Coronavirus: Cold Chisel’s Ian Moss records heart-warming ballad

Cold Chisel guitarist, singer and songwriter Ian Moss is the latest star to grace our Isolation Room video series.

Singer-songwriter and guitarist Ian Moss has recorded one of his favourite love songs at his home in Sydney exclusively for The Australian. Picture: Nikki Short

At the start of the year, Ian Moss performed to more than 210,000 fans as Cold Chisel undertook its final major tour across six states. Those concerts were some of the biggest outdoor crowds the rock quintet had played to in its 47-year history, and of the 12 dates, the bushfire-tinged Canberra show of the Blood Moon tour is one that sticks in his mind.

“It was quite an amazing visual to be on stage just before sunset, with smoke obscuring the sun to create this orange, blood-coloured ball in the sky, with thousands of bats disturbed probably by the fire and the music, circling in and out and across the face of the blood sun,” Moss recalls.

The notion of thousands of Australians happily dancing and sharing the same space en masse now seems like a distant memory of a much simpler time.

Like every other musician in the country, Moss has lost shows and income because of COVID-19, and a tour to celebrate the 30th ­anniversary of his album Matchbook has been pushed back to February 2021.

At home in western Sydney with his wife and son, the singer, songwriter and guitarist has been using his time in isolation to exchange ideas via digital recordings with interstate co-writers.

“It’s been quite productive, and it’s coming along nicely, this collection of songs,” he said. “I’m wanting to start recording a new album in August or September.”

For the final week of The Australian’s Isolation Room video ­series, Moss has recorded a cover of I Can’t Make You Love Me, a 1991 single by American blues artist Bonnie Raitt.

“It’s one of my most favourite songs ever written, by anyone, anywhere,” he said.

“I didn’t latch on to the whole solo acoustic thing until about 2005, so I gradually worked out my own version and the correct key, and I’ve been messing around with it for about 10 years.” Moss is not alone in his fondness for the song: Prince, Adele and ­George Michael are among the artists who have covered this aching ballad of unrequited love.

“It’s a great set of lyrics, and a great story behind it,” Moss said. “Musically, it’s quite fascinating: I almost find the chords to be back to front, as they go to places you just wouldn’t expect.”

On Saturday, the globally renowned performance artist ­Marina Abramovic will conclude the Isolation Room series with a special recording for readers of The Weekend Australian.