Ian Moss

Lorna was a fellow employee at Allied Works Council when they married in September 1945.

Moss has an older brother, Peter Geoffrey Moss (born 8 October 1948), an older sister, Penny (born 30 July 1951), and a younger brother, Andrew (born July 13 1961).

When Moss was four years-old he performed for his family and friends and at nine, sang "The Battle of New Orleans" at a school concert.

He later recalled "I was always keen on music and singing. I used to do little vocal concerts for my parents".

Moss initially took piano lessons but switched to guitar at age 11: "My older sister was learning classical piano and my older brother was a good rhythm strummer and right into Bob Dylan. I started off with classical piano aged about 7 or 8, but unfortunately wasn't into it enough".

Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs.

He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel.

Ian Richard Moss was born on 20 March 1955 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, to Geoffery Moss (18 April 1911 – 1989) and Lorna (née Robinson) (born ca. 1922).[A] During World War II Geoffery survived the 1942 bombing of Darwin, he enlisted in the army and later worked for the Allied Works Council in Alice Springs.

In 1969 he joined a local band, The Scene, which included drummer Rod Martin and two brothers, Robert and John Fortunaso.

Moss played rhythm guitar by plugging an acoustic guitar into the bass player's amplifier.

The Scene played at local centres and organised their own dances.

Moss sang a couple of songs with the group and a year later, he bought an electric guitar to replace his acoustic.

Moss recalled, "I was with them for about a year and by that time I was starting to get my own band happening".

The following year he formed Hot Ice with Roger Harris – guitar, David Michel – drums, Wayne Sanderson – Bass and Paul Wiles – keyboards.

The group debuted in front of the whole school at the Alice Springs High School regular Friday assembly which took place in the Alice Springs Youth Centre with cover versions of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Proud Mary" and "Who'll Stop the Rain".

Thereafter they regularly played at the Youth Centre Saturday night dances.

In 1972, Moss relocated to Adelaide – where his older siblings had already moved.

Moss had failed a year of high school and decided to repeat at Marion High School.

In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded on all five studio albums, three of which reached number one on the national Kent Music Report Albums Chart.

In 1973 he started an Electronics course at Kilkenny Technical College but "lasted one term there ... totally daydreaming the whole time", he left and worked in various factory jobs.

In September 1973 Ian Moss, on guitar and lead vocals, formed a rock group, Orange, in Adelaide with Don Walker, a songwriter and organist, and Leszek Kaczmarek on bass guitar.

Within months the line-up included Steve Prestwich on drums and Jimmy Barnes on lead vocals, and they were renamed, Cold Chisel.

The group's early line-up was volatile with Barnes, Prestwich and Walker all leaving and returning at various times.

In 1975 Kaczmarek was replaced on bass guitar by Phil Small.

Moss's main role was as lead guitarist, although he would frequently take over lead vocals when Barnes was out of the band.

After periods spent in Adelaide, Armidale and Melbourne, Cold Chisel eventually settled in Sydney in mid-1977 and signed a recording contract with WEA late that year.

Early the following year they recorded their self-titled debut album, which appeared in April.

Moss supplied lead vocals for two tracks, "One Long Day" and "Rosaline".

Moss's vocals feature on some of the band's best known songs, including the singles "My Baby" (August 1980), "When the War Is Over" (1982), and "Saturday Night" (March 1984) and on Circus Animals (March 1982) album track, "Bow River".

Moss wrote "Bow River" about a cattle station in the Kimberley region of Western Australia where his brother, Peter, had once worked; it has since become Moss's signature tune.

It was also the B-side of "Forever Now", which was released in the same month as the album.

Moss sang lead on the group's version of "Georgia On My Mind" which became a staple of their live shows, although their only recording is on the 1984 live album, Barking Spiders Live: 1983.

In August 1989 he released his debut solo album, Matchbook, which peaked at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart.

It was preceded by his debut single, "Tucker's Daughter", which reached number two on the related ARIA Singles Chart in March.

The track was co-written by Moss with Don Walker, also from Cold Chisel.

Moss had another top ten hit with "Telephone Booth" in June 1989.

At the ARIA Music Awards of 1990 Moss won five categories: Album of the Year, Best Male Artist, Breakthrough Artist – Album, Single of the Year and Breakthrough Artist – Single.

Since then his solo music career has been more low-key, his other top 50 albums are Worlds Away (November 1991), Let's All Get Together (July 2007) and Soul on West 53rd (November 2009).

In 1993 Cold Chisel, with Moss as a member, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Moss has participated with periodic Cold Chisel reunion tours or new studio albums in 1998, 2003 and from 2009 to 2012 (as from August 2013).