Cold Chisel, started in the 70s, broke up in the 80s, came back in the 90s and have been here and there ever since.

They’ve released nine studio albums since 1978 and while the first one peaked at No. 31, none of the other eight studio albums have been lower than No. 4 on the charts in Australia, they had three No. 1 albums in a row, the last of those three (The Last Wave of Summer) was fourteen years after the second (Twentieth Century).

One of the great things about Cold Chisel is that they had more than one singing option and more than one songwriting option, any of the band could write a charting single.

The amazing stat about the band is that while they’ve reached the top of the charts with albums, they only got to No. 4 in singles.

Here are some of my favourite Cold Chisel tracks.

No Sense

Jimmy Barnes wrote this song that was released in 1983 with ‘Hold Me Tight’ and peaked at No. 14, the second single to peak at that number.

The lyrics of ‘the song ‘No Sense’ were inspired by a fan who was from Wollongong, New South Wales and they would send Jimmy Barnes letters declaring her love for him and she would occasionally threaten suicide.

I think this song really gets your attention from the first note; it has that sound that you want to hear, Jimmy is really lucky his letter writer didn’t do anything extreme like trying to wipe him from the earth as some people have unfortunately done to entertainers that they wanted but they couldn’t have.

Choirgirl

The band’s fifth single ‘Choirgirl’ was written by Don Walker, and it is about pregnancy termination, the subject matter was not widely known as even radio stations owned by the Catholic Church played the song, it reached No. 14 on the charts in Australia, their best result at the time.

It is a song that makes you think about the subject, a song is good when it does that to you, you want to have a good time, but you also want to know what the subject is and what it is trying to tell you.

Cheap Wine

‘Cheap Wine’ was written by Don Walker and was the single after ‘Choirgirl’, Don when asked about the song said that ‘it’s about someone who’s on the skids but still having a great time.‘

The song sounds great, many people can relate to the words and the words do just suck you right into the song which is something you want to happen.

Bow River

Believe it or not that this Ian Moss written classic was a B-Side single for ‘Forever Now’ and it was written about a sheep station that his brother worked at, in short, an Australian song through and through.

I love how the song gradually picks up in intensity and goes way up when Jimmy Barnes comes in around halfway through the song.

You Got Nothing I Want

This song was released in 1981 and peaked at No. 12 in Australia, the song was written in response to the treatment a US recording executive gave the band while they were on tour in the United States.

If you want a good rock song, this song is it, it just gets right into the song from the first second, no instrumental intro just 0 to 60 from the start, Cold Chisel really had it good in a music and writing standpoint.

Saturday Night

Written by Don Walker and co-sung by Jimmy Barnes and Ian Moss, this song was from ‘Twentieth Century’.

What’s to love about this song? The do’s (do-do-do, do-do, do-do-do-do)’, the saxophone solo, Ian Moss and Jimmy Barnes singing.

This song peaked at No. 11, so it was on the outside looking in on the Top 10 though it would be interesting to see what songs were in the Top 10 and if they are known to people in 2025.

Flame Trees

The last single from their 1978-1984 existence, written by Don Walker to music by Steve Prestwich, it is said that the words came from a combination of Don’s memories of Grafton, New South Wales where he had lived in his youth and also about his romantic dreams.

There is something about returning to a country town you once lived in as a youth, you wonder about what has changed, what is the same, who is still around, who has left and then you think about the good times and the bad.

This song was the perfect end to the 1978-1984 recording era.