Working Class Boy - Jimmy Barnes

Visceral, brave, honest: it is like Angela’s Ashes meets Trainspotting – only more brutal. A deep, guttural howl of a book, it speaks of the pain and hurt that haunts so many men. And it may just save lives .
– Magda Szubanski

This is the story of how James Swan became Jimmy Barnes. It traces Jimmy’s life from early Glasgow recollections to the beginnings of Cold Chisel in 1974 when he was 17 and leaving the family home. 

Arriving in Australia in the Summer of 1962, when Jimmy was five, things went from bad to worse for the Swan family - Dot, Jim and their six kids. The scramble to manage in the tough northern suburbs of Adelaide in the 60s would take its toll on the Swans as dwindling money, too much alcohol, and fraying tempers gave way to violence and despair.

This is the story a family's collapse, but also a young boy's dream to escape the misery of the suburbs with a once-in-a-lifetime chance to join a rock'n'roll band and get out of town for good.

Working Class Boy is a powerful reflection on a traumatic and violent childhood, which fueled the excess and recklessness that would define, and almost destroy, the rock'n'roll legend.

About the author: Jimmy Barnes is a Scottish-born rock singer – songwriter who grew up in Adelaide. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist of the legendary band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most successful and distinctive artists in Australian music history. A prolific songwriter and performer, Jimmy has been a storyteller for more than 40 years; sharing his life and passions with Australians of all ages at over ten thousand gigs throughout his adopted homeland. In the process he has amassed more #1 albums in Australia than the Beatles; four with Cold Chisel and eleven as a solo artist, including the iconic For the Working Class Man. Across his career Jimmy has sold over 12 million albums and he has been inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame twice. Jimmy lives in New South Wales, with Jane, his wife of 35 years, their children, grandchildren, and two schnauzers. As well as writing and recording new music and touring virtually non- stop, he is currently writing a series of children’s books, working on the second volume of his memoirs and developing a spoken-word tour based on this book.  Imprint: HarperCollins Format: Hardback; RRP: $49.99; ISBN: 9781460752135