Cold Chisel regroups for 50th anniversary after Jimmy Barnes’s near-death experience
When Cold Chisel played the last show of its national tour in February 2020, at least one of the musicians on stage thought they were writing the final chapter of the band’s storied live career.
When Cold Chisel played the last show of its Blood Moon national tour in February 2020, just before the pandemic hit, at least one of the musicians on stage thought they were writing the final chapter of the band’s storied live performance career.
Late last year, when singer Jimmy Barnes edged close to death ahead of undergoing open-heart surgery for the second time, his bandmates worried they were about to lose the man whose voice has defined the Adelaide-born rock ‘n’ roll act since it formed in 1973.
With that health crisis averted and while they can still lock in together, they will. Which is why the band will soon regroup for a national tour dubbed The Big Five-O, in recognition of Cold Chisel’s 50th anniversary.
Starting in Armidale on October 5 and ending in Adelaide on November 17, and in between playing a mix of indoor and outdoor venues, including beneath a 10,000-capacity Big Top tent, the 11-date tour will see the chart-topping, ARIA Hall of Fame-inducted band reopen a bulging songbook that has soundtracked generations of Australian life.
When Barnes went under the knife in December, “our plans were reasonably well advanced, but it certainly straightened the rest of us up – because as happens with a lot of our contemporaries, there’s people dropping,” pianist and songwriter Don Walker, 72, told The Australian.
“It wouldn’t occur to me that Jim could be one of those. It does really sharpen your focus a bit.”
At a band interview in Sydney last week, the four musicians – minus US-based drummer Charley Drayton – spoke frankly and amiably of their shared fondness for the idea of a follow-up to the last tour, which played to about 210,000 people across six states in support of the band’s ninth album, Blood Moon.
“I thought that was it; that was our last show,” said bassist Phil Small, 69, of the February 2020 finale.
“It was pretty sad for me because I thought it was probably the last time I was going to be playing. Unfortunately I don’t go out and play like the other guys do; I’m a bit lazy in that regard. I think I’ve been spoiled too much with these guys because I’ve just thoroughly enjoyed that experience.”
At their own concerts over the decades, the three other Chisels – Barnes, Walker and guitarist/singer Ian Moss – tend to each include at least one of the band’s songs in their setlist.
On his recent Live Lightning tour, Walker surprised his audience by opening the concert with a solo version of its eternally popular debut single, 1978’s Khe Sanh.
“I normally don’t go near Cold Chisel songs because it’s very rare that I can sing one,” said Walker with a smile. “It’d be an easy path to big audiences if I could – and I would definitely take that – but I’ve tried, and I just can’t do that.”
Moss, 69, has wrestled with different concerns in the live arena.
“Sometimes I wonder if I feel a little bit guilty about using some of the Cold Chisel catalogue for my own shows, but my rationale is that I’ll do my own version of those songs,” he said. “Flame Trees and Choirgirl, for example; I’ve worked hard at creating what I like to think of as ‘Ian Moss versions’.”
Where the four of them find agreement is that they’re never better than when playing together; that truth was playing on Barnes’s mind during his recuperation. “I remember lying in the hospital and thinking for a while I wasn’t going to make it,” he said.
“One of the things I realised as I started to recover – and it became really bleeding obvious to me – was that we’re not here for a long time, but we’re here for a good time.”
That realisation led Barnes, 68, to “not putting off telling the people you love how much you love them, and not [putting off] doing the things that mean the most to you. Some of the best times I’ve ever had in my life have been spent with these guys on stage; moments where we’ve made magic that nobody else has done. It really made me want to do this, more than ever.”
Having returned to the stage at Bluesfest in April, Barnes has since gotten a few more shows with his own band under his belt, and the singer is keenly anticipating Chisel rehearsals in September once Drayton flies in from the US ahead of the Armidale debut on October 5.
“It means a lot for me to get the chance to get out on stage with this band again,” said Barnes.
“I’m certainly not going to take anything for granted, and I’m not going to leave anything in the tank. I would like to see these shows being the best we’ve ever played – until the next time we get together.”
The writer travelled to Sydney as a guest of Cold Chisel.
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