Jimmy Barnes

Biography

James Dixon Barnes (né Swan; born 28 April 1956) is an Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music artists of all time. By 2022 he had achieved 15 solo number-one albums in Australia, more than any other artist. He has won many awards, and been nominated for many more. In 2005 he was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame as a solo artist, after also having been an inductee in 1992 as a member of Cold Chisel. His music has covered many genres, including hard rock, blues rock, soul, R&B, country, country rock, and electronic. Some of his albums were recorded at his own recording studio, Freight Train Studios.
Several of his children are musicians who have on occasion joined him on stage, including his son Jackie (a drummer), daughters Mahalia, Eliza-Jane ("EJ"), and Elly-May, and son David Campbell (all singers). His wife Jane formed the Jane Barnes Band in the family home during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which in 2023 toured Australia.
Barnes' first memoir, which told of his poverty-stricken and traumatic childhood years, Working Class Boy (2016), was followed by a sequel published the following year, Working Class Man. For these, he won the Biography of the Year award at the Australian Book Industry Awards for two consecutive years.

Early life and education

Barnes was born James Dixon Swan on 28 April 1956 in Dennistoun, Glasgow, to Dorothy Dixon and James Ruthven Harvey Swan. He has four siblings. His maternal grandmother was Jewish. He was raised Protestant and later became a Buddhist. Barnes has said that he recalls living in the slums of Glasgow "vividly".
The family emigrated on 7 December 1961 under the Assisted Passage Migration Scheme, arriving in Australia when he was five years old, on 21 January 1962. Another sister, Lisa, was born later that year. They originally lived in Adelaide, though they eventually settled in the satellite town (now regarded as a suburb) of Elizabeth. Jimmy's older brother John became a successful musician as founder and lead singer of the rock band Swanee. John encouraged and taught Barnes how to sing, as he was not initially interested.
Barnes' father was an alcoholic, and the children endured violence, abuse, and trauma growing up. After his parents divorced, his mother remarried, to Reg Barnes. Jimmy adopted the name James Dixon Barnes after his stepfather, as did all of the other siblings except for the eldest, John. John Dixon became the target of sexual abuse from his parents' friends' son, and left home at 13, but Barnes has said that he was one of two heroes (the other being Reg); that he "would have been killed if it weren't for him". Barnes later said "Jim Swan was my father, but Reg Barnes was my dad". He has expressed anger towards his mother, who deserted the family, leaving Reg to bring up the children.

Cold Chisel

Barnes took up an apprenticeship in a foundry with the South Australian Railways in 1973, but the love he and his brother had for music led him to join a band. In 1974, his brother Swanee was playing drums with Fraternity, which had just parted ways with the singer Bon Scott. Barnes took over the role but his tenure with the band was brief and, in December 1975, he joined a harder-edged band called Orange, with the organist and songwriter Don Walker, guitarist Ian Moss, drummer Steve Prestwich, and bass guitarist Les Kaczmarek. He later said that Walker had had a profound influence on him, because "he was someone who really cared about what he was doing, and who seemed to have a plan".
In 1974, Orange had changed its name to Cold Chisel and began to develop a strong presence on the local music scene. Barnes moved to Armidale, New South Wales with the band while Walker completed his masters there, In May 1976 Cold Chisel relocated to Melbourne, but, "frustrated by their lack of progress", they moved on to Sydney in early 1977. In late 1977 WEA (later Warner Music) signed the band.
Between 1978 and 1984, Cold Chisel released five studio albums and won numerous TV Week / Countdown Awards. Barnes would frequently leave and return to the band during this period, and they did not earn enough money to live on, despite pulling huge crowds. After acrimonious arguments had developed among band members, Cold Chisel broke up in December 1983, its final performances at the Sydney Entertainment Centre running from 12 to 15 December 1983.
Cold Chisel reunited in 1997 and released Last Wave of Summer in 1998. Since then Barnes has continued to perform on and off with the band while also pursuing a solo career. In 2013 they established their own record label under which to publish their own music, and signed a deal for distribution and promotion with the Universal Music Group. In late 2024 the band did a 50th anniversary national tour, finishing with a gig at the VAILO Adelaide 500 post-race concert in Adelaide on 17 November 2024.

