Cold Chisel confirmed Bickers’ death on Friday in a statement posted to social media. “Our much-loved sax player of more than 30 years, Andy Bickers, passed away this morning after a hard-fought battle with cancer,” the band wrote. “Andy was our brother: an incredible musician and a great person to be out on the road or out on the town with.”
Bickers’ saxophone was central to the live renditions of Cold Chisel songs including “Rising Sun,” “Saturday Night” and “My Baby.” Born in Wellington, he spent the 1980s working the local rock scene before relocating to Australia, where his tenor and baritone playing established him as one of the country’s most reliable session and touring musicians.
His breakthrough came via Jimmy Barnes’ touring band, and by the early 2000s he had become a fixture in Cold Chisel’s live lineup. His résumé extended well beyond Chisel, including tours with Midnight Oil, Silverchair, the Eagles, Don Henley and Diesel, and recordings or performances with You Am I, the Presets, Hoodoo Gurus, Tony Hadley, and Vika and Linda.
Frontman Jimmy Barnes paid tribute separately, writing: “He was funny, intelligent, and most importantly, he was a good man.” ICEHOUSE’s Iva Davies also remembered Bickers, noting they had performed together only weeks prior. “Andy was a consummate musician,” Davies wrote, adding, “He will be truly missed by all of us within the ICEHOUSE team and by the Australian music community.”
Formed in Adelaide in 1973, Cold Chisel remain one of the most commercially significant bands in Australian history, with a catalog that has produced multiple No. 1 albums on the ARIA Albums Chart. The band said their hearts break for Bickers’ wife Lisa and his son Rudy.
Source: Billboard