Following on from the announcement of the new album and national tour, Jimmy Barnes today shares the first new music from DEFIANT – the double A-side of ‘New Day’ and ‘Beyond the River Bend’.
Jimmy Barnes is the son of a Scottish boxing champion, so he’s always been a fighter. After surviving a violent childhood, Jimmy joined an Adelaide band who battled tooth and claw for six years before finally landing some big hits. In 1983 they seemed to implode, but he soon fought his way back to the very top where there’s been ‘No Second Prize’ ever since. Whenever things seemed to start slipping, Jimmy dug deeper, eventually winning a lifelong battle with addiction, and notching an unprecedented 21 #1’s on the Australian album charts (15 as a solo artist and 6 with Cold Chisel).
“Nobody lives this long without copping some knocks and I’ve taken my fair share, particularly lately. But none of us can control what life throws at us. We can only control how we respond and, for better or worse, I’ve never liked to take a backward step. It’s no secret that this has caused me some problems over the years, but I’ve finally learned how to turn my stubborn Scottish streak into something positive – something that helps me survive. I didn’t set out to do it deliberately but now that the album is finished, I can see there’s a recurring theme about the satisfaction you can get from fighting back. That’s why it’s called DEFIANT!” – Jimmy Barnes
The nod to the central role of family life in ‘New Day’ can also be found in ‘Beyond the River Bend’ – inspired by the Barnes’ family home in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales where “hope keeps flowing like water”. It’s a thread which weaves through this music as it does through Jimmy’s life.
These are clearly the songs of a man who still has a point to prove: raw and inspiring. And he is in career-best voice – riding and driving an emotional rollercoaster from soothing croons to wailing abandon. They are the sounds of a singer who has finally arrived at the point of complete instrumental control.
Jimmy Barnes is the heart and the soul of Australian rock and roll. His name evokes the sound of ear-splitting rock classics plus signature readings of soul standards. He has enjoyed twenty-one #1 albums here – more than The Beatles – and sold more records in this country than any other local artist. For well over 45 years he has delivered some of our most intense and iconic live performances and sung unforgettable hits like ‘Working Class Man’, ‘Flame Trees’, ‘No Second Prize’, ‘Khe Sanh’ and ‘Shutting Down Our Town’. From a wild youth fronting the legendary Cold Chisel to his more recent years as a beloved family man, Jimmy has been through it all and literally lived to tell the tales. He is truly in a league of his own, having been inducted into the ARIA Hall of fame … twice!
