rest of the 80s before eventually launching his own solo career that scored him a Number One album in 1989.

[edit] The Revival

Throughout the 80s and most of the 90s, the band was courted to re-form but obstinately refused. Eventually, however, Cold Chisel got back together in 1999 for a new CD release, titled The Last Wave of Summer, and an associated concert tour. They did so again in 2003 for the "Ringside" concert tour.

[edit] Covers and tributes

[edit] Band members

[edit] Additional Players

  • Les Kaczmarek (bass guitar, October 1973- July 1975)
  • Ray Arnott (drums, 1983)
  • Dave Blight (harmonica)
  • Billy Rodgers (saxophone)
  • Jimmy Sloggett (saxophone)
  • Andy Bickers (saxophone)
  • Renée Geyer (backing vocals)
  • Vanetta Fields (backing vocals)

[edit] Albums

[edit] Compilations and Live albums

  • Swingshift (1981)
  • The Barking Spiders: Live 1983 (1984)
  • Radio Songs (1985)
  • Razor Songs (1987)
  • Chisel (1991)
  • Last Stand (1992)
  • Chisel (Re-release)(1995)
  • Cold Chisel: The Studio Sessions (1999)
  • Ringside (2003)
  • Last Stand (Remastered with bonus tracks) (2005)
  • Standing On The Outside - The Songs Of Cold Chisel (Feat. some of Australia's hottest acts of 2007) (2007)

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Chisel come in from the cold. The Age (2007-03-30).

[edit] External links

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