Ian Moss first came to attention as the guitarist for Australian rock legends Cold Chisel. After they split up in 1983, Jimmy Barnes jumped into a successful solo career, but Moss laid low, only forming the Ian Moss Band in 1986. After spending nine months in L.A. sorting through song demos, he eventually co-wrote "Tucker's Daughter" with former Cold Chisel bandmember Don Walker. The song went to number one in Australia in March 1989 and his debut album, Matchbook, was released in September. It also went to number one and sold over 210,000 copies. Moss took out several awards at .