As the guitarist and frontman of The Living End, Chris Cheney is one of the most successful Australian rock artists of the 21st century. He was born in Melbourne on January 2, 1975, and formed The Living End with Scott Owen in 1994. Serving as the band's chief songwriter, Cheney landed a Number 4 hit with 1997's "Second Solution / Prisoner of Society," a two-sided single that soon became the best-selling Australian single of the 1990s. The song effectively launched The Living End's career. Over the next two decades, Cheney wrote seven additional Top 20 hits for the band, whose 1998 self-titled debut and 2006 release State of Emergency both reached Number 1 on the ARIA Albums chart. The Living End remained a commercial and critical success well into the 21st century, with 2018's Wunderbar reaching Number 3 in Australia. Even so, Cheney sought opportunities outside of the band, as well, performing with Australian supergroup The Wrights (whose debut single, "Evie Parts 1, 2 & 3," was a Number 2 hit in 2005) and producing the indie rock band Celadore's 2011 EP. He then launched a solo career, releasing the debut album The Storm Before the Calm in 2022 and, once again, reaching the Top 10 in Australia.
