This weekend on 92.9, we are bringing you the Top 10 Cold Chisel songs.
10.
Shipping Steel
Breakfast At Sweethearts (1979)
Shipping Steel was released in 1979 as part of the Breakfast at Sweethearts album. The album peaked at number 4. The third single from the album, "Shipping Steel", was described as, "Gutsy Australian hard rock and the best thing Chisel have done since the marvelous "Khe Sanh".
9.
You Got Nothing I Want
Circus Animals (1982)
"You Got Nothing I Want" is a 1981 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel, the first released from the album Circus Animals. One of the band's heaviest and most aggressive songs, it was written by singer Jimmy Barnes in response to the treatment they received at the hands of a record company executive during a U.S. tour earlier in the year. Don Walker said, "After we came back, Jim wrote 'You Got Nothing I Want' more or less as a personal tribute to Marty Schwartz." "You Got Nothing I Want" was also the first song on the album and representative of the different sound Cold Chisel was attempting on Circus Animals in a conscious effort to move away from the slick commercial pop rock of East. It spent 19 weeks in the national charts, peaking at number 12.
8.
Breakfast At Sweethearts
Breakfast At Sweethearts (1979)
"Breakfast at Sweethearts" was a song from Australianrock band Cold Chisel. Written by keyboardist Don Walker, it was released as a single in 1979, peaking at number 63 on the Australian charts. It appeared as a track on the album of the same name. The song first appeared in performances in 1978, after the chorus was written on an organ while recording demos for the album.
7.
My Baby
East (1980)
"My Baby" is a 1980 single from Australianrock band Cold Chisel, the third released from the album East and the first of the band's singles not to be written by pianist Don Walker. This was the only track credited solely to bass player Phil Small on any of the band's albums apart from "Notion For You" on the 1994 rarities album Teenage Love. The song proved to be one of the band's most popular, featuring a clearly defined pop sound quite different from Cold Chisel's more usual hard-edged rock. GuitaristIan Moss provides lead vocals and Joe Camilleri of Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons contributed a saxophone solo.
6.
Choir Girl
East (1980)
"Choirgirl" is a 1979 single by Australian rock band Cold Chisel. A ballad with an R&B influenced melody, the single was released months before the album East that it featured on. It was the first time the band had recorded with producer Mark Opitz. It peaked at number 14 in Australia. Author Don Walker said, "I made a conscious attempt to write a hit single. It was a matter of pride and craft. And then I thought, 'What'll I write it about...' I wrote it about pregnancy termination and it was a massive hit." At the time of release, many people seemed unaware of the subject matter, and the song was played on radio stations 2SM & 3XY owned by the Catholic Church. Barnes said, "Even though nobody knew what "Choirgirl" was about, everybody felt an emotional connection."
5.
Cheap Wine
East (1980)
"Cheap Wine" is a 1980 single from Australian rock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album East, the single was released in May, a month before the album. It reached number 8 on the Australian charts, the band's first top-ten single, and would eventually remain the band's second highest chart performance. It has been described as, "one of Don's finest commercial songs." The song first appeared in live sets in April 1980, and was recorded in one or two takes with no demo. Author Walker said, "It's about someone who's on the skids, but still having a great time. I can relate to that - in the seven years Cold Chisel have been together, we've only had enough money to eat the last two and a half. If you get into that lifestyle and start to enjoy it, you tend to stay that way even when the money comes in."
4.
When The War Is Over
Circus Animals (1982)
"When the War Is Over" is a power ballad of Australian band Cold Chisel from their 1982 album Circus Animals. The song was written by drummer Steve Prestwich and issued as the third single from the album, peaking at number 25 on the national singles chart. Like many of the songs from "Circus Animals" that were deliberately written to be as different in style as possible from those on the pop-laced East that had preceded it, "When the War is Over" has a distinctly odd structure. The chorus is repeated at the beginning and end of the song, with the verses in the middle. It also deviates from traditional songwriting by featuring the instrumental break and guitar solo between the first and second verse.
3.
Forever Now
Circus Animals (1982)
"Forever Now" is a 1982 single from Australianrock band Cold Chisel. The second single from the album Circus Animals, it was the first Cold Chisel single to be penned by Steve Prestwich. The song reached number 2 in the New Zealand charts, and number 4 in Australia, the band's highest chart placement. It stayed in the charts for 18 weeks. The single was released in more countries than any other by Cold Chisel. In America it was titled "Forever Now (All My Love)". Producer Opitz said, "The first time Chisel played 'Forever Now' on stage, it was a 7 minute version at Parramatta Leagues Club and I was blown away. I rushed to the dressing room and told the band, 'We've got the single!'"
2.
Khe Sanh
Cold Chisel (1978)
This was written by their keyboard player, Don Walker. It documents the life of a returned Vietnam veteran. After serving in the war, he fails to fit into society anymore. It is also about the restlessness of youth. This was Cold Chisel's first single and debut album. It was remixed and included on the US version of the album East in 1981. This is a "Bar room classic" in Australia. Somewhere, sometime, this will be either played by the bar band or come on the jukebox, and 90% of the crowd will all sing along and know most of the words.
1.
Flame Trees
Twentieth Century (1984)
According to the band's official website, Don Walker's inspiration for the song was a combination of his memories of Grafton where he had lived as a youth, and of his romantic dreams. The music had already been written, on a bass, by Prestwich. Walker liked the music so much he requested to write some lyrics for the piece, to which Prestwich reluctantly agreed. Walker noted, "When I received it with no words, I could tell it had a really emotional profile