1980s

Barnes launched his solo career less than a month after Cold Chisel's Last Stand tour came to an end in December 1983. He assembled a band that included Arnott, the former Fraternity bass guitar player Bruce Howe and guitarists Mal Eastick (ex-Stars) and Chris Stockley (ex-The Dingoes) and began touring and writing for a solo album. Signing to Mushroom Records, Barnes released his first single, "No Second Prize", in August 1984, which peaked at number 12 on the Australian charts. His first solo album, Bodyswerve×Bodyswerve1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Vision3:372Daylight4:073Promise Me You’ll Call3:334No Second Prize4:225Boys Cry Out for War4:116Paradise2:477A Change Is Gonna Come3:308Thick Skinned3:309Piece of My Heart4:0810Fire3:1511World’s on Fire5:04, was produced by Mark Opitz and released in 1984. It debuted at Number One on the Australian charts.
Barnes's second album, For the Working Class Man×For the Working Class Man22 May 1985 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I’d Die to Be With You Tonight4:012Ride the Night Away4:243American Heartbeat4:094Working Class Man3:315Without Your Love4:276No Second Prize3:417Vision3:068Promise Me You’ll Call3:319Boys Cry Out for War3:5710Daylight3:1911Thickskinned3:2812Paradise2:45, was released in December 1985 and included the tracks "I'd Die to Be with You Tonight" and "Working Class Man". For the Working Class Man debuted on the Australian national chart at No. 1 in December 1985 and it remained at No. 1 for seven weeks. Titled simply Jimmy Barnes in the US, the album was issued in February 1986 to tie in with the release of the Ron Howard film Gung Ho (titled Working Class Man in Australia), which used "Working Class Man".
The Jimmy Barnes band that toured Australia in support of the album included Howe and Arnott, with the keyboard player Peter Kekell, the former Rose Tattoo guitarist Robin Riley and the American guitarist Dave Amato. With the release of the album in America, Barnes and a band of Canadian musicians hand-picked by his North American management team toured with ZZ Top.
In 1986, Barnes recorded two songs with INXS, a cover version of the Easybeats' "Good Times" and "Laying Down The Law", which he co-wrote with INXS members Andrew Farriss and Michael Hutchence. Both songs appeared on soundtrack of the Joel Schumacher film The Lost Boys (1987). "Good Times" was also used as the theme song for the Australian Made series of concerts that toured the country in the summer of 1986–87. Barnes and INXS headlined, and the rest of the line-up was Mental as Anything, Divinyls, Models, The Saints, I'm Talking, and The Triffids. A concert film of this event was made by Richard Lowenstein and released later that year.
In October 1987, Barnes released "Too Much Ain't Enough Love", which became his first solo number-one single. His third album, Freight Train Heart×Freight Train Heart1987 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Driving Wheels5:162Seven Days3:243Too Much Ain’t Enough Love4:444Do or Die3:515Waitin’ for the Heartache4:356Last Frontier5:307I Wanna Get Started With You3:468I’m Still on Your Side4:019Lessons in Love3:4610Walk On4:14, was released in December 1987 and peaked at number one. Freight Train Heart had moderate success outside Australia.
In November 1988, Barnes released his first solo live album, Barnestorming×Barnestorming1988 · Album · LiveSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Driving Wheels5:362Good Times3:573Too Much Ain’t Enough Love6:034Lessons in Love4:275Working Class Man4:116Waitin’ for the Heartache4:547Do or Die4:548When a Man Loves a Woman4:409Last Frontier6:5410Seven Days4:1111Temptation3:3012No Second Prize4:4213Walk On4:1914Rising Sun3:3315Without Your Love4:4516Paradise3:17, which became his fourth solo number one album. A version of the Percy Sledge standard "When a Man Loves a Woman" released from the album peaked at number 3.

