News October 10, 2018

Cold Chisel’s double live Swingshift back on vinyl

In the week that Cold Chisel’s newly expanded Best Of moved into the ARIA Top 5, the band this morning announced that their legendary double live album Swingshift is being re-released on double vinyl.

The LP, with original gatefold packaging and additional sleeve photos, is out on Friday, October 26 through their own label via Universal Music.

It marks the first time that the four additional tracks (Juliet, Never Before, Ita and Merry-Go-Round) from the 2011 Collector’s Edition CD have been pressed on vinyl.

Swingshift was Cold Chisel’s first #1 record and is often cited as one of the definitive Australian live albums.

The recordings were captured in the winter of 1980 at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre (supported by INXS and Mental As Anything) and Melbourne’s Palais Theatre (supported by Australian Crawl and Matt Finish).

It was part of their Youth In Asia’ tour, behind their breakthrough album East.

It involved 64 shows in 88 days and catapulted Cold Chisel to the biggest band in the land.

Recalling this period in his recent award-winning memoir the band’s frontman, Jimmy Barnes said: “We were like stormtroopers marching across Australia.

“We were on top of the world. The pace we were keeping was blistering.

“More towns, more girls, more booze, more drugs and all in less time. Longer sets, faster songs and even longer drives.”

“I remember the Sydney show very well,” reflects keyboardist and main songwriter, Don Walker.

“It was pretty much the highlight of that tour. By the time we did it we’d played the East album all over the country and this was bringing everything back home.”

Side One

1. Conversations

2. Juliet – Previously unreleased on vinyl

3. Shipping Steel

4. Breakfast At Sweethearts

5. Rising Sun

6. Never Before – Previously unreleased on vinyl

Side Two

1. Choirgirl

2. Khe Sanh

3. My Turn to Cry

4. Four Walls