Image Credit: Daniel Boud

Ian Moss reunites on stage with Cold Chisel band mate this weekend for one very special event

From celebrations together to championing each other's solo careers, Ian Moss backs band mate Barnesy.

This time last year, Ian Moss was in full fledged Cold Chisel celebration mode. The Five-0 50th Anniversary Tour was shaping up through stand-alone shows and under the Red Hot Summer Tour banner, transporting audiences back to the 70’s and 80’s through song. 

Across 17 shows, including a history making show at Ballarat’s Victoria Park Newington, Cold Chisel added to their already sterling legacy.

Jimmy Barnes 40 Years of For The Working Class Man

WHEN: SAT 22 NOV

WHERE: MT DUNEED ESTATE, GEELONG

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“Those shows were a huge celebration. We were pretty nervous standing backstage waiting to go on for the first show. We knew they would be amazing but we didn’t know how intense and lively they would be. The crowds were outstanding,” Moss says.  

In the eyes of fans, it was the heyday of Australian rock when Cold Chisel erupted, but for Mossy and Co. the Australian rock risers were belittled by their own and beaten in status compared to international names.

“Back then we had to try to overcome that whole thing of the late 60s, early 70s – I remember there was this mindset of Australian’s, whether you’re a local band or a band making it big on the radio, that any overseas band was better. We had to convince Australians that we could do it just as well as anyone else in the world,” recalls Moss.

In true rock spirit, Cold Chisel went on to conquer the crowds and held down a prosperous career, until their untimely demise. The rock outfit known for Australian anthems, ‘Khe Sanh’, ‘Flame Trees’, ‘Cheap Wine’, ‘When The War Is Over’ and a stack more, disbanded in late 1983 after a tumultuous period marked by personal conflicts and creative differences within the band. 

Moss took some time to find his feet, entering into his solo silo with Matchbook in 1989. It’s an album that is being celebrated this month as part of Aus Music Month, receiving a vinyl rerelease on Aus Music T-Shirt Day, Thursday 27 November. 

 

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In contrast, band mate Jimmy Barnes got an early jump on his solo career, dropping in with Bodyswerve in ‘84, backing it with the now triumphant body of work For The Working Class Man the following year. 

“Jimmy definitely knew what he wanted to do and landed quickly with Bodyswerve but I was still wading my way through the waters and seeing what worked for me. Matchbook was something I poured everything into and have been so proud of ever since,” he says.

“When it came to For The Working Class Man, Jimmy just tapped into something special. It’s amazing to look back now and celebrate our careers, both together and separately, but still on stage.”

Moss is, of course, referring to his upcoming appearance alongside Barnes for the 40 Years of For The Working Class Man anniversary concert series. Barnes celebrates his solo album with Moss and friends who have been there across the journey, ICEHOUSE and Kate Ceberano. Whilst set in similar spots to The Big Five-0 shows, these celebrations will see the two bandmates bring their solo works to the stage instead of their collaborative catalogue. Unlike his touring across the last twelve months where it was just him and his guitar, Moss will have the full band ready to slide into tracks like ‘Tucker’s Daughter’, ‘Telephone Booth’, ‘Out of the Fire’, and ‘Rivers Run Dry’. 

But you can’t get the two vocalists of one of the most iconic rock bands in Australian history in the same room and not have a whiff of the Chisel.

“Something is definitely on the cards,” Moss teases. 

The tour takes to Mt Duneed Estate in Geelong on Saturday 22 November. Final tickets can be purchased here.