1990s

In 1990, Barnes recorded his fourth studio album, which featured songwriting contributions from the likes of Desmond Child, Diane Warren and Holly Knight. Two Fires, released in August 1990. debuted at number one on the Australian chart. The album featured the top-twenty singles "Lay Down Your Guns×Lay Down Your Guns1990 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Lay Down Your Guns4:012Broken Hearts3:39", "Let's Make it Last All Night" and "When Your Love is Gone×When Your Love Is Gone1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksAWhen Your Love Is GoneB1I’m Still on Your Side (live)B2One of a Kind (live)".
In November 1991, Barnes released his fifth studio album, Soul Deep×Soul Deep1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Gotcha3:292(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher3:043When Something Is Wrong With My Baby4:564Show Me3:285Many Rivers to Cross3:066Reflections3:067Ain’t No Mountain High Enough2:238I Found a Love3:059Signed Sealed Delivered (I’m Yours)2:5210Bring It on Home to Me3:2111Here I Am (Come and Take Me)3:5012River Deep Mountain High3:40, an album of soul covers. Barnes had long fostered a love for soul and for black music, naming his children after influential black artists and including songs by Sam Cooke and Percy Sledge on previous albums. Soul Deep became Barnes's sixth Australian number-one album and included the track "When Something Is Wrong with My Baby" with John Farnham.
In March 1993, Barnes released Heat, which was influenced by the then-current grunge trend and by the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Heat peaked at number two on the ARIA charts, becoming Barnes's first solo album not to peak at number one. The album contained the song "Stone Cold×Stone Cold1993 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 6 tracks1Stone Cold2Stand Up (live)3Stone Cold (live)4Catch Your Shadow (acoustic)5Stone Cold (acoustic)6Working Class Man (acoustic)", written by former Cold Chisel bandmate Don Walker. It marked the first time Jimmy Barnes had worked with any member of his old band for almost a decade. The pair teamed up for an acoustic version of the track for an unplugged album Flesh and Wood×Flesh and Wood6 December 1993 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 15 tracks1It Will Be Alright3:272The Weight4:273Ride the Night Away4:044Guilty2:495You Can't Make Love Without a Soul2:386Hell of a Time2:497Brother of Mine4:198Fade to Black3:369Flame Trees4:5710Still Got a Long Way to Go4:0511Still on Your Side3:5712Stone Cold3:4713Let It Go3:4814We Could Be Gone3:4615Love Me Tender3:07, which was released in December 1993 and peaked at number two. The album included a version, recorded with The Badloves, of The Band's "The Weight×The Weight1993 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1The Weight4:262Cold Cold Heart4:12", which became a top-ten hit. Also in 1993, Barnes teamed up with Tina Turner for a duet version of "The Best" in the form of a TV promotion for rugby league's Winfield Cup. The single also reached the top ten in 1993.
In the mid-1990s, Barnes's career suffered a slump. He faced financial ruin as his music-publishing company Dirty Sheet Music and his wife's children's fashion label both went broke. The family sold their property in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands of NSW, and settled for some time in Aix-en-Provence, France, attracting some adverse publicity when Barnes assaulted a television crew from Channel 7. While there, Barnes did considerable live work throughout Britain and toured with the Rolling Stones.
In June 1995, Barnes released his eighth studio album, Psyclone×Psyclone1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Used to the Truth4:262Spend the Night3:553Change of Heart5:114Every Beat4:385Come Undone4:586Stumbling4:057Love and Devotion4:418Mirror of Your Soul5:429Just a Man3:5810Fooling Yourself4:2911Tears4:5212Going Down Alone5:1013Because You Wanted It3:53, which peaked at number 2 in Australia and featured the top-twenty single "Change of Heart×Change of Heart1995 · EPSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracks1Change of Heart4:032Lay Down Your Guns (live)4:283Come Undone (acoustic)4:404You Can’t Always Get What You Want (acoustic)4:245Many Rivers to Cross (acoustic)3:10".
In September 1996, Barnes released "Lover Lover×Lover Lover1996 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Lover Lover3:312Tear my heart out5:28", which peaked at number 6 on the singles chart. This was followed in October 1996 with Barnes's first greatest-hits compilation, Barnes Hits×Barnes Hits2003 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 19 tracks1Working Class Man3:472I’d Die to Be With You Tonight3:403Ride the Night Away4:024Good Times3:485No Second Prize3:556Lay Down Your Guns3:567Driving Wheels5:028I’m Still on Your Side3:299Simply the Best4:1210Little Darling4:1511Too Much Ain’t Enough Love3:4212Let’s Make It Last All Night4:0513When Something Is Wrong With My Baby4:4714When Your Love Is Gone5:1315The Weight4:2616Stone Cold3:4517Khe Sanh (live)4:2018Cheap Wine (live)4:0219Flame Trees (live)5:14 Anthology, which became Barnes's seventh solo number-one album.
In 1998, Cold Chisel reformed and Barnes returned to Australia with his family after three years in France. In March 1999 Barnes performed the 1978 Sylvester hit "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" live onstage at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras annual party.
Later that year Barnes released the heavy-rock single "Love and Hate", followed by its parent album Love and Fear×Love and Fear5 November 1999 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Love & Hate2:462Time Will Tell3:433By the Grace of God4:014Thankful for the Rain3:555Temptation3:146Love Song3:237Do It to Me4:208Love Gone Cold4:189Heart Cries Alone4:1810Radio Song3:1311Blind Can’t Lead the Blind3:0512Sorry2:20. An autobiographical record combining hard rock with electronic music, Love and Fear was Barnes's first album to miss the Australian top ten, peaking at number 22.

