Jimmy Barnes gives health update after surgery and reveals he is back fronting Cold Chisel

Aussie music legend Jimmy Barnes has shared a health update with fans as he continues his recovery. See the video.

Exclusive: When Jimmy Barnes was discharged from hospital last December after lifesaving heart surgery to repair damage wrought by a staph infection, his medical team told him he was lucky “it didn’t go to your hip.”

As the treasured rocker knows all too well now, that nasty staph likes to hide in scar tissue or prosthetics like heart valves or hip joints.

And it’s almost impossible to find until the infection decides to “throw a staph party” as it did in his back and heart late last year.

Barnes landed back in hospital in August after suffering excruciating, breath-stealing jolts of pain in his left hip as he performed shows on the New Zealand leg of his Hell of a Time tour.

Jimmy Barnes at home as he prepares for the 50th anniversary Cold Chisel tour and the release of his new book Highways and Byways. Picture: Courtesy of Jane Barnes

“I had a staph infection again, like I did last Christmas that went to my heart. Everybody said when I got out ‘Oh, you’re so lucky it didn’t go to your hip. You should touch wood, you’re blessed!’” the rocker said as he continues his recovery at his home in the NSW Southern Highlands.

“And of course it had, and we didn’t know. It was pretty dangerous but I’m OK.”

Jimmy Barnes at home as as he prepares for the 50th anniversary Cold Chisel tour and the release of his new book Highways and Byways. Picture: Courtesy of Jane Barnes

A month after two surgeries to fix his hip, Barnes is feeling “pretty good” as he continues physiotherapy and gets his strength back via his wife Jane’s top-shelf home cooking.

He went through the wringer in the surgeries, with the bones around his hip chiselled back to remove the infection.

The PICC line pumping intravenous antibiotics comes out this week, just in time for him to join his Cold Chisel bandmates net kick to kick off rehearsals for their upcoming 50th anniversary tour.

Chisel back on the road and at No.1 again with their 50 Years – The Best record. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

He’s been testing out his voice singing around the house and recently shared a “Jane Barnes Band” performance of the Nat King Cole classic Smile for fans on Father’s Day.

Barnes was in full tour mode when the infection took over his hip and was forced to cancel the remaining Hell of a Time tour dates as well as a trip with his family to the Maldives to perform for fans at an island resort.

“I’m doing physio every day, walking miles while lifting weights, and I’ve started singing while I’m doing it, so I’m ready to start rehearsals,” he said.

“It’s just going to be a joy to get out and play music again. I think one of the things that’s helped me recover so quick is the fact that I want to get out and play music.”

The one thing Barnes remains unsure of until he gets into the rehearsal room with his bandmates Ian Moss, Don Walker, Phil Small and Charley Drayton next week, is whether this latest health battle will affect how he performs. Not how he sings, but how he stands and moves around the stage.

The year before the staph infection landed him in heart surgery, he had operations on his back and hip to repair damage from decades of jumping off speaker stacks and stomping his feet so hard he could almost crash through the floorboards.

The image of Barnes the rock frontman in full flight is him bent from the waist as he screams into the mic.

Barnes will be back on stage next month. Picture: Supplied.

“My left hip has been fixed three times now; when I sing, I lean a lot of my weight on that foot,” he said.

“But I’ve been doing a lot of training since the operation, lots of squats and lunges on that leg and it feels okay, I think I’m pretty strong and I don’t think it’s going to change what I do.

“If anything maybe I’ll appreciate it a bit more, I won’t take it for granted. I don’t know if you’re going to see me sort of swinging from the bloody chandeliers or the tent poles but you never know.”

Highways and Byways is published by HarperCollins on October 16.

As Chisel head out on the road for their Big Five-0 tour, Barnes will also release the fourth instalment of his memoirs.

Highways and Byways is a collection of chapters drawn from his life and short stories inspired by some moments he would rather dress up as fiction.

The best-selling author’s new tales will leave you wondering if the Aussie rocker believes in ghosts.

“Let’s just say I’ve seen a few weird things in my life; my stepfather Reg was a spiritualist and he saw them everywhere.”

For all Cold Chisel tour and ticket information, coldchisel.com and Highways and Byways is out on October 16 and you can pre-order it via Amazon and Big W.

Originally published as Jimmy Barnes gives health update after surgery and reveals he is back fronting Cold Chisel