There's nothing that represents the true Australian like the working class man.
King Gee's, a flanny and a beer never far from his work-worn hand, he typifies the Aussie fighting spirit that works through the day and celebrates into the night. If fortune smiles, these characters are enshrined forever within the walls of art, and in 1985, one man did just that.
Off the back of his number one solo debut album 'Bodyswerve', Jimmy Barnes knew the working class man well. He'd spent his time in Cold Chisel belting into the sweaty pub faces in front of him as they dripped VB on his stage and tussled with one another.
Barnesy himself knew the life of the working class well, growing up in the slums of Glasgow before emigrating to Australia at five years old, where his older brother John taught him to sing. "We all performed, mainly for our own entertainment," Barnes recounts.
"We didn't have a lot of toys, so we improvised. We cut guitar shapes out of cardboard boxes and mimed and sang songs on the front porch as if we were onstage. We loved The Beatles.
"Mostly it was just us, but as we could sing better, we sang at get-togethers. All Scots seem to sing at parties. My parents sang and had us sing to their guests after they drank too much.
"We liked it and we got the bug. Eventually we joined church choirs, not because we were particularly religious but so we could stay away from the house and sing out loud with other people. I joined my first band at 11 or 12. My brother John (Swanee) was already in bands, and I wanted to be just like him."
"Life is too short, and I have a lot of things I still want to do." - Jimmy Barnes
Long before 'Working Class Man' entered the charts in 1985, Barnes was accumulating his own musical story, watching bands and performers and learning from his brother John, absorbing music from all angles.
"I don't really remember the first concert I saw, I think it might have been Billy Thorpe. Billy was my hero for a long time. He was a rebel, was always in trouble with the establishment for doing whatever he liked, played way too loud for his own good, and parents seemed to genuinely dislike him.
"Basically, everything I liked. I ran away to Sunbury at an early age to see him play live. Just like every show I saw him play from that day on, he tore the festival apart. He was awesome."
Those years of musical experiences poured into Barnes' second solo album 'For the Working Class Man', forming around the iconic track that defined a nation. Barnes shares some of the track's lesser known facts.
"Jonathan Cain [member of Journey] wrote that song for me after a meeting we had in Los Angeles in 1984. I had been in LA looking for songs to get an album together for Geffen Records, and was introduced to him by the head of A&R. Gary Gersh was looking after me, and he had some very big acts, but like me he was starting fresh with Geffen, so it was important that my project worked.
"Jonathan was a huge songwriter and had written hits for The Babys and Journey among others. I didn't know a lot about him and was a little reluctant to work with him, but we talked about playing live shows one afternoon, and he went away and wrote 'Working Class Man' about what he thought my audiences were like.
"By the time he had written it, I was already back with my band. The demo tape arrived by courier and I wasn't sure what to expect, but the minute I heard the song I knew he had captured something special.
"I flew to LA, and we recorded two songs in one afternoon with an amazing bunch of LA session players – Tony Brock of Rod Stewart; Randy Jackson of Journey; Dave Amato and Jon on keyboards. I knew that day that the song would change the trajectory of my career forever."
Barnesy reflects on the impact of the song that changed his life. "The song allowed me to celebrate where I came from. I had a bit of a chip on my shoulder about the struggle we had growing up.
"That song was a piece of the puzzle for me and helped me to see that all the pain and hard work only made me stronger. I am so proud these days of where I come from and I am happy to share that song with my audience."
The years of rocking and rolling along to his hits took a toll on Barnesy's huge heart, and he underwent open-heart surgery in 2023, only to be back belting out of his chest a few months later.
He shares his journey. "It's had its ups and downs, literally, but I have had time to think about what I want to do with my life. I'm not one for planning, I charge at things and see what happens.
"Surgery and recovery have made me look ahead. Life is too short, and I have a lot of things I still want to do. So, I'm prioritising them all now. Most importantly, I want to spend quality time with Jane and the family. I'm lucky I can do that and still play music at the same time."
Barnesy will commence the 40th anniversary tour of 'Working Class Man' in November, playing the album in full. Joining Barnesy are Australian juggernauts ICEHOUSE, who like Barnes, have seen their fair share of time at the top of the charts with tracks such as 'Great Southern Land', 'Electric Blue' and 'Crazy'.
It doesn't stop there, with Barnesy's Cold Chisel collaborator Ian Moss jumping on alongside another of Australia's most iconic voices in Kate Ceberano, who will sing a selection of Australia's best songs.
Barnes shares a time where a touring joke didn't play out as expected. "I take the stage very seriously. I don't like tricks being played on me or the members of my band, but in saying that, many years ago the band decided to try something on me.
"They took all my songs at rehearsals and changed the keys, so they were all higher to sing. They thought it would be funny to see me struggle to hit the notes for a minute and then they would tell me, and we would all have a laugh about it, but I never even noticed so the joke fell a bit flat. We did laugh about it later on."
With his name next to 16 #1 solo albums, and 6 chart-toppers with Cold Chisel, Barnes decided to celebrate the landmark tour with something special, releasing a limited edition, flame coloured, hand-poured vinyl in a gatefold jacket, as well as a boxset of coloured 7"s containing the album's singles and a new fourth single, a stripped back, reworked version of 'Working Class Man', alongside cds and cassettes.
Blessed with a career full of collaborations with musical prodigies, Barnes ponders who he would include in his dream jam session and how he'd love to record it. "I'd love to have Steve (Prestwich) back on drums, Jimi Hendrix on guitar and Mossy just to see what they would do together. I'd be in my element. I'd have to record it, so I could hear it back whenever I like."
For fans contemplating what to expect from the Working Class Man tour, Jimmy shares: "This tour, we will celebrate 'For The Working Class Man' and play it from start to finish. It'll be so good to go back and visit a record that meant so much to my life.
"As you release subsequent albums, in your enthusiasm to play new songs for the punters, old songs get left behind. It will be great to go back and visit this record.
"We'll also play some new material and other classics, but that record will be the feature in the set. I'm sure there will be a lot of people wanting to hear these songs again. I can’t wait."
Barnes views emotion and singing as two parts of the same whole, reflecting on how songs, even after all the years between, conjure the same feelings as day one.
"All the songs I play affect me emotionally. Singing is an emotional business. If they don't affect me, I don't play them. I am lucky that I have access to so many great songs from my catalogue and Cold Chisel too.
"If I don't feel a song for any reason, I can rest it and bring something new into the set. 'Flame Trees' is always a song that moves me for a lot of reasons. It's a great song that was written by Don Walker and my dear friend and 'brother' Steve Prestwich.
"The melodies are haunting and the lyrics mean so much to me, plus I can't help but think of my dear lost friend whenever I sing it."
Jimmy Barnes 2025-2026 Tour Dates
Sat 22 Nov - Mount Duneed Estate (Geelong)Sat 29 Nov - Sirromet Wines (Brisbane)
Sat 6 Dec - Bimbadgen (Hunter Valley)
Wed 10 Dec - Sydney Opera House
Sat 17 Jan - The Regatta Grounds (Hobart)
Sat 31 Jan - Peter Lehmann Wines (Barossa Valley)
Sat 7 Feb - Sandalford Wines (Swan Valley)
Sat 21 Mar - Sandstone Point Hotel (Brisbane)* new show
Sat 28 Mar - Centennial Vineyards (Bowral)* new show
Fri 10 Apr - Rod Laver Arena (Melbourne)* new show
