For an Australian rock band that has endured against all the odds, look no further than Cold Chisel. From late 2023 and into 2024 frontman Jimmy Barnes has been in and out of hospital, first for a hip replacement and then emergency open-heart surgery followed by another hip operation. Just a few months later, he's back to his barnstorming best, midway through a national tour to mark the band's 50-year anniversary.
Cold Chisel on Friday night played the first of two sold-out shows at Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse, supported by The Cruel Sea and Karen Lee Andrews. The band has released 50 Years - The Best Of to mark The Big Five-0 Tour, the album going straight to No.1 on the ARIA album chart.
But there's another number one for Barnes too: his sixth book, Highways and Byways: Tall Tales and Short Stories from the Long Way Round. Highways and Byways has made its debut on the bestseller charts at the top of the Australian biography/autobiography category. "I'm thrilled to still be here and to have such great fans/readers still travelling the highways and byways with me," Barnes said in a statement.
"I started writing eight or so years ago and it's been a wonderful, cathartic experience for me and my family, as well as an honour to see my stories help other families start conversations that might assist their healing." Barnes thanked his family, readers, and publishers HarperCollins, and said the timing was also significant. "For this to happen in the middle of The Big Five-0 .