2000s

In October 2000, Barnes performed at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. In November 2000, Barnes released a second album of soul tunes, titled Soul Deeper... Songs From the Deep South. The album peaked at number 3 on the ARIA charts. A number of live albums followed with little commercial success.
In 2004, Barnes recorded an album with Deep Purple guitarist Steve Morse, Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake, bass player Bob Daisley and keyboard player Don Airey under the name Living Loud. The self-titled album featured a number of songs originally written and recorded with Ozzy Osbourne by Kerslake, Daisley, and Airey.
In July 2005, Barnes released his eleventh studio album, Double Happiness×Double Happiness18 July 2005 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 25 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Sit on My Knee2:462Gonna Take Some Time4:553Attention4:484Run4:135What Will They Say4:006Out of Time4:107Got You as a Friend3:598Resurrection Shuffle3:559Piece of My Heart4:2010Wichita Lineman3:2811Same Woman3:5112Say It Ain’t So4:3013I’ll Be There4:2614Higher3:5715Settle for Me3:4316Bird on a Wire4:2917Shout3:45Disc 21Ain’t No Mountain High Enough2:382(Simply) The Best4:133Good Times3:544When Something Is Wrong With My Baby4:435Still Got a Long Way to Go4:066Guilty2:497The Weight4:288Cold, Cold Heart4:13, which debuted at number one on the ARIA Charts. Double Happiness was an album of duets, including several with his children, daughters Mahalia and Elly-May, sons Jackie Barnes and David Campbell. After its initial success, it was re-released as a double CD/DVD package featuring many of his duets from previous albums, including those with INXS, John Farnham, Joe Cocker, and Tina Turner.
In September 2007 he started recording his twelfth studio album, Out in the Blue×Out in the Blue24 November 2007 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Can’t Tell You Why3:392Out in the Blue4:483You From Me3:384Blue Hotel4:155When Two Hearts Collide3:496Red Light4:557Everything’s Changing4:098Better Off Alone2:599Water Wash All Over Me4:2310I’m Surprised2:5411Losing You3:3612Forgiveness4:48. Produced by Nash Chambers at Barnes' own studio Freight Train Studios, it was released on 24 November 2007. The songs were written while he recovered from his heart surgery, and was described as a change in direction, "very much a rootsy, rock album with rockabilly shuffles, powerful ballads and flat chat rock & roll". "When Two Hearts Collide" is a duet with Kasey Chambers, and other musicians featured on the album include Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Mark Punch, and Chris Haigh, as well as his four children Mahalia, EJ, Jackie, and Elly-May.

