Andy Bickers, the New Zealand-born saxophonist whose playing became a defining element of Cold Chisel’s live sound across more than three decades, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 56.
Cold Chisel confirmed his death on Friday morning 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 Instagram post said.
“Andy was our brother: an incredible musician and a great person to be out on the road or out on the town with. His valuable contribution onstage to songs like ‘Rising Sun’, ‘Saturday Night’ and ‘My Baby’ will be sorely missed.’
“Our hearts break for his wife Lisa and his son Rudy,” the band added.
Frontman Jimmy Barnes — whose touring band gave Bickers his entry point into the upper tier of Australian rock — paid tribute separately. “Andy also toured many times with me, playing soul and rock shows,” Barnes wrote.
“We were friends not only because he was a great player, but he was funny, intelligent, and most importantly, he was a good man.
“Lots of love to Lisa and Rudy. You will be sadly missed, Andy,” he added.
ICEHOUSE’s Iva Davies also paid tribute to Bickers, reflecting on having recently performed with him.
“I am saddened and very sorry to hear the news about the loss of Andy Bickers,” Davies wrote in a message shared on ICEHOUSE’s social media. “We saw and performed with him only a few weeks ago.”
“Andy was a consummate musician as attested by the great array of people he performed and collaborated with along with the many he mentored and inspired,” Davies continued. “He will be truly missed by all of us within the ICEHOUSE team and by the Australian music community.”
“Our thoughts are with his family,” Davies added.
Born in Wellington, Bickers spent the 1980s working the local rock scene before relocating to Australia, first to Melbourne and then Sydney, where his tenor and baritone playing quickly established him as one of the country’s most reliable session and touring musicians. His breakthrough came via 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. Bickers toured with Midnight Oil, Silverchair, the Eagles, Don Henley and Diesel, and recorded or performed with You Am I, the Presets, Hoodoo Gurus, Tony Hadley, and Vika and Linda.
Midnight Oil also paid tribute on social media, noting that one of his final performances was leading the brass section during a tribute to Rob Hirst at the 2026 APRA Awards.
Richard Clapton also remembered the musician, writing, “It is with heavy heart that I have to let you know that our beloved sax player Andy Bickers passed away yesterday. I have played The State Theatre 16 times and Andy was with us for virtually every one of those concerts, and made ‘Wintertime in Amsterdam’ such a special moment in the shows history. The song is not going to be quite the same this year.”
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. Bickers’ saxophone was central to the live renditions of some of the band’s most enduring songs, and his work across thousands of concerts and recording sessions made him one of the most quietly ubiquitous figures in Australian rock.
