‘Best Of’ Celebrations to be staged under a huge circus big top in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
Fan Presale from 12 noon (local times) on Friday, 31 May
General Public onsale from 12 noon (local times) on Tuesday, 4 June
Cold Chisel revealed this morning that they will celebrate 50 years together with a truly unique tour … “The Big Five-0”
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.
Limited tickets will go onsale to members of Cold Chisel’s mailing list (CLICK HERE to sign up) from 12.00pm (local times) on Friday, 31 May.
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PRE-SALE TICKETING INFORMATION
Members of Cold Chisel’s mailing list will receive an email by 6pm on Thursday, May 30th. That email will include official ticket links and a password allowing you to enter the event Pre-sale at noon (local times) on Friday May 31st. CLICK HERE to sign up to Cold Chisel’s mailing list.
Please keep an eye out for this important message and check your ‘junk’ and ‘spam’ email folders if you have not received it by 6pm Thursday. Importantly, note that ticket limits will apply to all pre-sale purchases. Demand is expected to be extremely high, so make sure you are ready at noon on Friday, with your password handy, for your best chance of grabbing tickets.
If you miss out then further tickets will go on sale to the General Public at noon (local times) on Tuesday June 4.
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In Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne 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. Outdoor concerts in Armidale, Perth and Ballarat will also feature special guest performances from beloved contemporary rock band Birds of Tokyo and 90’s legends The Superjesus making for some extra epic nights (presented by Red Hot Summer).
And for the tour’s grand finale they will headline the post-race concert after the VAILO Adelaide 500 Supercars event. Tickets to the Adelaide show go on sale at 10.00am today (Wednesday May 29). For full dates and details please see below.
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 from 7am today: https://ColdChisel.lnk.to/TheBestOf )
“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
Saturday, 5 October 2024
Petersons Winery, Armidale NSW
Presented by Red Hot Summer Tour
Special guests: The Cruel Sea, Birds of Tokyo, The Superjesus and Karen Lee Andrews
Tuesday, 8 October 2024
Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, Broadbeach QLD
Special guests: Karen Lee Andrews
Friday, 11 October 2024
The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park NSW
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Saturday, 12 October 2024 – JUST ADDED!
The Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park NSW
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Tuesday, 15 October 2024
WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong NSW
Special guests: Karen Lee Andrews
Saturday, 19 October 2024
Sandalford Wines, Caversham WA
Presented by Red Hot Summer Tour
Special guests: Birds of Tokyo, The Cruel Sea, The Superjesus and Karen Lee Andrews
Sunday, 20 October 2024 – JUST ADDED!
Sandalford Wines, Caversham WA
Presented by Red Hot Summer Tour
Special guests: Birds of Tokyo, The Cruel Sea, The Superjesus and Karen Lee Andrews
Friday, 25 October 2024
Flemington Racecourse, Flemington VIC
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Saturday, 26 October 2024 – JUST ADDED!
Flemington Racecourse, Flemington VIC
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Saturday, 2 November 2024
Victoria Park, Herston / Brisbane QLD
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Sunday, 3 November 2024 – JUST ADDED!
Victoria Park, Herston / Brisbane QLD
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Wednesday, 6 November 2024
Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Broadmeadow NSW
Special guests: Karen Lee Andrews
Saturday, 9 November 2024
Victoria Park, Ballarat VIC
Presented by Red Hot Summer Tour
Special guests: The Cruel Sea, Birds of Tokyo, The Superjesus and Karen Lee Andrews
Sunday, 10 November 2024 – JUST ADDED!
Mornington Racecourse, Mornington VIC
Presented by Red Hot Summer Tour
Special guests: The Cruel Sea, Birds of Tokyo, The Superjesus and Karen Lee Andrews
Wednesday, 13 November 2024
MyState Bank Arena, Glenorchy TAS
Special guests: Karen Lee Andrews
Saturday, 16 November 2024– JUST ADDED!
Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney NSW
Special guests: The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews
Sunday, 17 November 2024
VAILO Adelaide 500, Post Race Concert, Adelaide SA
Special guests: The Cruel Sea, The Superjesus
Tickets are on sale today (29 May) from Ticketmaster
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.
