Editing Cold Chisel (section)

===1978–1979: ''Cold Chisel'' and ''Breakfast at Sweethearts''===
In the early months of 1978 Cold Chisel recorded their [[Cold Chisel (album)|self-titled debut album]] with their manager and producer, Peter Walker (ex-[[Bakery (band)|Bakery]]).<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Holmgren"/><ref name="Nimmervoll"/> All tracks were written by Don Walker, except "Juliet", where Barnes composed its melody and Walker the lyrics.<ref name="APRA Juliet"/> ''Cold Chisel'' was released in April and included guest studio musicians: Dave Blight on [[harmonica]] (who became a regular on-stage guest) and [[saxophone|saxophonists]] [[Joe Camilleri]] and [[Wilbur Wilde]] (from [[Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons]]). Australian musicologist [[Ian McFarlane]] described how, "[it] failed to capture the band's renowned live firepower, despite the presence of such crowd favourites as 'Khe Sanh', 'Home and Broken Hearted' and 'One Long Day'."<ref name="McFarlane"/> It reached the top&nbsp;40 on the [[Kent Music Report]] and was certified gold.<ref name="aus81"/>

In May 1978, "[[Khe Sanh (song)|Khe Sanh]]" was released as their debut single but it was declared too offensive for commercial radio due to the sexual implication of the lyrics, e.g. "Their legs were often open/But their minds were always closed."<ref name="Nimmervoll"/><ref name="McGrath"/> However, it was played regularly on Sydney youth radio station [[Triple J|Double J]], which was not subject to the restrictions as it was part of the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] (ABC). Another ABC program, ''[[Countdown (Australian TV series)|Countdown]]''{{'}}s producers asked them to change the lyric but they refused.<ref name="Nimmervoll"/> Despite such setbacks, "Khe Sanh" reached No.&nbsp;41 on the Kent Music Report singles chart.<ref name="Kent"/> It became Cold Chisel's signature tune and was popular among their fans. They later remixed the track, with re-recorded vocals, for inclusion on the international version of their third album, ''[[East (Cold Chisel album)|East]]'' (June 1980).

The band's next release was a live five-track extended play, ''[[You're Thirteen, You're Beautiful, and You're Mine]]'', in November 1978.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Kent"/> McFarlane observed, "It captured the band in its favoured element, fired by raucous versions of Walker's 'Merry-Go-Round' and Chip Taylor's 'Wild Thing'."<ref name="McFarlane"/> It was recorded at the [[Regent Theatre, Sydney]] in 1977, when they had [[Midnight Oil]] as one of the support acts. Australian writer [[Ed Nimmervoll]] described a typical performance by Cold Chisel: "Everybody was talking about them anyway, drawn by the songs, and Jim Barnes' presence on stage, crouched, sweating, as he roared his vocals into the microphone at the top of his lungs."<ref name="Nimmervoll"/> The EP peaked at No.&nbsp;35 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Kent"/>

"Merry Go Round" was re-recorded for their second studio album, ''[[Breakfast at Sweethearts]]'' (February 1979). This was recorded between July 1978 and January 1979 with producer [[Richard Batchens]], who had previously worked with [[Richard Clapton]], [[Sherbet (band)|Sherbet]] and Blackfeather.<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Holmgren"/><ref name="Nimmervoll"/> Batchens smoothed out the band's rough edges and attempted to give their songs a sophisticated sound.<ref name="Nimmervoll"/> With regards to this approach, the band were unsatisfied with the finished product.<ref name=rstone>{{cite magazine | title = Meeting of the Minds|issue=768| author=Dan Lander |magazine= [[Rolling Stone Australia]]|pages=52–57| date = November 2015| publisher = Paper Riot Pty Ltd}}</ref> It peaked at No.&nbsp;4 and was the top-selling album in Australia by a locally based artist for that year;<ref name="McFarlane"/><ref name="Kent"/> it was certified platinum.<ref name="aus81"/> The majority of its tracks were written by Walker, with Barnes and Walker on the lead single, "Goodbye (Astrid, Goodbye)" (September 1978), and Moss contributed to "Dresden". "Goodbye (Astrid, Goodbye)" became a live favourite, and was covered by [[U2]] during Australian tours in the 1980s.