Jimmy Barnes has reflected on his ongoing health journey, sharing that he was frequently “incapacitated” while working on his upcoming album.
The 68-year-old Cold Chisel frontman, who is set to release his new album Defiant in late 2025, shared that despite experiencing a number of consecutive setbacks, his time in hospital played a key role in creating new material.
“I think in considering all the odds, it’s actually made the record a better record because I was writing these songs and quite a lot of the time, I was sort of incapacitated, but I was just going, ‘I want to get on stage and play some rock and roll.’ This is what I do best,” he told ABC Breakfast.
Following his initial hospitalisation in 2023 from bacterial pneumonia, Jimmy underwent open-heart surgery before later being hospitalised for emergency surgery in 2024 after the bacterial infection returned to his hip joint. Receiving a temporary joint, Jimmy returned to the stage less than two months later and in February 2025, the Scottish-Australian singer returned to hospital to receive his permanent hip replacement.
“I’ve just been for a big check-up on my heart surgery and they all said it’s all working great and I’m healthy as a mallee bull,” he shared, adding, “I think the fact that I could see not only my health getting better, but I could see this album taking shape actually kept me sane while I was going through all that.”
Alongside the release of a new album, Jimmy has also confirmed that he will soon be reuniting with fans across the country – announcing his Defiant Tour in June 2025.
“I want to be able to see the whites of people’s eyes, so it’s good to keep it in a contained area where I can really control the sound and the production. I’m really looking forward to getting out and sharing these songs with my kids and with Jane and playing them live.”
News of Jimmy’s latest tour comes almost one year after he was forced to postpone his New Zealand tour leg after being hospitalised with hip pain.
“I’ve got some bad news, unfortunately. I had a twinge in my hip when I was leaving Dunedin on Thursday morning and by late last night the pain was unbearable so I went off to hospital,” he wrote.
“The doctors have recommended a remedial medical procedure ASAP followed by some physio to address the issue. These doctors don’t muck around! Providing all goes to plan, I’m expected to make a full recovery in six weeks.”
Despite his positive prognosis, Jimmy shared at the time that as a result of his sudden health setback, he would be postponing the remainder of his tour dates.
“As you know, I hate to let anyone down, but I’m also never going to compromise the quality of my gigs,” he wrote. “I apologise for the inconvenience this will cause everyone – I HATE moving shows! – but thank you for understanding.”
The following morning, Jimmy’s wife Jane provided an update and thanked fans for their unwavering support, writing, “You are an incredible online community of family, friends and followers who offer up your kindness and thoughtfulness during trying times like these.”
As he prepares to make his to return to the road, Jimmy shared that Jane’s ongoing presence and support served as a great inspiration for the next chapter of his solo career.
“There’s a lot of love songs. There’s a lot of love in my life. Writing about Jane … she’s such a complex, incredible girl and there are times when I just sit and I think, ‘How the hell did I get so lucky to meet Jane?’” he told news.com.au.
One year prior to his open-heart surgery, Jimmy inspired fans with his recovery journey in 2022 after sharing that he had undergone hip replacement surgery.
“After jumping off PAs and stomping around stages for nearly 50 years, it’s finally caught up with me,” he said. “I’ve had niggling back and hip issues for years, but things suddenly got a lot worse over the last few weeks and I’m now in constant and severe pain.
“As everybody knows, it’s against my religion to blow out gigs, but the doctors tell me I need an operation as soon as possible and it will really limit my movement for a few months. As much as it kills me to inconvenience everyone, I have to get this fixed so I can jump around on stage for another 50 years.”
Following three months of active rehabilitation, he took to Twitter in February 2023 to share the exciting news that he had been permitted to perform again.
“We’ve got a 10 out of 10, and an all-clear to get on the next plane. Land of Smiles here we come.”
