Jimmy Barnes' perseverance through adversity is something the Scottish-born Australian rocker is known for as much as his enduring chart-toppers.
The 67-year-old Cold Chisel frontman has been open through the years about the challenges he's had to overcome, be it his painful childhood or health battles – he revealed today he's undergoing open heart surgery after being hospitalised with bacterial pneumonia last month.
"Everything that happened to me as a child was the perfect breeding ground for a rock'n'roll singer," he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2017, when his memoir Working Class Boy won a biography award at the Australian Book Industry Awards.
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"It toughened me up. I was on edge, I was needy, I needed people to like me 'cause it made me feel safe ... and that gave me confidence," he continued.
Jimmy Barnes' tough childhood shocked his Cold Chisel bandmates
Born in Glasgow, Barnes' father Jim Swan was a prizefighter.
He and his family – his mother, Dorothy Swan, had him and four of his five siblings before she was 21 – moved to Australia in 1962, when Barnes was five.
Initially arriving in Adelaide, they eventually settled in Elizabeth – though Barnes' childhood in the close-knit community was not a happy one.
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In Working Class Boy, he opened up for the first time about growing up in a household plagued with domestic violence.
His graphic account of growing up neglected and abused in poverty shocked even his own Cold Chisel bandmates, he later told The Guardian – but it explained his forced hypervigilance.
"I'm friendly, but I'll want to have my back to the wall," he told the outlet in 2017 when his second memoir, Working Class Man, was published.
"I know where all the exits are and I'll know who I have to hit if I want to get out."
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Barnes further opened up about his childhood in the 2018 film Working Class Boy, explaining how he and his four siblings were physically abused by their biological father, who was also an alcoholic.
Jim Swan, according to Barnes, would fund his addiction by denying his children clothes, school shoes, and food.
He also revealed he had been sexually abused.
"I actually broke down afterwards," Barnes told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2018 of what happened when he watched the film.
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"Watching it made me realise more about my mother and how she deserted us," Barnes continued.
"I got home and felt uneasy and then I spoke to my sister Lisa, who appears in the film, and she brought up a couple more things. My mother's gone now and I can't do anything about that, but I'm angry."
Barnes did reveal to the publication that he "watered down" some parts of his family's story while writing Working Class Boy for his siblings.
"I couldn't speak for them and divulge what was happening and betray their trust," he said.
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"I tried to be positive and forgiving in the epilogue by saying that my parents had their own struggles to deal with, but now I realise that I have a problem with how our parents could have treated us like that.
"No matter how much poverty you grow up with, you shouldn't be subjected to violence and abuse."
Dorothy Swan and Jim Swan eventually divorced, and she would go on to remarry Reg Barnes, whose surname Barnes adopted.
He left his home aged 17 to join Cold Chisel – and the rest is history.
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Why Barnes decided to bare his trauma to the world
Barnes also opened up about his addiction battle in his memoirs and documentary, and his commitment to breaking the generational cycle of violence in his family.
"For 40 years, in front of the public, I was drinking myself to death," the rocker told The Guardian in 2017.
"If you did that in any other job, people would say, 'You've got problems, mate.' But people didn't see it like that because they were living vicariously through me."
He said that by coming forward, he was hoping to break the stigma surrounding domestic violence and mental health trauma in wider Australia.
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"I didn't know whether people would accept the subject matter – domestic violence, sexual abuse and bloody alcoholism – but when it came out people were ready to look at this stuff," he told the publication.
"There's a lot of people struggling below the poverty line, trying to deal with the issues that come with poverty, and a lot of that is frustration and drinking."
How Barnes overcame his other health battles
In addition to his battle with alcohol addiction, Barnes has had to face multiple other health challenges over the years.
Most recently, he revealed today he would be undergoing open heart surgery after being hospitalised with pneumonia in November.
His son, David Campbell, "allayed everyone's fears" on Today this morning, reassuring fans Barnes is in "wonderful hands".
"He is extremely frustrated, I think... he's frustrated for the fans, who have been booking to see up and coming shows... the crew, he's really passionate about getting crews back up and running, his band, and then obviously back down to the family and the fans," Campbell said on air.
"He's so grateful to the nurses and the doctors for picking this up. If he hadn't have got that bacterial pneumonia, he would never have picked this up, he's in the best hands, we feel very, very confident with the doctors, he's going to make a great recovery."
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https://twitter.com/jane13barnes/status/1734694630812504544Campbell said Barnes was due in surgery at 9am, and would be out by the afternoon.
It came after months of forced bed rest earlier this year, which followed emergency hip surgery.
It was in late 2022 when Barnes had an operation after five decades of "jumping off PAs and stomping around stages" had caused years of pain.
"I've had niggling back and hip issues for years, but things suddenly got a lot worse over the last few weeks, and I'm now in constant and severe pain," Barnes said in an Instagram video announcement in November.
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"As everybody knows, it's against my religion to blow out gigs, but the doctors tell me I need an operation as soon as possible and it will really limit my movement for a few months," he continued.
"As much as it kills me to inconvenience everyone, I have to get this fixed so I can jump around onstage for another 50 years."
In 2007, he also underwent open heart surgery to replace a faulty aortic valve that he'd had since birth.
Barnes' seven children and 15 grandchildren
In between tours, concerts and creating 14 Top 40 albums and several chart-topping singles, Barnes also grew a family of his own.
He's been married to his wife, Jane Mahoney, 65, since May 1981, with the couple first meeting in Canberra in 1979.
Barnes and Mahoney share four children – 41-year-old daughter Mahalia Barnes, 39-year-old daughter Eliza Jane Barnes, 38-year-old son Jackie Barnes, and 34-year-old daughter Ella-May Barnes.
Barnes is also a father to 50-year-old son David Campbell, whom he shares with Kim Campbell. He also found out in 2010 that he has two daughters, Amanda Bennett and Megan Torzyn, who were in their mid-30s at the time.
Between his seven children, Barnes is a grandfather 15 times over.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
If you or someone you know is in need of support for mental health issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Alcohol and Drug Support Line on 1800 198 024.
In an emergency, call 000.
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Title: How Jimmy Barnes overcame the impossible time and time again
Sourced From: celebrity.nine.com.au/latest/jimmy-barnes-health-upbringing-relationships-everything-to-know-explainer/087f36f9-50f1-48db-8923-fb3189de314e
Published Date: Wed, 13 Dec 2023 00:12:00 GMT
