Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
    • Television
      • TV by Decade
        • TV – 1950s
        • TV – 1960s
        • TV – 1970s
        • TV – 1980s
        • TV – 1990s
      • Comedy
      • Drama
      • Kids TV
      • Variety
      • News & Sport
      • Advertisements
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • Music – 1950s
        • Music – 1960s
        • Music – 1970s
        • Music – 1980s
        • Music – 1990s
      • Artists – A to K
        • Artists – A
        • Artists – B
        • Artists – C
        • Artists – D
        • Artists – E
        • Artists – F
        • Artists – G
        • Artists – H
        • Artists – I
        • Artists – J
        • Artists – K
      • Artists – L to Z
        • Artists – L
        • Artists – M
        • Artists – N
        • Artists – O
        • Artists – P
        • Artists – Q
        • Artists – R
        • Artists – S
        • Artists – T
        • Artists – U
        • Artists – V
        • Artists – W
        • Artists – X
        • Artists – Y
        • Artists – Z
      • Artists – 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Playlists
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • Movies – 1950s
        • Movies – 1960s
        • Movies – 1970s
        • Movies – 1980s
        • Movies – 1990s
      • Movies – 0 to 9
      • Movies – A to K
        • Movies – A
        • Movies – B
        • Movies – C
        • Movies – D
        • Movies – E
        • Movies – F
        • Movies – G
        • Movies – H
        • Movies – I
        • Movies – J
        • Movies – K
      • Movies – L to Z
        • Movies – L
        • Movies – M
        • Movies – N
        • Movies – O
        • Movies – P
        • Movies – Q
        • Movies – R
        • Movies – S
        • Movies – T
        • Movies – U
        • Movies – V
        • Movies – W
        • Movies – X
        • Movies – Y
        • Movies – Z
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Music»Artists - A to K»Artists - J
    Artists - J Music - 1980s 2 Mins Read

    Jimmy Barnes

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    James Dixon Swan was born in Glasgow, Scotland on 28 April 1956, the son of Dorothy and prizefighter Jim Swan.

    In 1962, his family emigrated from Glasgow to Australia, settling in a close-knit Scottish community in the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth. His parents divorced shortly afterwards with Dorothy remarrying a clerk named Reg Barnes. Jimmy adopted his stepfather’s surname.

    “Barnesy” joined the band Cold Chisel (formerly named ‘Orange ‘) in 1973 when he was just 16. The group left Adelaide in their van and moved to Melbourne in August 1976, and then three months later shifted base to Sydney.

    barnes_001

    Signing to WEA, the band released five studio albums between 1978 and 1984 and gained a reputation as Australia’s premier live band, while Barnsey’s onstage drinking antics were legendary.

    Barnes broke away from Chisel in December 1983 at the height of their popularity, furious at not seeing enough of the profits for his liking.

    He released his debut single No Second Prize in August 1984, peaking at #12 on the Australian charts. His debut solo album Bodyswerve was released in September and debuted at #1.

    Barnes’ second album For the Working Class Man was released in December 1985, also debuting at #1 and remaining there 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, which featured the single Working Class Man.

    In October 1987, Barnes released the single Too Much Ain’t Enough Love, which became his first solo #1 single. A third album, Freight Train Heart, also hit #1 on the Australian charts in December 1987.

    The 1990s saw the singer succumb to increasing drug and alcohol addiction (he said later that he took enough cocaine to “finance the Bolivian revolution”) which eventually led him to a rehabilitation centre in Arizona.

    Throughout his career, Barnes has sold over 12 million albums and has been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in Australia twice. His childhood memoir, Working Class Boy, became a #1 bestseller and won the Australian Book Industry Award (ABIA) for Biography of the Year in 2017. His sequel, Working Class Man, won him a second ABIA for Biography of the Year in 2018 (the only author to win back-to-back ABIAs for a non-fiction title).

    Video

    Related Posts

    • Redgum
      Redgum
      Redgum formed in 1975 when Verity Truman, John Schumann and Michael Atkinson met to plan a Politics and Art course…
    • Christie Allen
      Christie Allen
      There was a time in 1980 when Christie Allen couldn't put a foot wrong. Her single, He's My Number One, claimed a spot…
    • Baby Animals
      Baby Animals
      Husky-voiced singer Suze DeMarchi recorded three soft-metal singles in the UK for EMI during the late 1980s, co-writing one of…
    • Jesse Winchester
      Jesse Winchester
      James Ridout "Jesse" Winchester was born on 17 May 1944 in Shreveport, Louisiana. His father, stationed there as an Air…
    • Bev Harrell
      Bev Harrell
      Alongside Lynne Randell, petite (4' 9") blonde Bev Harrell was one of the most popular female solo singers on the…
    • Rabbit
      Rabbit
      Formed in 1973 in Newcastle (NSW, Australia), Rabbit were originally a three-piece band playing covers of songs by artists such…
    • Feather/Blackfeather
      Feather/Blackfeather
      The nucleus of Sydney band Feather came together in early 1976 under the name Blackfeather, and lead singer Neale Johns…
    • Triffids, The
      Triffids, The
      The Triffids were the great contenders of 1980s Australian Rock. After the mid-1980s (by which time the band had set…

    Australia
    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleSharon O’Neill
    Next Article Christie Allen

    Comments are closed.

    Follow us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
    You May Also Like
    • Dawn! (1979)
      The film Dawn! may have been made on the assumption that […]
    • Bees Make Honey
      Irish émigré Barry Richardson was playing bass in one of the […]
    • Blood Sabbath (1972)
      David (Tony Geary of General Hospital fame) is a hitchhiking […]
    • It’s Tommy Cooper
      1 9 6 9 – 1 9 7 4 (UK) 1969 saw Tommy Cooper graduate from […]
    • Wild On The Beach (1965)
      This run-of-the-mill Beach Movie introduces California college […]
    • An American In Paris (1951)
      The music of George and Ira Gershwin underscores this Academy […]
    Twitter Feed
    Please note


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Popular Tags
    1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 Action Figures Amicus Arcade games Australia Beach movies Beatles Blaxploitation Board games Britpop Canada Crime Disco Disney Doo-Wop Elvis Presley Girl groups Glam Goth Hammer Heavy Metal Irwin Allen Labels Merseybeat Mod revival Motown New Romantic New Wave NWOBHM Oi! One-hit wonders Power Pop Pub rock Punk Radio Scotland Ska Soul music Surf music
    Search Nostalgia Central
    Copyright © 1998, 2022 Nostalgia Central
    • About
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.