Jimmy Barnes

As a solo artist Jimmy Barnes has scored seven number one records in Australia, putting him up in the same league as the Beatles, Madonna, the Rolling Stones, and Rod Stewart. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, his family emigrated to Adelaide in 1956 when Barnes was four. It was his older brother John's interest in music that inspired Jim to follow suit, eventually leading to him becoming lead singer of Cold Chisel, who emerged as Australia's most popular band of the '80s. While their rock/soul/blues fusion music was part of the band's appeal, a large part was also the stage presence of its raw-voiced singer, crouched with intensity as he sang/shouted into the microphone with every breath in his lungs. After 12 years, Cold Chisel gave their final performance in December 1983 and Barnes launched an immediate solo career, eclipsing Cold Chisel's record sales with six solo number one albums in a row. Released in October 1984, the first Jimmy Barnes album Bodyswerve, was clearly the singer's attempt to grab Cold Chisel's audience and take them with him. Also keen to achieve the international status Cold Chisel was never able to grab, Barnes recorded extra tracks for the album's American release in Los Angeles and New York with session players Waddy Watchel, Billy Burnette, Charlie Sexton, Mick Fleetwood, members of Little Feat, and Journey's Jonathan Caine. Caine was also involved in writing the extra songs, including "Working Class Man," which became Jimmy Barnes' signature tune. Working Class Hero also became the title of the second Australian album, comprising the new tracks, plus remixed versions of Bodyswerve songs. The song "Working Class Man" was featured in Ronnie Howard's feature film Gung Ho, renamed after the Barnes song in Australia. While Jonathan Caine was impressed...