LiSTNR has teamed up with Cold Chisel to document the explosive history of Australia’s most loved rock band. In a LiSTNR exclusive, the band tell their remarkable story in their own words in a five-part audio docuseries titled Cold Chisel, hosted by The Superjesus’ Sarah McLeod.
Made in partnership with Cold Chisel, the docuseries features brand-new, in-depth interviews with original band members Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Phil Small and Don Walker and drummer Charley Drayton, who took over from the late Steve Prestwich. Covering pivotal moments of the band’s history, the series explores the highs and lows of their extraordinary story including their reflections on the legendary The Last Wave of Summer comeback tour in 1998, which Jimmy Barnes struggled through. “I was pretty out of it and wild and had a death wish,” Barnes said. “But I’d get into the middle of Cold Chisel singing and that was the only time I felt comfortable. It must have been painful for the guys to be around. I was like a Tasmanian devil, I just never stopped.”
Cold Chisel has sold over seven million albums and are currently thrilling audiences of all ages on their The Big Five-O national tour. The tour has sold over 120,000 tickets and follows their recent no.1 compilation album 50 Years – The Best Of.
“This podcast is OUR story, from late 1973 through to today,” says Cold Chisel frontman, Jimmy Barnes. “It’s warts and all, highs and lows, as told by us and by some of our friends and colleagues who joined us on the ride. 50 friggin years! Who would have thought it? We certainly didn’t.
“And it’s brilliantly hosted by our good friend, Sarah McLeod. Strap yourself in.”
Sarah McLeod fronts the ARIA-winning band The Superjesus, which is opening for Cold Chisel on their current tour as they play sold-out shows across Australia. “I’ve always felt a connection with Cold Chisel,” McLeod said. “Not just because their songs speak to me, as they do most Australians, but also because we’re also from Adelaide and The Superjesus were signed to WEA, the same label as Chisel.
“We were signed by Chisel’s tour manager Mark Pope, who would tell us colourful stories about life on the road with them. We admired the band, their grit, rock n’ roll stamina and fortitude to do it their own way. They are the real deal, a proper rock band. To watch them re-emerge all these years later has been inspiring to witness, it’s such a killer story, so of course I want to tell it!”
LiSTNR Music Features Journalist, Cameron Adams, said: “Doing extensive interviews with the band and people in their orbit has been eye-opening. This is a wild story – incredible highs and devastating lows. They also made some incredible business moves, including owning all their own music and setting a career blueprint for other artists to follow. It is also a testament to a band who knew they had something special and always played by their own rules.”
Executive Head of LiSTNR Audience and Growth, Grant Tothill, said: “There are not many Australians who haven’t listened to Cold Chisel’s music. To be able to work so closely with the band and management – John O’Donnell and John Watson – to create this audio docuseries is a real honour.
“Cold Chisel tells the story of the band from the early days in Adelaide through to the moment everything changed. From constant rejection, and not being able to afford to eat, to becoming one of Australia’s most loved and successful bands that are still together after 50 years. Even if you think you know the story, I can assure you, you don’t know it until you’ve listened to all five episodes and discover what’s special about Cold Chisel and why they keep coming back together to create live performances that are intoxicating.”
Episodes one and two of Cold Chisel are available now exclusively on LiSTNR. Download the LiSTNR app and sign-up to listen for free. Three subsequent episodes will be released over the following weeks.
Cold Chisel, LiSTNR’s exclusive audio docuseries, explores:
- Cold Chisel being rejected by every record label in Australia for having “no commercial potential” before being signed for $700.
- The Australian classic song Khe Sanh being banned from radio due to offensive lyrics and the song’s producer revealing whether Chisel recorded a ‘clean’ version.
- Chisel imploding on their first American tour in 1981 after having to start from scratch and battle indifference and homesickness. “When you’re in business class in your home country and you have to go back to the back of the bus it’s undignified…maybe ego plays part of it,’ says tour manager Mark Pope.
- The tensions that led to Cold Chisel splitting in 1983, after the fractured recording of the No.1 album Twentieth Century and the legendary Last Stand farewell tour. “It was a relief for me because the band was an unhappy place,” Don Walker says. “I was angry about a lot of things. I thought we should have been the biggest band in the world. I thought that had been sabotaged. It was an overwhelming relief for me to get away from it.”
- Cold Chisel’s surprise reformation for The Last Wave of Summer comeback tour and album – which Jimmy Barnes struggled through. “I was pretty out of it and wild and had a death wish. But I’d get into the middle of Cold Chisel singing and that was the only time I felt comfortable. It must have been painful for the guys to be around. I was like a Tasmanian devil, I just never stopped.”
- The tragic passing of the band’s original drummer Steve Prestwich – and Chisel’s decision to carry on “As time went on,” bassist Phil Small says, “everyone just sort of felt that if Steve was here, he’d probably would want us to continue.”
- The band recruiting powerhouse drummer Charley Drayton, whose wife – the late Divinyls frontwoman Chrissy Amphlett – would make an emotional appearance on stage with Cold Chisel. “When she walked out on stage, I’d never heard an applause like it. The place went apeshit, it was incredible, and she felt it and that was exactly what she needed. I was there with her guidance to look out for Chisel, and they were there for me to look out for me for us all having to let Chrissy go.”
- The modern era of Cold Chisel, releasing more chart-topping albums and undertaking huge tours while finding a new way to work together. “These days we’re very careful of each other, to the best of our capacity,” Don Walker says. With each of us our top skill is not social. I don’t think we could be a full-time band again. That wouldn’t go well at all.”
- The future of Cold Chisel after their 50th anniversary. “I don’t see this as the last tour at all,” Jimmy Barnes says. “I see it as a gateway to what we’re going to do until we hit eighty.”
About LiSTNR:
LiSTNR is a curated and personalised, free app offering radio, podcasts, music, and sport, creating a new audio destination for all Australians. Featuring a fun and intuitive onboarding process, LiSTNR delivers an audio destination that is built for individual listeners’ routines and preferences. Highly personalised, it provides listeners a new world of audio entertainment, with their own daily feed of audio and easy discovery of new content through curated recommendations. Available across a large array of devices including both iOS and Android, CarPlay and Android Auto, Google Assistant and Alexa and Android TV, LiSTNR enables a fantastic listening experience, anytime and anywhere. Open your Ears to a new world of audio – download the free app today. LiSTNR.com