The APRA AMCOS Board of Writer and Publisher Directors have announced that legendary songwriters and musicians, Cold Chisel, are the recipients of the 2016 Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music. The prestigious award will be presented to Cold Chisel at the 2016 APRA Music Awards on Tuesday 5 April at Carriageworks in Sydney.

With a history that spans 40 years, a reputation forged through blistering live shows and a catalogue of much loved songs and albums, Cold Chisel – Jimmy Barnes, Ian Moss, Don Walker, Phil Small and Steve Prestwich – are part of the fabric of the nation’s psyche. Their story is colourful, volatile and proud and their music continues to be ingrained in the hearts of generations of Australians.

The band has sold almost seven million albums across bona fide Australian classics like East, Breakfast at Sweethearts and Circus Animals, while songs like Cheap Wine, Choir Girl, When the War Is Over, Flame Trees, Bow River, Saturday Night, Khe Sanh and 2015’s Lost remain the staple of radio playlists, pubs, jukeboxes, concert halls and karaoke bars across every part of the country.

Australia’s love of Cold Chisel has only grown over the years. The band’s 2011 Light The Nitro tour was the biggest-ever by an Australian-based band, with over 300,000 tickets sold, and their 2015 One Night Stand tour included a number of firsts for the band, including being the first-ever Australian artist to headline the iconic Hanging Rock to a sold out audience of 18,000. Meanwhile, the band’s 2012 album No Plans was certified gold and received 5 ARIA Award nominations while last year’s album The Perfect Crime was #1 on the ARIA Australian Artists Album chart and is almost platinum. The Perfect Crime was universally hailed by critics, with many calling it as amongst the best of Cold Chisel’s career.

Previous recipients of the Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music include Paul Kelly, Jimmy Little, Slim Dusty, The Seekers and last year’s recipient, Fifa Riccobono.