Jimmy Barnes reveals brush with law in new book Highway and Byways
The Aussie rock icon has broken his silence on a series of run-ins he had with police, where not even his fame was enough to get him a hall pass.
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Jimmy Barnes blames his lead foot on loud, fast rock music.
The rocker isn’t one to use his fame to attempt to get out of a speeding ticket – or three – as he reveals in his new book Highway and Byways.
In the chapter Trouble in the Rearview Mirror, the 68-year-old artist and author shares the tale of the day in the 1980s when he lost his licence after being clocked speeding between his then home in Bowral and Sydney.
Driving his prized Mercedes 450 6.9 litre tank to Cold Chisel rehearsals in Sydney with a rock mix-tape blaring out of the state-of-the-art speakers, Barnes was pulled over by a highway patrol officer.
While the cop recognised him and shared how he and his wife had danced to Shipping Steel at their wedding, he handed him a ticket for driving at 210 km/h down the freeway.
“You’d better slow down a bit, mate, or you won’t make it to your next show,” the officer cautioned him.
Barnes resumed his drive at the speed limit until he could no longer see the police car in his rearview mirror. And then pushed his foot to the floor again as the Sensational Alex Harvey Band shook the car windows.
Sure enough, the same officer was soon flashing his lights and signalling for the rocker to pull over. He’d been driving even faster this time. His licence was gone.
Barnes pleaded to be allowed to continue to Sydney to make rehearsals and the officer reluctantly agreed but insisted when he returned home that night, he was off the road.
He completed the journey – “I drove like a pensioner on Quaaludes” – and after a long day of belting out Chisel songs, pointed his Mercedes towards home.
Just five kilometres down the freeway, with the Rolling Stones’ Rock On blaring, the same police officer was on his tail.
“Mate, you should really get yourself a four cylinder,” the officer said.
Barnes recalls he lost his licence for three months and had to attend a driving course to retrieve it.
“My problem is I’ve got the attention span of a small soap dish so my speed goes with the music,” he said.
“And that car was built for the autobahn, it was a ridiculously big 6.9 litre, I’d be listening to music and look down and be doing 240km/h. And there were no cars around.
“That is a true story that I got done three times by the same cop; he was just flabbergasted. I did not learn that day.”
He is far more cautious and responsible on the roads these days. Thanks to cruise control.
“I haven’t had a ticket for five years or so. I use cruise control now, it’s safer and I worry more about crashing and hurting someone else,” he said.
“That car was built like a tank and you felt indestructible but now sports cars are so lightweight.”
Don’t miss our exclusive Jimmy Barnes story about Highways & Byways in the Weekend magazine. The HarperCollins book is released on October 16.
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