Doubt over Adelaide rocker Jimmy Barnes’s VAILO 500 supercars gig

The iconic Aussie rocker is racing against time to be fit to perform at this year’s VAILO Adelaide 500, revealing he’s still “tethered to a drip 24 hours-a-day” weeks after hip surgery.

Jimmy Barnes is racing against time to be fit to perform at this year’s VAILO Adelaide 500, revealing he’s still “tethered to a drip 24 hours-a-day” weeks after hip surgery.

The former Adelaide rocker and his legendary band, Cold Chisel, are scheduled to headline the motorsport event’s post-race concert series in November.

But Barnes, 68, took to Instagram on Friday night to say his family was on its way to the Maldives to perform and he had desperately wanted to join them, “swimming and singing songs on the beach”, but had to stay behind “and party by myself” because of his poor health.

“I’ve got a bit of FOMO actually that I’m not there, and if I wasn’t tethered to a drip, I’m on a drip 24 hours a day, I’d be there,” he said.

Jimmy Barnes has posted a video of himself being tethered to a drip on Instagram.

Jimmy Barnes recovering after hip surgery.

In early August, Barnes said “a twinge” in his hip became “unbearable” as he was leaving the New Zealand city of Dunedin, as part of his Hell Of A Time tour. He had to go to hospital and cancel his tour dates in the following weeks.

“The doctors have recommended a remedial medical procedure ASAP followed by some physio to address the issue,” he said.

It came just a few months after he underwent open heart surgery for a life-threatening bacterial infection.

The latest setback has raised question marks over Barnes’s ability to perform at the VAILO event on Sunday, November 17, which would be their first Adelaide show in several years.

While race organisers have declined to comment, the state government told 7News on Saturday that they’ve been reassured by Barnes’s team that he’ll be ready to “rock out” by November.

Cold Chisel is set to be joined on stage at the VAILO 500 by fellow Australian acts The Cruel Sea and The Superjesus.

Beloved pop band Crowded House, led by Neil Finn, will entertain revheads on Saturday, November 16, two years after their acclaimed appearance at SA’s Harvest Rock Festival.