In March 2008, Barnes appeared as a special guest during soul singer Guy Sebastian's tour.
November 2008 saw the release of a duet with son David Campbell, a cover of The Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" that featured on Campbell's album Good Lovin'.
In September 2009, Barnes released his thirteenth studio album The Rhythm and the Blues×The Rhythm and the Blues2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Red Hot2:342That’s Right2:323Halleleujah I Love Her So2:394That’s How It Is (When You’re in Love)3:225Keep a Knockin’2:246Reconsider Me4:197Shake, Rattle and Roll3:158Rocking Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu2:399A Fool in Love3:5010You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover3:0111I Was Made to Love Her2:5112Young Blood2:2013My Baby Just Cares for Me3:42 which became Barnes's ninth Australian number one album; thus giving him more No. 1 albums than any other Australian artist.

2010s

In August 2010, Barnes released his 14th solo studio album, Rage and Ruin×Rage and Ruin23 August 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 18 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11God or Money3:522Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead4:123Letter From a Dead Heart4:264Stupid Heart3:545Adam Was Just a Man4:196I’ve Seen It All5:257Can’t Do It Again4:288Time Can Change3:589This Ain’t the Day That I Die3:2210Love Can Break the Hardest Heart4:1311Turn It Around3:1912Largs Pier Hotel4:48Disc 21Navigator2Taking Time3One More Night4Let It Go5Documentary – The Making of Rage and Ruin6Video Clip – Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Barnes stated that the ideas for most of the lyrics and song themes came from a journal he kept during a period in his life (late 1990s to early 2000s) when he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Rage and Ruin debuted at number 3 on the ARIA Charts on 5 September 2010.

