Parramatta Eels and Cold Chisel come together at Bankwest Stadium
Ahead of their January concert at Bankwest Stadium, Cold Chisel star and Broncos fan Don Walker has finally revealed his secret – he used to support the Eels.
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He’s now a staunch Broncos supporter but the musical genius behind iconic Aussie rock band Cold Chisel was once a passionate Parramatta Eels fan
And on Thursday, for the first time, Chisel musician and songwriter Don Walker strolled onto the home ground of his former favourite club before meeting Eels coach Brad Arthur and playmaker Mitch Moses.
It was Walker’s first visit to a Parramatta home ground and his initial visit to Bankwest Stadium — the new arena where Cold Chisel will perform on January 24 before an expected crowd of 30,000 fans.
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Walker revealed he was an avid Parramatta fan for 12 years before shifting his allegiance to Brisbane.
“I’m a Queenslander but back in the early ‘80s there wasn’t a Queensland team in the competition so when we came here from South Australia (in 1976), everybody we knew came from the western suburbs and were Parramatta fans,” Walker said.
“It also helped at that stage that Parramatta had one of the teams of the century — Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Eric Grothe and all those guys. So I was a Parramatta fan until the Broncos entered (in 1988). That’s when I thought I’m Queenslander and I should switch.
“Rugby league is what I grew up with. I grew up in northern NSW, the Grafton Ghosts and the Rebels. I went to school with ‘Stumpy’ Stevens (former Eels and Roosters star) and Geoff Carr (former first grader and then ARL official).
“For generations, rugby league was what we played in that part of the world. I didn’t know until I got to university that there was this other weird thing going on at the private schools – rugby union.”
Eels coach Brad Arthur admits he gets some flak from his young Eels for having Cold Chisel blaring at the early morning gym sessions. He doesn’t care though.
“I cop some stick from a lot of the young boys in the gym of a morning. You know the young blokes? They want all that doof doof stuff and I’ve got all the ‘old fella’ music going in the gym,” Arthur said.
“We have Chisel going in the gym. A few of our older boys don’t mind some Chisel either around their cardio sessions. I grew listening to Cold Chisel and all that type of music. It should be a big here now at Bankwest and hopefully I’m part of it.”
The Bankwest Stadium show is the only Sydney appearance by legendary band on their Blood Moon Tour 2020 and they will be supported by fellow Aussie supergroup Hoodoo Gurus.
“I’m a big fan. When you’re having a drink, there are always those singalong songs,” said Moses. “Flames Trees, Khe Sanh. All the greats.”
“When we played at Bankwest and it was sold out, the atmosphere was unreal. I can’t imagine what it will be like for a concert. They will get as much out of it as the crowd. I’m pumped.”
Asked about the highly impressive Bankwest Stadium, Walker said: “I watch nearly all my football on TV and it was clearly an amazing stadium on television and now that I’m seeing it for the first time on the inside, it will be a great rock n roll venue as well.”
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Walker said Cold Chisel has started rehearsals and that “early signs were really good.”
Bankwest Stadium CEO Daryl Kerry said: “Cold Chisel playing live at Bankwest Stadium on the Australia Day weekend … it doesn’t get much better or more Australian than that.
“As footy fans saw for themselves this year, Bankwest Stadium was built with the event experience front of mind. It features the steepest grandstands in the country and gets fans closer to the action than ever before, either for sport or entertainment events such as the Cold Chisel concert.”
Originally published as Parramatta Eels and Cold Chisel come together at Bankwest Stadium
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