James "Jimmy" Dixon Barnes is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer.
53 Facts About Jimmy Barnes
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Jimmy Barnes is well known for his powerful style of vocals.
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Additionally, Jimmy Barnes achieved five more as the lead singer of Cold Chisel, bringing his combined sum to 20 number-one albums in Australia, comfortably eclipsing the Beatles, Madonna, Eminem and U2.
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Jimmy Barnes was born James Dixon Swan in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow, the son of Dorothy and Jim Swan.
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Jimmy Barnes called his childhood environment a "slum" of alcohol and violence, saying that his mother had him and his four siblings before she was 21.
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Dorothy remarried, to a clerk named Reg Jimmy Barnes, who died on 3 September 2013.
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Jimmy 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.
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Jimmy 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.
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Progress was slow and Jimmy Barnes announced he was leaving in May 1977 to join Swanee in a band called Feather.
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Jimmy Barnes launched his solo career less than a month after Cold Chisel's Last Stand tour came to an end in December 1983.
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Jimmy Barnes assembled a band that included Arnott, the former Fraternity bass guitar player Bruce Howe and guitarists Mal Eastick and Chris Stockley and began touring and writing for a solo album.
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In 1986, Jimmy 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.
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In October 1987, Jimmy Barnes released "Too Much Ain't Enough Love", which became his first solo number-one single.
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In 1990, Jimmy Barnes recorded his fourth studio album, which featured songwriting contributions from the likes of Desmond Child, Diane Warren and Holly Knight.
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In November 1991, Jimmy Barnes released his fifth studio album, Soul Deep, an album of soul covers.
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Jimmy 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.
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In March 1993, Jimmy Barnes released Heat, which was influenced by the then-current grunge trend and by the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
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Also in 1993, Jimmy 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.
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Jimmy Barnes faced financial ruin as his music-publishing company Dirty Sheet Music and his wife's children's fashion label both went broke.
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Jimmy Barnes was pursued both by the ANZ Bank and by the Australian Taxation Office for amounts exceeding $1.3 million.
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The family sold their property in Bowral, New South Wales, and settled for some time in Aix-en-Provence, France, attracting some adverse publicity when Jimmy Barnes assaulted a television crew from Channel 7.
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In June 1995, Jimmy Barnes released his eighth studio album, Psyclone, which peaked at number 2 in Australia and featured the top-twenty single "Change of Heart".
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In September 1996, Jimmy Barnes released "Lover Lover", which peaked at number 6 on the singles chart.
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In 1998, Cold Chisel reformed and Jimmy Barnes returned to Australia with his family after three years in France.
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In March 1999 Jimmy Barnes performed the 1978 Sylvester hit "You Make Me Feel " live onstage at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras annual party.
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Later that year Jimmy Barnes released the heavy-rock single "Love and Hate", followed by its parent album Love and Fear.
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In October 2000, Jimmy Barnes performed at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics.
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In November 2000, Jimmy Barnes released a second album of soul tunes, titled Soul Deeper.
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In 2004, Jimmy 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.
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In July 2005, Jimmy Barnes released his eleventh studio album, Double Happiness, which debuted at number one on the ARIA Charts.
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Jimmy Barnes was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame on 23 October 2005 for his solo career efforts.
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In late 2006, Jimmy 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.
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Jimmy Barnes took an active part in the teaching of the choir despite his health problems and has even busked with them.
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Jimmy Barnes under the knife On 7 July 2007 Jimmy Barnes was a presenter at the Australian leg of Live Earth.
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In March 2008, Jimmy Barnes appeared as a special guest during soul singer Guy Sebastian's tour.
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In September 2009, Jimmy Barnes released his thirteenth studio album The Rhythm and the Blues which became Jimmy Barnes's ninth Australian number one album; thus giving him more No 1 albums than any other Australian artist.
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Jimmy 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 when he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
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On 27 September 2010, it was revealed that Jimmy Barnes met two previously unknown adult daughters.
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Jimmy Barnes then headlined at Celebrate in the Park, playing a 90-minute set which included his solo hits and some Cold Chisel greats.
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Jimmy Barnes was joined by daughter Mahalia in a soulful rendition of "When the War Is Over", which he dedicated to the memory of Steve Prestwich.
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In 2015, Jimmy Barnes asked the Reclaim Australia Political Party to stop playing his music at their Rallies.
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In 2016, Jimmy Barnes released his autobiography, Working Class Boy, which explored his traumatic childhood experiences.
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In November 2017, Jimmy Barnes released a second memoir; a sequel to Working Class Boy titled Working Class Man.
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On 3 May 2018, Jimmy Barnes won the biography of the year award at the Australian Book Industry Awards for the second year in a row.
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Jimmy Barnes guest-starred in the television comedy "These New South Whales" based on the Australian band.
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Jimmy Barnes's autobiography Working Class Boy was adapted into a film by Universal Pictures.
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In January 2019, Jimmy Barnes announced his forthcoming eighteenth solo studio album, My Criminal Record.
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In 2021, Jimmy Barnes stated that he formed a rockabilly band with Slim Jim Phantom and Chris Cheney.
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In November 2022, Jimmy Barnes released his first Christmas album, Blue Christmas.
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Jimmy Barnes is brother-in-law to fellow musician and long-time collaborator Diesel, who married Jane Barnes's sister Jep in 1989.
51.
Jimmy Barnes is a supporter of the Australian Labor Party as well as the Port Adelaide Football Club.
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In 2017 Jimmy 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.
53.
Jimmy Barnes has won seven Australian Recording Industry Association Awards, including his induction into their Hall of Fame in 2005.