Barnes headlined at Celebrate in the Park, playing a 90-minute set which included his solo hits and some Cold Chisel greats. He was joined by daughter Mahalia in a soulful rendition of "When the War Is Over", which he dedicated to the memory of Steve Prestwich.
In August 2014, Barnes released 30:30 Hindsight, an anniversary album celebrating 30 years since his chart-topping debut solo album, Bodyswerve×Bodyswerve1984 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Vision3:372Daylight4:073Promise Me You’ll Call3:334No Second Prize4:225Boys Cry Out for War4:116Paradise2:477A Change Is Gonna Come3:308Thick Skinned3:309Piece of My Heart4:0810Fire3:1511World’s on Fire5:04. The album debuted at No. 1 in Australia, becoming Barnes's 10th solo No. 1 album.
In 2015, Barnes asked the Reclaim Australia Political Party to stop playing his music at their rallies. In July 2015, it was announced that Barnes would release Best of the Soul Years compilation. The album would be compiled of soul and R&B classics, from his three soul albums; "Soul Deep×Soul Deep1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1I Gotcha3:292(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher3:043When Something Is Wrong With My Baby4:564Show Me3:285Many Rivers to Cross3:066Reflections3:067Ain’t No Mountain High Enough2:238I Found a Love3:059Signed Sealed Delivered (I’m Yours)2:5210Bring It on Home to Me3:2111Here I Am (Come and Take Me)3:5012River Deep Mountain High3:40" (1991), "Soul Deeper" (2000) and "The Rhythm and the Blues×The Rhythm and the Blues2009 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Red Hot2:342That’s Right2:323Halleleujah I Love Her So2:394That’s How It Is (When You’re in Love)3:225Keep a Knockin’2:246Reconsider Me4:197Shake, Rattle and Roll3:158Rocking Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu2:399A Fool in Love3:5010You Can’t Judge a Book by the Cover3:0111I Was Made to Love Her2:5112Young Blood2:2013My Baby Just Cares for Me3:42" (2009). A fourth album of soul covers was released in June 2016 called, Soul Searchin', which became Barnes's 11th number one album in Australia and tied Barnes the equal second-most (with Madonna and U2) of all time behind The Beatles at 14.
In 2017, he featured in the song "Big Enough×Big Enough24 November 2017 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Big Enough4:442Big Enough (radio edit)3:273Big Enough (Is This short Enough?)0:51" by Kirin J. Callinan, alongside Alex Cameron and Molly Lewis. In addition to this, his cameo in the song's music video became a popular internet meme in late 2017. In March of the same year, Barnes released a children's album called Och Aye the G'nu. It won the ARIA Award for Best Children's Album at the ARIA Music Awards of 2017, although the brand that appeared on the album, as well as the poetry books that were released on the first of April are related to The Wiggles.
In January 2019, Barnes announced his forthcoming eighteenth solo studio album, My Criminal Record×My Criminal Record31 May 2019 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11My Criminal Record4:082Shutting Down Our Town4:433I'm in a Bad Mood4:094Stolen Car (The Road's on Fire) (Part 1)5:205My Demon (God Help Me)5:556Working Class Hero3:587Belvedere and Cigarettes4:168I Won't Let You Down4:519Stargazer5:2610Money and Class4:5511Stolen Car (The Road's on Fire) (Part 2)3:4312If Time Is on My Side4:1313Tougher Than the Rest5:19Disc 21Reckless Beauty3:532Waitin' on a Plane4:193Tougher Than the Rest (Alternate mix)5:354I'm in a Bad Mood (Bob Clearmountain mix)3:57. It was released on 17 May 2019. It was Barnes's 12th solo number-one album, and 16th when including releases with Cold Chisel on the Australian albums chart, making him the artist with the most chart-topping albums in Australian chart history, having previously tied at 11 number ones with Madonna and U2. At the APRA Music Awards of 2020, "Shutting Down Our Town" was nominated for Most Performed Rock Work of the Year.

2020s

Barnes' next album, Flesh and Blood×Flesh and Blood2 July 2021 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 20 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Flesh and Blood5:282I'm Coming Home3:163Gateway to Your Heart4:464This Is the Truth4:065Around in Circles4:286'til the Next Time4:457I Move Slow5:248End of the Road4:529Love Hurts4:0510Tennessee Waltz3:58Disc 21Hello, Dolly!2Skye Boat Song3Stardust4The Rose5Dirty Old Town6Bridge Over Troubled Water7Mull of Kintyre8California Dreamin'9Take Me Home, Country Road10A Pub With No Beer, was released in July 2021, and debuted at No.1 on the ARIA chart. The album, written with brother-in-law Diesel and Cold Chisel bandmate Don Walker, included duets with Barnes' wife, Jane, and his children Jackie, Elly-May and Eliza Jane Barnes.
In April 2022, Barnes announced the forthcoming release of Soul Deep 30, celebrating the 30th anniversary of Soul Deep, alongside a national tour. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA chart later that year. In November 2022, Barnes released his first Christmas album, Blue Christmas×Blue Christmas24 November 2023 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1O Holy Night2If Santa Forget" (with The Tin Lids)4:143Jingle Bell Rock3:034Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas4:445Santa Claus Is Coming to Town3:176Let It Snow!2:077White Christmas4:468The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)3:199Blue Christmas2:1010Run Rudolph Run3:2111Little Drummer Boy3:5912Silent Night4:1413Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree2:1714Auld Lang Syne4:35. It became his fifteenth number-one solo album.
In March 2023, Barnes announced the formation of rockabilly supergroup The Barnestormers, featuring Barnes, Chris Cheney, Slim Jim Phantom, Jools Holland and Kevin Shirley. A self-titled album was released on 26 May 2023, and reached No.3 on the ARIA chart.
In June 2025, Barnes released his 21st studio album, Defiant×DEFIANT6 June 2025 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube MusicTracklist · 10 tracks1That's What You Do For Love5:252New Day3:433Beyond the River Bend4:294Never Stop Loving You6:425Defiant3:506The Long Road3:477Damned If I Do, Damned If I Don't4:128Dig Deep4:129Nothing Comes For Nothing3:4010Sea of Love4:11. It debuted at No.1 on the ARIA chart, making it his 16th solo number one album. Combined with Cold Chisel, his total of 22 number one albums gives Barnes the record for the most chart-topping albums by any artist in Australian history .

