Jimmy Barnes is in “constant and severe pain” and will undergo back and hip surgery as soon as possible to address it, meaning he will postpone half a year of performances while he recovers.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the 66-year-old musician said: “I’ve been jumping off PA’s and stomping around stages for nearly 50 years, but it’s finally caught up with me. I’ve had niggling back and hip issues for years, but things suddenly got a lot worse over the last few weeks and I’m now in constant and severe pain.
“As everybody knows, it’s against my religion to blow out gigs but the doctors tell me I need an operation as soon as possible and it will really limit my movement for a few months. As much as it kills me to inconvenience everyone, I have to get this fixed so I can jump around onstage for another 50 years.
“The operation will keep me cooped up over summer and I’m a notoriously cranky patient, so I probably need to buy noise cancelling headphones for my family too – that way they’ll hopefully still be talking to me when I’m back on my feet,” he added.
A headline performance at Valo Adelaide 500 this Saturday will go ahead as planned, but all of Barnes’ live performances in the first few months of 2023 will be postponed.
Jon Stevens, Daryl Braithwaite and Diesel will replace Barnes at Summernats 35 in Canberra in January, while the Hoodoo Gurus will replace Barnes at By the C festival in Wollongong and Torquay, and at the Live in the Vines festival in the Yarra Valley.
“I’m very grateful that the Gurus have agreed to headline these three big gigs in my absence”, said Jimmy. “We played some great shows together last summer so I know audiences will be in good hands. Their addition to the top of the Wollongong, Torquay and Rochford line-ups also means that the other bands on the bill, like the Living End, Wolfmother and Noiseworks, will still get their chance to rock. That’s important for everyone after all the disrupted touring over recent years so I strongly encourage people to #keepyourticket and support some of our finest Aussie artists at these shows.”
Barnes’ revised touring schedule can be viewed here.
