Cold Chisel Australia Post postage stamps booklet

The Australian Legends Award is presented annually by Australia Post to honour a living individual or group of individuals who have excelled in their field and made a significant contribution to the social and cultural life of Australia.

In 2013 it was the Australian music industry's turn to receive the honour, with Australia Post issuing a series of stamps titled Australian Legends of Music. Pictured here is the cover of a postage stamps booklet featuring Cold Chisel, who were one of the recipients, along with other music industry heavyweights including INXS, AC/DC, Paul Kelly, Kylie Minogue, The Seekers, Men At Work, John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John and Ian 'Molly' Meldrum.

The Cold Chisel stamp booklet uses the cover of the band's third studio album, East. Jimmy Barnes said of all the accolades given to Chisel over their career, this philatelic acknowledgement was the most unusual. 'I'm going to look really small on a stamp - I'm much taller', he joked.

The picture of Jimmy Barnes slumped in a bathtub and surrounded by papers and bric-a-brac is a direct reference to The Death of Marat (1793), a painting by Jacques-Louis David, and a famous image from the time of the French Revolution. It's unclear why the cover of East was chosen for the stamp unless it was for its bold graphic qualities.

The design of the booklet, though made in 2013, recollects the 1980s with its heavy font, use of diagonals and busy background pattern. This choice may have been intentional, given that East was released in June 1980.