Freight Train Studios

Barnes' Freight Train Studios were originally located at Bowral, later moving to Botany in Sydney.
Among others, the following albums were recorded in the studio:

Hey Rudolph! (The Tin Lids, 2006); a collection of Christmas carols
Out in the Blue (2007)
Rage and Ruin (also at Conway Recording Studio A, Los Angeles, and Woodcliff Studios, Sherman Oaks (LA)

Other activities

In 1992 Barnes worked with his friend Mandawuy Yunupingu, frontman of Yothu Yindi, on a project called "Sister Schools", the aim of which was to ensure that "schools with few or no Aboriginal children will forge educational and social links with schools with large numbers of Aboriginal children, in an attempt to foster tolerance and understanding". Before the launch of the project, "the Yunupingu kids" (Mandawuy's children) recorded a song written by Yunupingu called "School" with Barnes' children in their band The Tin Lids. As part of the project, endorsed by the government, schools with few or no Aboriginal children would forge educational and social links with schools with many Aboriginal children, by exchanging letters, photographs, and other media. Around 100 schools expressed interest in the project, which was launched in August 1992 by connecting the school in Yirrkala with Gib Gate Primary School near Mittagong in New South Wales. In 1994, a primary school in Deloraine, Tasmania, hosted a group of children from Ali Curung, NT, for six days as part of the scheme.
In late 2006, Barnes became patron of the Choir of Hard Knocks, a choral group formed by Jonathon Welch and consisting of homeless and disadvantaged people in Melbourne. The formation of the choir was documented by the ABC as a five-part series aired in May 2007. Barnes has regularly performed "Flame Trees" with the choir at their concerts.
On 14 March 2011 he planted a flame tree, made famous in Cold Chisel's 1984 song "Flame Trees", at the National Arboretum Canberra.
Barnes also guest-starred in episode 2 of season 2 of the television comedy series These New South Whales in 2018.

Family

In November 1979, Barnes met Jane Mahoney, the stepdaughter of an Australian diplomat whose mother was Thai. Mahoney had spent the first five years of her life living with extended family in Bangkok. Her mother, Phorn, was one of 26 children, and her grandmother was one of seven wives. Her grandfather was a rich businessman who had left two Chinese wives behind when he moved from China to Thailand just before the Communist Revolution of China. Phorn was sent to boarding school in England. She met and married Thai man Suvit Dejakasaya, and the couple had three children before divorcing four years later. Soon afterwards, Phorn met and married Australian diplomat John Mahoney, and moved to Canberra with him. The family moved around following her father's postings, living in Italy, Russia, New Guinea, Kiribati, Malta, and Malaysia. Jane studied pure mathematics, comparative religion, art history, psychology, and five languages at The University of Canberra, and met Barnes in November 1979. Eventually, she dropped out of university and moved to Sydney to be with him, and they married in May 1981.
Barnes has eight children: four with his wife Jane (including Mahalia, Jackie and Elly-May; all musically known as The Tin Lids). Before that, his eldest son, David Campbell, was born of a teenage relationship with Kim Campbell. He has said about his relationship with David's mother Kim that they were just two scared children who were being beaten and abused at home, and not ready to bring up a child. David's grandmother raised him, although Barnes was at first told that he had been adopted. He also has three daughters from three other relationships. In 2010, he met two of them Amanda for the first time, and accepted them into his family as soon as paternity had been confirmed.
Barnes is brother-in-law to fellow musician and long-time collaborator Diesel.
After Barnes played in Darwin in 1991 and met Mandawuy Yunupingu, frontman of Yothu Yindi, Barnes was "adopted" as a white brother into the Yunupingu clan, based on the Gove Peninsula in east Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.

