Interview with Jimmy Barnes.

By Loretta de Haan

June 26, 2019

Hi Jimmy, thanks for your time today. First of all I would like to congratulate you on ‘My Criminal Record’ reaching number one on the ARIA album charts. Making it your 16th number one album. How does that make you feel?

Yes that was a big bonus, I was just happy to have made a good record but when it does that well it really is a bonus! 

You Must also be pleased to know that with this number one you have surpassed Madonna and U2’s eleven chart toppers! That is an incredible achievement for an Australian artist.

Yeah well I have been making records for years and don’t think of it as a competition, music is never a competition. Everyone has their own taste in music and it’s is very subjective. It’s a nice figure to pull out at introductions and so forth but it’s more about making music that is relevant and expressing your feelings through music, that’s what it is all about. I’m just happy to be doing it.

‘My Criminal Record’ is your first original solo rock record in almost a decade. What inspired you to record this album?

Well it’s my first solo original record but in that time I have recorded two Cold Chisel albums , wrote two books and made a film, so I have been busy!

It was inspired by writing those two books and coming out the other side and what I have learnt about myself. A lot of the subject matter is from those two books and also looking back at that subject matter from a different and clearer perspective than when I wrote it, without being so immersed in it. It’s also about the process of moving on from that, what I learnt from that and what I had to leave behind and what I had to remember. 

So in a way it was like therapy for  you?

Yeah it was all about the emotions, how I felt and moved on from.

The video of ‘Shutting Down Our Town’ is a very touching ode to Aussie manufacturing. I know I shed a few tears watching it. It must of course have a lot of personal meaning for  you. What has been the reaction from the people of your hometown, Elizabeth?

Yes it was very moving and the song was written by Troy Casser-Daley from the first book, he wanted to write a song about where I grew up, Elizabeth. It really caught the emotion of what it was like growing up in that town, the unemployment and virtually having the rug pulled out from under them. It’s not only unique to Adelaide, it happened in Melbourne with the Ford plant, in Townsville with the tin refinery and all over the country with Industry shutting down. It’s about that loss & loss of self and families that can’t pay the rent, stuff that’s happening everyday really. It was all about Holden and the closing down of the factory. Holden was such a part of Australian culture so it was like a big slice of Australia was taken away. As for the reaction of the people of Elizabeth, I actually went there for an album signing and wasn’t sure what the reaction would be but it was really warm and so many people saying how proud they were that I came from there. I had people saying they had worked for Holden for 35 years and it was like we were giving them some of their respect back and hope even though we can’t give them their jobs back. So yeah it felt good and they were really nice people.

So we are looking forward to welcoming you to Wollongong when you bring your ‘Shutting Down Your Town’ tour to WIN Entertainment Centre on the 3rd October. What can your fans expect from this show?

It’s going to be a big rock show, we really want to put on a great show. We will be bringing a great band, the band that played on the record. There will be a big light & sound production. We are going to be playing 8 -10 songs from the new album plus the songs that people know and love. I’m not going to get up there and bore them with new material, though I think you do have to challenge your audience a bit. I will play all the hits plus stuff from Cold Chisel. So music from my whole career from the new album and back.

Are you excited about getting on the road again?

Yes I am and it’s great to be able to inject new material into the set now. It makes me sing better, makes the band edgier and keeps the audience on their toes, keeps them excited, whistling and tapping their feet from hearing new things. That’s what we are looking forward to getting out and doing.

You are playing at venues you haven’t played at for a long time, like the Hordern Pavilion and some for the first time. Are you looking forward to that?

Yeah the Hordern is going to be fantastic! It’s such a historical rock venue and has had so many great shows play there over the years. Probably the last time I played there was with Cold Chisel, so really looking forward to getting back in there again. Wollongong has also been a great market for us and have supported us from the beginning, like Newcastle too. They have been a big part of our lives so we have continued to go into those towns. They never gave up on us and kept coming to see us even after we started to get big. So we will always be thankful for that.

You have a real connection with Wollongong, having filmed part of the video for ‘Working Class Man’ at the Port Kembla Steelworks. What memories do you have from that time?

Yes that’s right!  Funny, ‘Shutting Down Our Town’ is like the bookend to ‘Working Class Man’ I think. It’s like a different perspective of the same thing. Like they do get jobs taken away from them, they do have factories shut down on them, going offshore because it’s cheaper to manufacture. We really need to support each other and our local industry and not just for nationalistic reasons but for the sake of community and for the pride of the men & women who work in these places. We are taking away peoples livelihoods when things go overseas. You are taking away peoples pride and hope from families. You might get things cheaper but you are killing the community and killing the market when you do it. I do remember filming that video both outside and inside the steelworks, meeting the workers. Even back then they were very supportive of me and Cold Chisel. They were cheering us on, it was really fun! We talked about industry and manufacturing in Wollongong and also the sugar industry in North Queensland and once again it wasn’t just about the people in Wollongong or Newcastle but everywhere around the country. Decent hardworking people who just battle to make a living and put food on the table for their families. They are the people we play to, they are the people who come out on a Saturday night and want to forget their troubles. To kick up their heels and have fun. They are the ones who have supported rock & roll music in this country. So many Australian bands have the working class people to thank as it was their support that made them a success. 

The music industry has changed so much over the years but it brings so much joy to people, it also creates a lot of jobs and flow through to other industries and government revenue. We need to support live music and support young bands. So get out there!

Thanks again for chatting with me today Jimmy and we can’t wait to see you back in the Gong for your show at WIN Entertainment Centre in October. Oh and one last thing I have a message to pass on from my friend Sharon who is a massive fan of yours. She said “You rock and keep on making your awesome music”

Jimmy laughs. . . Well you can tell her thanks and we are going to be here for years.

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Jimmy Barnes plays the WIN Entertainment Centre – Thursday 3 October with special guest Jet.  

Get tickets here.

CHECK JIMMYBARNES.COM FOR ALL TICKET DETAILS

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