Return of the working class man

He's been touring since 1973, but Jimmy Barnes reckons his shows are more intense than ever.
One of the original Ocker rockers is returning to Mount Maunganui this summer for a Boxing Day show with Midnight Youth.
And the former Cold Chisel frontman is more focused than ever on putting on a brilliant show. "In the old days when I was 18 and on the road ... you don't give a damn if you do a bad show. I didn't care," he says.
"I'm much more aware I want to keep the quality of the show up.
"It's more important to keep the quality up than just to party. It doesn't make the show less intense - if anything, it's more intense."
Touring for Barnes these days is less sex and drugs, and more rock 'n' roll.
While the 54-year-old spends a couple of hours each day on stage, the other 22 hours are spent thinking about performing and preparing for the show.
"You're schlepping about, driving, sleeping so you can put on a good show, and recovering if you've had a husky throat. A lot of it's not really that glamorous.
"In amongst that, you can't just be a boring bastard. But you can't go too wild."
Barnes is playing at Brewers Field on December 26 - the first stop on a five-date Kiwi summer tour, which includes Waihi Beach, Oakura, Mangawhai and Coroglen.
It's a circuit he's done several times before, and he loves the tradition of the great New Zealand summer tour. "It's really good fun. Everybody is there on holiday and seems to be in the mood for a good time."
Barnes has been touring in New Zealand since 1975 and clearly has an affection for the place. "It's part of the way I've grown up, and the audiences have been a big part of how the career's changed, and I have sold a lot of records there.
"To tell you the truth I get on really well with Kiwis, and I really like the place. Actually, every time I get there I think, 'jeez, I want to move there'. It's just so beautiful."
And Barnes, whose hits include Working Class Man, Too Much Ain't Enough and Lay Down Your Guns, knows what the holiday crowd wants to hear. "When you go and see a band, you want to hear stuff people know.
"I'm going to play a bunch of songs people know - Cold Chisel stuff, the hits, and I've got a new album out called Rage and Ruin.
"I'd like to play a few songs from that, and introduce people to the album. "[Playing new songs] challenges us, and makes us work hard, and keeps us interested.
"We'll probably go back through the catalogue and pick various songs from different periods."
Barnes likes to give his fans value for money, and his shows run long - he hates seeing a band leave the stage after only 50 minutes.
Rage and Ruin has been described as a return to his rock roots. His last album had a blues influence, and he's enjoying the harder songs. "It's the best bunch of songs I've written for ages. I think it is a really good record, I'm really pleased with it."
The songs, he says, are great to play live, which is what music's always been about for him.
"Making CDs is ... a means to an end, and that end is to tour.
"A record is something that gets you to tour and keeps it fresh, and brings new people to your music."
The songs of Rage and Ruin come from the singer's "book of life" - a book he's kept his whole life.
"[It] has lyrics, phrases and notes I've penned over the years from when I'd get inspired to write something," he said. "A lot of the lyrics come from that book, which is mainly from around the time I was in my own rage and ruin, when I was hitting it pretty hard, drinking hard."
His life is far from rage and ruin now - he's a family man who'll hit the road this tour with his son and two daughters, as well as his granddaughter.
His daughters sing in the nine-piece band, and his son is the drummer.
"It's a fantastic rock and roll band," Barnes says.
Travelling with his family is "good fun", but he admits it has its moments when it's a drag.
"Kids and parents fight and argue and need space, especially on the road. My kids have a good work ethic, they know the show's the most important thing."
Barnes may be a grandfather, but he has no plans of retiring from the music business any time soon. He will keep performing, he says, "as long as people like me, and like to see me, I like doing it and there's a reason to do it".
And even when he finally hangs up his guitar, he won't stop the music entirely. "I'll always be singing. I sing all day, when I'm walking, in the shower. I drive people nuts."
Barnes will be supported on his New Zealand tour by Midnight Youth.
The New Zealand band, fronted by Tauranga Boys' College old-boy Jeremy Redmore, is now based in Barnes' home town, Sydney.
Their paths haven't crossed until now, but Barnes says the band have a great reputation. "I wanted a good Kiwi band to play with us, and I heard really great things about them, so I'm glad."
Jimmy Barnes and Midnight Youth, Sunday, December 26, Brewers Field, Mount Maunganui. Tickets from Ticketmaster or the venue.