Less than two weeks after he was diagnosed with a brain tumour, Steve Prestwich has died at the of 56. The Cold Chisel drummer and lyricist passed away yesterday afternoon after failing to regain consciousness following his operation on Friday.
"Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Phil Small and Don Walker are shattered by the loss. All our thoughts are with Steve's loved ones at this difficult time," stated the band's website.
Cold Chisel's 1982 promotional video for When the War is Over
Prestwich, whose first drumming gig was at the age of 11, was also an acoustic guitarist and a talented songwriter. He co-wrote and wrote many of Chisel's songs including When the War is Over, Flame Trees and Forever Now. Many artists have re-recorded his songs, including John Farnham.
At age 17, Prestwich migrated with his family to Adelaide from Liverpool, England, in 1971, a difficult decision as he had just begun touring with a band in and around Liverpool. Two years on, he became a founding member of the band, Orange, along with Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Don Walker and Les Kaczmarek. The band was renamed Cold Chisel in 1974.
"Over the next ten years Cold Chisel went on to become one of the hardest working and most successful bands in Australian music history. They farewelled their fans in 1983 with the Last Stand tour," from Steve Prestwich's 'Bio' on his official site: http://www.steveprestwich.com/
In 1984, Prestwich joined the Little River Band until 1986, a time which included two albums and a tour of America.
In 1995 he began work on what was to become his first solo album, a project put on hold when Cold Chisel reformed. 1998 saw Chisel's next album, The Last Wave of Summer released and included the following new Prestwich songs Way Down and Water into Wine.
His album, Since You Were Gone, was released in 2000 to critical acclaim and marked the beginning of his solo career. He then performed live with the Steve Prestwich Band for the next two years.
2003 saw the launch of Chisel's Ringside tour and the release of two more Prestwich songs, Lovelight and All I Wanna Do. This marked the first time that Prestwich sang and played acoustic guitar in the band.
His second solo album, Every Highway, was released in 2009 and is described "as a rootsy blend of blues, folk and country." The album features Prestwich on vocals and acoustic guitar, Paul Robert Burton on double bass, Clare O'Meara on fiddle and Kara Grainger on Dobro, slide and acoustic guitar. The album also features an acoustic guitar solo by his teenage son.
R.I.P.
The lyrics for When the War is Over can be viewed here: http://www.coldchisel.com.au/l1_whenwar.html
I can remember, as a child, saving up to buy Cold Chisel albums looking at the cover and reading names of the band members over and over as the music played loudly. His name may not have been at the top list, but will not be forgotten – this is a measure of his success.
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