Jane Barnes Band

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, with social distancing and lockdowns enforced to prevent the spread of the disease, Jane Barnes learned how to play the guitar and she and Jimmy, sometimes along with various family members, started the Jane Barnes Band, performing in their lounge room and sharing videos on social media. They proved so popular that the band, later joined by other musicians, went on tour in 2023, and also appeared on Sunrise on Channel 7. Jane sang and as well as playing guitar, played bagpipes and tin flute,

Health

By around the 2000s, both Jane and Jimmy Barnes were not coping, and addicted to alcohol and drugs. Their children, then in their late teens and early twenties, staged an intervention which led their parents to going into rehab and kicking their habits.
Barnes underwent heart surgery in February 2007. On 7 July 2007 Barnes was a presenter at the Australian leg of Live Earth. In August he became a regular presenter on The Know, a pop culture program on the pay-TV channel MAX and has also been a presenter of the Planet Rock program on the Austereo network.
On 28 November 2023, Barnes announced via Instagram that he was being treated in hospital for a bacterial infection. He remained in hospital for two weeks; on 12 December he announced, also via Instagram, that he was undergoing open heart surgery due to the infection having spread to an already-weakened valve.

Autobiographies

In 2016, Barnes published his autobiography, Working Class Boy, which explored his traumatic childhood experiences.
In November 2017, Barnes published a second memoir; a sequel to Working Class Boy titled Working Class Man. On 3 May 2018, Barnes won the biography of the year award at the Australian Book Industry Awards for the second year in a row.
His autobiography Working Class Boy was adapted into a film by Universal Pictures. Directed by Mark Joffe, the film premiered in Australian cinemas on 23 August 2018. A soundtrack was released on 17 August 2018.

Beliefs and politics

Barnes labels himself as "sort of Buddhist", and describes himself as a socialist. He is a supporter of the Australian Labor Party, as well as rugby league team Wests Tigers, and the Port Adelaide Football Club.

With Cold Chisel

Cold Chisel (1978)
Breakfast at Sweethearts (1979)
East (1980)
Circus Animals (1982)
Twentieth Century (1984)
The Last Wave of Summer (1998)
No Plans (2012)
The Perfect Crime (2015)
Blood Moon (2019)

Written works by Jimmy Barnes

As of November 2024 Barnes has written six books. He is the only author to win back-to-back Australian Book Industry Awards for a non-fiction title. His first two books sold over 500,000 copies.

Recognition, honours, and awards

Barnes' career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music artists of all time.
In 2017 Barnes was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia for distinguished service to the performing arts as a musician, singer and songwriter, and through support for not-for-profit organisations, particularly to children with a disability.

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are held in Australia and New Zealand by the Australasian Performing Right Association to recognise songwriting skills, sales and airplay performance by its members annually.

ARIA Awards

Barnes has won seven Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) Awards, including his induction into their Hall of Fame in 2005. As a member of Cold Chisel, he had also been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1992.

Country Music Awards of Australia

The Country Music Awards of Australia (CMAA) (also known as the Golden Guitar Awards) is an annual awards night held in January during the Tamworth Country Music Festival, celebrating recording excellence in the Australian country music industry. They have been held annually since 1973.

Helpmann Awards

The Helpmann Awards is an awards show, celebrating live entertainment and performing arts in Australia, presented by industry group Live Performance Australia since 2001. Note: 2020 and 2021 were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.

TV Week / Countdown Awards

Countdown was an Australian pop music TV series on national broadcaster ABC-TV from 1974 to 1987, it presented music awards from 1979 to 1987, initially in conjunction with magazine TV Week. The TV Week / Countdown Awards were a combination of popular-voted and peer-voted awards.