Defiant: Rock legend Jimmy Barnes on health, hard work and his love for New Zealand

Before the release of his new aptly named album Defiant on June 6, the Herald’s Mitchell Hageman chats to music legend Jimmy Barnes about overcoming odds, his connection to Kiwi crowds, and how he’s kept his voice in such good nick after all these years (including a tip from Sir Elton John).

If someone asked me to name the hardest-working man in music, I’d blurt out Jimmy Barnes without a beat of hesitation.

Zooming in for our interview, the ever-gracious 69-year-old Cold Chisel frontman and chart-topping solo artist tells me he’s “fighting fit” despite three hip surgeries in three years, back surgery, open heart surgery and a staph infection.

“It’s a little stiff because I’ve got a lot of scar tissue, but I’m working it out now. I’m pretty good, and ready to rock.”

Ready to rock yes, but Barnes also says he’s been focused on the “roll” of late, with his newest album Defiant combining rolling, performance-ready ballads with class-act storytelling and a deep emotional pull.

“A lot of stuff we recorded in Nashville,” he says. “The band we use there is really big, jangly, and open, and it sort of verges on country. I also wanted to really concentrate on writing songs that could go in my live set.”

Naturally, we talk about what the word defiance means to Barnes, who’s always been open about his previous battles with addiction, loss, and the physical toll that health setbacks can sometimes take.

He says he likes to think he is “getting better at being honest” when putting pen to paper, while also at the same time shedding his stubbornness by turning it into learning opportunities.

“If there’s something I can’t do, I’ll say no, I can, and I’ll try and learn. I’ll put my mind to it and try and do it.

“It doesn’t matter how many times you get stopped and knocked down, it’s about how many times you get back up, and how many times you learn from that and then move forward again.”

Jimmy Barnes says he's getting better at putting pen to paper when reflecting on his life and musical journey.

Barnes says he “wasn’t one for lying down and wallowing in pain or self-pity”, citing a positive outlook as a key motivator.

“I’ve been through points where you think nothing’s going right, nothing’s going to work. All I can say is, if you take the right steps, things get better.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with health issues, addiction, break-ups, emotional pain, things will get better.”

It also helps, he says, to surround yourself with good people. Not only did he get the chance to work with good friends Jason Bonham (son of Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham) and famed Chisel producer Kevin Shirley on Defiant, but his family (including son Jackie Barnes, daughter Mahalia, and son-in-law Benjamin Rodgers) also feature on the album.

“My family’s been playing and singing on records of mine for years, and they know me really well,” he says, describing them as defiant themselves.

“Obviously, you get a few little riffs now and again, as families do, and that’s just because they have a strong opinion about what they think I want. They’re a great sounding board, and they know me better than anybody else in the world.”

Jimmy Barnes has gone through a number of health challenges over the years, including open heart surgery. Photo / Instagram @jimmybarnesofficial

Having his wife Jane Barnes by his side has also been instrumental in keeping him going when times became tough.

“Jane is the most positive person I’ve ever seen in my life. She’ll say, ‘remember what you were saying on that interview, [to] pick yourself up’ and I’ll go, ‘you’re right’.”

Last in Aotearoa with Cold Chisel for a series of rousing 50th Anniversary Tour gigs, Barnes admits his love for the country is stronger than ever after first touring here in 1975.

“New Zealand’s always been very special to us because they’re our audience. I’ve always felt really at home there, and very early on in the piece, they got me before a lot of other places did.

“I make the point of coming over every year and with every tour because New Zealand supported me so well. People buy my records there, and if people buy your records, I think you should get out and play for them.”

Jimmy Barnes of Cold Chisel performing at Gibbston Valley Winery, near Queenstown, in January this year. Photo / Below Media, Greenstone Entertainment

His deep admiration for Kiwi music is also apparent, with the proud Scotsman citing many artists’ penchants for injecting soul and Māori culture into their work.

“I’ve got a lot of Scottish Māori friends over there, and I just love the way that music is part of the culture, and that is how you celebrate joy, mourn, and greet the day. It’s a beautiful thing.

“You can hear it on the radio in bands as well. They’ve all got this sort of inbuilt soul about them, and this passion about them which I really like.”

When listening to Defiant, it’s impossible to deny that Barnes’ heavenly freight train of a voice is still as impeccable as it was when he started with Chisel. Therefore, the singer in me couldn’t help but ask how he’s kept it in top form after all these years.

“A lot of it’s being fit. You’ve got to keep fit because as you know, it’s mechanics,” Barnes tells me, referencing lung capacity and stamina.

He also references a time during a rehearsal for a TV show 20 or so years ago when he learned about the specifics of using different vocal cords and how it could assist with the longevity of the voice.

“I was backstage, kind of screaming like a banshee like I do when I warm up, and this person who was on the same TV show happened to be a vocal trainer from LA. They taught Michael Jackson and Barbra Streisand,” Barnes says.

“She came in and said, ‘I noticed you’re singing with your secondary cords’. Apparently, your voice has two main vocal cords and they’re surrounded by what they call false cords, secondary cords.

“When I talk, I use my vocal cords, and when I sing, I use my secondary cords most of the time. The good thing about that is you don’t get nodules on secondary cords.”

There was also a handy tip from the Rocketman himself, Sir Elton John.

“I’ll go to a show an hour before and warm up, then I gargle with honey, hot water and apple cider vinegar, which is an old opera trick.”

Suddenly, Barnes leaps out of his seat to grab another handy tool in the form of a small personal steamer full of sterile salt water called a Vocal Mist.

“My kids, they taught me about this. Apparently, all the singers in America use them all the time. You just put it on, hold it over your mouth, breathe it in for five minutes, and then take it off.”

Before we end the call, and eager to get a tour announcement out of him, I ask Barnes if we can expect him on Kiwi shores any time soon.

“We will be coming before the end of the year. I’ll be doing a tour or two maybe, because I’m really looking forward to it,” he says, much to my delight.

You best believe this journalist will be there front and centre (with his Vocal Mist device in tow) singing along to every word.

Defiant will be released on Friday, June 6, through Mushroom Music. It will be available on red and black marble vinyl, CD & digital.

Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.