Cold Chisel was arguably the greatest Aussie band. ACDC was far more successful overseas ...but many Aussies regard Cold Chisel as our best band!

My question to you is why do you think they did not achieve greter success overseas? Were they too Aussie? Considering Jimmy Barnes (lead singer) was of Scottish descent (complete with accent) and nobody could really understand what he sang most of the time anyway... ;)

Here are a few of their clips. I'd be interested to know your thoughts..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzyDVcnLJ7U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKxbr4_-Vc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcjZrf_g-lQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILd1O44BDqc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DocbEipsq4&feature=related

Can't answer that for I have never heard of them.

I have heard of Cold Chisel before.  I quote like them, but it is a shame they never did anything in North America.  As a solo artist, Jimmy Barnes did hit the charts over here a few times, most notably with two soundtrack hits:

'Working Class Man' from the 1986 film 'Gung Ho!' and his collaboration with INXS on 'Good Times' from the 1987 film 'The Lost Boys'

Here are a few of their clips. I'd be interested to know your thoughts..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzyDVcnLJ7U&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFKxbr4_-Vc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcjZrf_g-lQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILd1O44BDqc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DocbEipsq4&feature=related


Okay, I listened to all five and it's the first two I like the best.

They seem to sound like everybody else once they get well into the '80s.
A quick check and the first two are off their 3rd album "East" from 1980.
I'll check their two earlier releases and let you know what I think, but I do like what I hear for those first two.

("Choir Girl crying like a refugee". Must have been a lot of refugees in 1980? Tom Petty knew a few too.)

I can't imagine why they didn't get *any* play on MTV starting in 1982-1983?
The Sherbs got their "We Ride Tonight" on in the early '80s.

I guess Little River Band and AC/DC pretty much ruled in the '80s here (in US) for any band from Australia.

^ Little River Band was the first Australian group to have continuous commercial success in North America.


I liked alot of the lesser known Aussie artists (in North America that is) that had a hit or two during the 80s:

♦ Billy Thorpe had a Top 40 hit in Canada with 'In My Room' in 1981
♦ Wa Wa Nee had a US Top 40 hit in 1987 called 'Sugar Free'
♦ With help from John Oates, Icehouse finally broke the North American Top 40 with their 1987 album 'Man of Colours' and the songs 'Electric Blue' and 'Crazy'
♦ Former LRB vocalist John Farnham had a handful of big and small hits in Canada, the most successful of which was 'You're the Voice', which was his only UK Top 40

Can't answer that for I have never heard of them.

I have not heard of them either.

I have heard of Cold Chisel before.  I quote like them, but it is a shame they never did anything in North America.  As a solo artist, Jimmy Barnes did hit the charts over here a few times, most notably with two soundtrack hits:

'Working Class Man' from the 1986 film 'Gung Ho!' and his collaboration with INXS on 'Good Times' from the 1987 film 'The Lost Boys'


Cheers for replying Whistle...  I didn't realize that Barnes had some solo hiots overseas (after Chisel). I really liked his 'power' voice in the earlier songs...but he tends to scream too much now and his voice has turned very 'gravelly'.

Chisel are almost revered over here. There biggest spub song was probably Khe Sanh (I didn't list it). It was a big song about Vietnam vets etc. Barnes was infamous for hard drinking while on stage. In the youtube clip for Khe Sanh you can see the bottle of liqour on stage...

Okay, I listened to all five and it's the first two I like the best.

They seem to sound like everybody else once they get well into the '80s.
A quick check and the first two are off their 3rd album "East" from 1980.
I'll check their two earlier releases and let you know what I think, but I do like what I hear for those first two.

("Choir Girl crying like a refugee". Must have been a lot of refugees in 1980? Tom Petty knew a few too.)

I can't imagine why they didn't get *any* play on MTV starting in 1982-1983?
The Sherbs got their "We Ride Tonight" on in the early '80s.

I guess Little River Band and AC/DC pretty much ruled in the '80s here (in US) for any band from Australia.




Thanks for taking the time to listen and comment. Choir Girl is my favourite of Chisel's songs. When Barnes' voice was still clear(ish) and strong. I neglected to give LRB there dues too. LRB is probably even mpre successful OS than ACDC...and are personal favs of mine. I saw them perform in 1988 with a guest player named Glen Frey! He played and sang with them on several of their hits.

Not certain what country you are in??  ...but you heard of The Sherbs!  :o  I only liked their early stuff (when they were called Sherbert). They were also a big band in Oz.

Yes, Australia did have a large intake of Vietnamese refugees in the late 70' and early 80's. As I said earlier to Whistledog..one of Chisel's biggest hits was all about Viet Veterans...

^ Little River Band was the first Australian group to have continuous commercial success in North America.


I liked alot of the lesser known Aussie artists (in North America that is) that had a hit or two during the 80s:

♦ Billy Thorpe had a Top 40 hit in Canada with 'In My Room' in 1981
♦ Wa Wa Nee had a US Top 40 hit in 1987 called 'Sugar Free'
♦ With help from John Oates, Icehouse finally broke the North American Top 40 with their 1987 album 'Man of Colours' and the songs 'Electric Blue' and 'Crazy'
♦ Former LRB vocalist John Farnham had a handful of big and small hits in Canada, the most successful of which was 'You're the Voice', which was his only UK Top 40


Thanks for that detail Jason. I'd forgotten all about Wa Wa Nee... ;D  Farnham went OS with The Voice eh? That song is like the unofficial Australian Anthem...

Their were many great Aussie bands and they were showcased on the music TV show called Countdown. It was sort of like Top of the Pops but the bands mostly played live (not karioke). I think you would have rellay enjoyed that show....

Farnham went OS with The Voice eh? That song is like the unofficial Australian Anthem...


Farnham had a good amount of success in Canada and other parts.  Oddly enough, he failed to catch on in America.  The official UK charts compile Top 75 positions, everything else is bubbling under, so Farnham technically only had the one hit in the UK ...

1987 - You're the Voice
1987 - Pressure Down
1988 - Age of Reason
1989 - Two Strong Hearts
1990 - You're the Voice <re-release>
1991 - That's Freedom


For those who watched American Idol last year and wondered why David Archuletta sang 'You're the Voice' as choice of song of his year of birth (1990) ... now you know why LOL