IAN MOSS' musical career took off when he started playing in Australia's quintessential pub rock band.

But it wasn't until years after Cold Chisel had packed it in that the hit writing singer-guitarist really made a name for himself.

The 1989 release of his first solo album, Matchbook, marked the start of a somewhat unexpected explosion in popularity for the Chisel guitarist.

Spurred on by the infectious first single, Tucker's Daughter, the record was named Album of the Year at the 1990 Aria Awards and went on to win another four major gongs that year.

Singles Telephone Booth, Beautiful Thing, Out of the Fire, and Mr Rain followed Tucker's Daughter on Moss' debut release, which will be revisited when the rock legend performs Saturday at the Racehorse Hotel.

Enjoying some time out at home in Sydney ahead of this weekend's Ipswich gig, Moss said he had enjoyed introducing a new generation to a classic album.

"I have always played songs from that album, but this time I'm dusting off a few of the other great tracks and taking a moment to talk to the audience about how they all started," Moss said.

"The album of course came out in the late 80s, but the songs were written over a period before that."

It was Cold Chisel songwriter Don Walker who collaborated with Moss for most of the songs.

Despite embarking on what was already a proven winning song-writing venture, even Moss said he was "pleasantly surprised" when the first single went to towards the top of the charts.

"When I decided to make Tucker's Daughter the first single I thought it was a good song that would just help give me a bit of a kick along," he said.

"It was a very pleasant surprise to see it do so well."

Produced by Chris Lord-Alge and released in August 1989, Matchbook spent three consecutive weeks at number 1, staying in the Top 10 for a staggering 14 weeks and went on to sell in excess of Double Platinum.

The landmark album included Steve Prestwich on drums along with a who's who of Australian musicians.

This Saturday's show at the Racehorse will give the audience a chance to see the songs stripped down to the bare bones, with Moss playing solo acoustic.

"It's just me and an acoustic guitar," he said.

"I enjoy the challenge of playing where you sort of have to imply the rest of the band. I don't really like using loops or anything like that. There will be a bit of stomp box and I'll tap the guitar for a bit of a percussive effect, but that's it." Doors open 8pm this Saturday night.