Legendary rock band Cold Chisel have reunited to celebrate their 50th anniversary and announce a tour of Australia.
On Wednesday, the Australian music group excited fans when they announced they would be touring across the country in October and November.
Dubbed ‘The Big Five-0’ tour, frontman Jimmy Barnes joins forces with bandmates Ian Moss, Phil Small and Don Walker for 11 shows across the country.
‘The Big Five-0’ will be an evening like no other. This time the band isn’t touring to promote a new album; they’re touring for the best possible reason… “because we all love playing shows together,” the band said on their Facebook page.
‘Their anniversary offers room for a show with all the classic songs with which Cold Chisel secured their unique place in Oz Rock history – Khe Sanh, Bow River, Flame Trees, You Got Nothing I Want, When The War Is Over, My Baby , Cheap Wine, Choirgirl, Last Wave Of Summer, Breakfast At Sweethearts, Forever Now and so much more.’
Legendary rock band Cold Chisel have reunited to celebrate their 50th anniversary and announce a tour of Australia
Frontman Jimmy Barnes, dubbed ‘The Big Five-0’ tour, joins forces with bandmates Ian Moss, Phil Small and Don Walker for 11 shows across the country
Cold Chisel’s tour kicks off on October 5 at Petersons Winery in Armidale, where the band settled in 1974-1975.
They will then tour major Australian cities for seven weeks before their final show on November 17 in Adelaide, the city that formed the band.
Cold Chisel formed in Adelaide in 1973, with Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards.
Jimmy joined the band late that year on lead vocals – he was only 17 at the time.
Blood Moon, the band’s ninth studio album, was released in 2019 and they last toured in early 2020.
Cold Chisel’s tour kicks off on October 5 in Armidale, where the band based in 1974-75. They will then tour major Australian cities for seven weeks before their final show in Adelaide on November 17
It was that year that the singer, 68, expressed doubts about the band ever doing another major tour.
“I feel like we might be done,” he said on The Green Room podcast with Neil Griffiths.
“It might be a gig here and there for special events or special occasions, but I don’t see Cold Chisel ever doing a big tour again.”
Jimmy is also recovering from his recent open heart surgery.
Late last year, the rocker was struck by a life-threatening infection that affected his heart and subsequently underwent open-heart surgery.
Reflecting on his health problems, he admitted he told his wife Jane he didn’t think he would make it while he was in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
‘I just had a terribly sick feeling, because I’ve never felt so sick before. I thought I was gone,” he recently told 60Minutes.
Just hours before going to hospital, an unwell Jimmy had taken to the stage at a memorial concert for his late friend and promoter, Michael Gudinski.
He talked about how he felt so sick he can barely remember the show and said he was sweating and running a fever backstage.
‘I was really bad. And even though I felt like I could barely walk, I just had to get there,” he said.
‘There was a lot of pain. My back hurt a lot. I had trouble walking. I don’t know how I got through it. As soon as I came off I almost collapsed.”
Cold Chisel formed in Adelaide in 1973, with Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums and Don Walker on piano and keyboards. Jimmy joined the band late that year on lead vocals – he was only 17 at the time
He was supposed to fly abroad the next morning for another concert, but instead went to hospital as his health continued to deteriorate.
A team of specialists discovered that his body was failing because an infection in his blood was causing endocarditis – a life-threatening inflammation of the heart.
By the time he was wheeled into the operating room for open-heart surgery, his doctors said he had only hours to live.
During a seven-hour operation, doctors successfully replaced his damaged valves and repaired his heart.
Five months later, his recovery is going well and he recently returned to the stage to perform at Bluesfest for the first time since his surgery.
