BW Hot List: Jimmy Barnes’ journey to become a better man

Rocker Jimmy Barnes’ bravery in baring the scars of his past in his books, live shows and documentary film this year has helped him, and many others, face their demons. He has been chosen as part of the 2018 BW Magazine Hot List. SEE THE FULL LIST

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After the deeply emotional exercise of writing two memoirs and performing more than 80 shows bringing the good, the bad and the ugly stories to life, Jimmy Barnes went another round with his soul.

The Working Class Boy documentary further examined the profound effects of poverty, abuse and abandonment on Barnes’s childhood and how it shaped the hellraising, hard-drinking, drug-abusing adult who would spend decades running away from his past.

The rocker’s bravery in baring the scars of his past has not only helped him face his demons but bring his family even closer together.

Jimmy Barnes and his son David Campbell have healed their relationship since Barnes released his memoirs. Picture: Martin Lange

Equally important, the books, shows and film have helped others. You could see men of Barnes’s generation visibly moved by his storytelling at the shows and no doubt thousands more found resonance when the documentary screened in cinemas and on TV this year.

“The documentary … was a tough job, particularly after going through the process of writing the books and going out on tour and then having to revisit it all after I had walked away from it,” Barnes, who made this year’s BW Magazine Hot List, says.

“It was really raw. But the highlight of the year for me with the movie and the whole process of making it is the fact it might start a few conversations about poverty, domestic violence and abuse and how we can stop it.

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“Let’s face it, I spent most of my life fumbling around making all those mistakes because of that upbringing, only I did it in public, on stage and in front of a camera, so most people … and for people to try and see me now working through my problems, and hopefully becoming a better person for it, I didn’t mind baring my soul, I don’t mind, I’ve got nothing to hide.”

Jimmy Barnes won the best original soundtrack at the 32nd ARIA Awards in November this year. Picture: AAP/Adam Yip

The indefatigable rocker says the experience has naturally influenced his songwriting for his next solo album Criminal Record, to be released in early 2019.

“Every year I just want to make myself a better person, a better father, a better husband, a better friend, a better grandfather, a better friend to my dogs, a better singer, a better songwriter so I think in light of the last two years of doing books and films about such personal and deep stuff, that I want to be able to sit and use those experiences and dig in and get some more depth in my songs.”

And with two bestsellers under his belt, he is being encouraged by fans to pursue his long-held ambition of writing fiction.

As Barnes says, he writes good horror.

* Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy is available now on Blu-ray and DVD