Cold Chisel

COLD CHISEL announce 50th Anniversary Tour – “The Big Five-0”

Cold Chisel will celebrate 50 years together with a truly unique tour … “The Big Five-0” and will take over The Entertainment Quarter on Friday 11th and Saturday 12th October 2024.

Under a giant Cirqus Tent Marquee!!!

In a surprising – but apt – move, this golden anniversary party will kick off on Saturday, 5 October in Armidale, where Cold Chisel based themselves back in 1974-1975 while Don Walker completed his university studies. The tour will then lap around major Australian cities for 7 weeks before culminating on 17 November in the city where the band formed … Adelaide.

“The Big Five-0” will be a night like no other.

This time, the band isn’t touring to promote a new album; they are touring for the best possible reason … “because we all love playing gigs together”. Their anniversary provides scope for a show that features all the classic songs with which Cold Chisel carved 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, All For You, Choir Girl, Last Wave Of Summer, Saturday Night, Breakfast At Sweethearts, Forever Now and so many more.

In Sydney the shows will be staged under a specially constructed, 10,000 capacity Big Top tent featuring floor and bleacher seating plus a GA standing area across the rear half of the venue. The dates will be a nod to the band’s legendary ‘An Evening with the Circus Animals’ shows in 1982 which closed with Jimmy Barnes singing Goodbye (Astrid, Goodbye) while riding pillion on a motorbike racing up a trapeze wire (you had to see it to believe it).

Those notorious album launch gigs featured an actual circus troupe as the support act. This time around that ringmaster role will be played at nearly all shows by ARIA Award winning chart toppers The Cruel Sea (*excluding Gold Coast, Newcastle, Hobart and Wollongong) and soulful singer/songwriter Karen Lee Andrews.

As piano player and chief songwriter Don Walker explains: “We’ll be going all out to celebrate a milestone birthday like this.  Bookending the tour in the two places where we first welded the band together, building these circus tent shows in 3 cities, bringing along some great guests and doing a set which reaches back across our whole song catalogue should all make “The Big Five-0” a tour to remember.”

Just over a month prior to the first of these gigs, Cold Chisel will release 50 Years – The Best Of. The album will land on Friday, 23 August, just in time for Father’s Day, and is a 25 song, double-vinyl set that comes in a number of special vinyl formats and a double-CD set – and includes all of their classic songs (pre-order the album here)

“We wanted to celebrate our 50th birthday by revisiting all of our best work from across the years,” says guitarist and singer, Ian Moss. “As we prepare the setlist, there are a minimum of 15 songs that our audience demands to hear. This time we’ll be playing all of them plus we’ll be throwing in lots of musical surprises as well.”

“Gold is obviously associated with 50th anniversaries” says bass player Phil Small, “so we thought it would be fun to pull the tour into Ballarat – Australia’s gold mining capital. We’re looking forward to playing the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Wollongong and Hobart too because each of those cities have been important to us in various ways over the last 50 years.”

Jimmy Barnes was recently asked: ‘Are Cold Chisel together or apart?’
“Cold Chisel are never apart. We’re as close as brothers,” he said. “Some of the best moments of my life have been spent on stage with those boys, and I hope we keep going ‘til the day we drop.”

For Jimmy, these are not idle words. A near death experience last December, when he underwent emergency open heart surgery, sharpened his focus. As Jimmy recovered, a key priority was to get back onstage with Cold Chisel. “The Big Five-0 is a landmark moment,” says the country’s most famous singer. “There have been plenty of times where I never thought I’d live to see this day so I’m going to make the most of it. I can’t wait to celebrate with my mates and with all the fans who have been such a big part of our story. We’re gonna smash it!”

The Cold Chisel story has stretched from Armidale and Adelaide in 1974 to three new gold and platinum albums over the last dozen years, winning the band multiple generations of fans. Their most recent release – 2019’s Blood Moon – topped the charts and its lead single, Getting The Band Back Together, won the APRA Award for Australia’s Most Performed Rock Work.

As the accolades have piled up – ARIA Hall Of Fame, APRA’s Ted Albert Award, an Adelaide Street named in their honour, even their own postage stamp – Cold Chiselhas come to understand the special place their music now occupies in Australasian hearts. “The Big Five-0” will be a rare chance for fans of all ages to see the band in action and sing their songs to them one more time.

Don Walker summed it up succinctly, “This 50th anniversary tour will be a huge celebration – for all of us.”

“THE BIG 5-0”

TOUR DATES

Friday, 11 October 2024 and Saturday, 12 October 2024
The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park NSW
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews

Please only purchase tickets via OFFICIAL ticket sellers for each show. Cold Chisel does NOT recommend the purchase of tickets from ticket reseller sites such as Viagogo which usually charge higher prices. At the moment nobody can legally stop ticket traders profiting from these other sites, but it is highly recommended that you only buy tickets via the OFFICIAL ticketing links listed on www.coldchisel.com/tour.

EXPLORE THE ENTERTAINMENT QUARTER:

Before or after the laughs, make the most of your visit to The Entertainment Quarter. Discover a variety of dining options, entertainment venues, and attractions to complement your comedy experience.

Immerse yourself in the vibrant atmosphere of The Entertainment Quarter.

Our EQ precinct is home to a delectable array of restaurants and cafes, perfect for a pre-movie dinner or post-film coffee.

Satisfy your taste buds with diverse cuisines, from gourmet burgers to international flavours – there’s something for every palate; Culinary Delights include:

• Fratelli Fresh – sink your taste buds into pizza, pasta and a delicious cocktails.
• El Camino Cantina – Mexican food for everyone – Tacos, Nachos, towers of margs – what more could you want?
• Watsons EQ – you local pub with all your favourites – steaks, burgers, beers and wine.
• Mary’s EQ – Famous for their burgers, chicken and delicious drinks!
• Winghaus – your local sports bar – with added wings and sports fun.
• Jamacia Blue – perfect spot for a coffee / cake before the show.

Any So many more…

GETTING THERE

The Entertainment Quarter, 122 Lang Road, Moore Park NSW 2010

Getting there is easy; click HERE for directions

Parking on-site – available HERE

For more fun – check out other stuff coming to the EQ: www.entertainmentquarter.com.au/whats-on