Cold Chisel Artistfacts

1973-
Jimmy BarnesLead vocals
Don WalkerKeyboards
Ian MossGuitar/vocals
Phil SmallBass1975-
Steve PrestwichDrums1973-2011
Charley DraytonDrums2011-
Cold Chisel, formed in Adelaide in 1973, is one of Australia's most beloved rock bands, known for their electrifying live performances and distinctly Australian sound. They sold about 7 million albums in their home country (very impressive in a country with a population of about 26 million) but never broke out internationally like their countrymen AC/DC.
Their songs resonated with working-class Australians, often with references to local culture. For decades, you were unlikely to spend a night in an Australian pub without hearing at least one Cold Chisel song.
Cold Chisel's keyboard player Don Walker is their primary songwriter. He's a smart dude; he earned a physics degree from the University of Queensland and was working at the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) in Adelaide when he formed the band in 1973. As the band started getting more popular, he left his sensible job building bombs and set out to be a rock star.
They started as a cover band playing tunes by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple around Adelaide. In 1976 they relocated to Sydney and started playing more original songs. Their debut album was released in 1978.
Their most popular song is "Khe Sanh," which tells the story of an Australian soldier who fights in the Vietnam War and has a hard time assimilating back into society when he returns home. The song is very well known in Australia and very popular in drinking establishments.
Cold Chisel tried breaking through in America when they toured there in 1981 as an opening act for homegrown artists like Joe Walsh and Ted Nugent. Their sets didn't go over very well, in part because their songs are so Australian.

"We love America's real rock 'n' roll bands but America then was all about The Eagles," lead singer Jimmy Barnes told Rolling Stone Australia. "With hindsight, it was foolish to have overlooked such a huge market but the place disillusioned us. We didn't want to go back there."
The group broke up in 1983 after tensions escalated, particularly between lead singer Jimmy Barnes and drummer Steve Prestwich. They regrouped in 1997 and released an album in 1998, but after that they were active only sporadically. Their most ambitious tour in years since was in 2011 to support a re-release of their albums.
Drummer Steve Prestwich died unexpectedly at 56 on January 16, 2011 following surgery to remove a brain tumor that was discovered just weeks earlier. The band had their tour planned at this point but had to postpone until they could break in his replacement, Charley Drayton, formerly of Divinyls and Catfish.

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