Jimmy Barnes is back to full fitness after his recent open heart surgery.
So much so that his daughter, Mahalia Barnes, who is also the singer’s manager, can’t keep up with him.
“He has to do less because he’s too good – although I don’t know how that’s possible,” the 41-year-old tells this week’s edition of Stellar magazine.
“I had to go to the gym more because I felt like he was shaming me,” she added.
Mahalia says her father used his free time during his recovery to write new music.
“He’s had to take some time off and he’s written some beautiful songs. He’s got a new album coming out next year. We’ve got a big acoustic run of sold-out shows,” the artist explained.
“Then he’s going to do a big run of Cold Chisel shows right after that. There’s a lot to be excited about. As his kid, it’s a relief to see him in such good shape, but also as a manager, it feels like a really exciting time for his career.”
Jimmy and his wife Jane have four children: daughters Mahalia, EJ, 39, and Elly-May, 34, and a son Jackie, 38.
Jimmy Barnes is back to full health after his recent open-heart surgery. So much so that his daughter, Mahalia Barnes (pictured), who is also the singer’s manager, can’t keep up with him.
Jimmy also has a son, David Campbell, 50, with Kim Campbell and his long-lost daughters Amanda Bennett and Megan Torzyn – whom he met in 2010 – from previous relationships.
Late last year, the 68-year-old rock star was struck by a life-threatening infection that affected his heart, following which he underwent open-heart surgery.
Reflecting on his health problems, he admitted he told his wife Jane he did not think he would survive as long as he was in St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
“I just had this horrible, morbid feeling because I’d never felt so sick before. I thought I was gone,” he recently told 60Minutes.
Just hours before Jimmy was admitted to the hospital, he took the stage as an ill man at a memorial concert for his late friend and promoter Michael Gudinski.
“He has to do less because he’s too good – although I don’t know how that’s possible,” the 41-year-old said. “I’ve had to increase my gym visits because I felt like he was shaming me.” Pictured together
Late last year, the 68-year-old rock star was struck by a life-threatening infection that affected his heart, after which he underwent open-heart surgery
He said he felt so bad he could barely remember the show. He said he was sweating backstage and had a fever.
“I was really bad. And even though I felt like I could barely walk, I just had to go there,” he said.
“There was a lot of pain. My back really hurt… I had trouble walking. I don’t know how I got through it. As soon as I got off, I almost collapsed.”
He was scheduled to fly abroad the next morning for another concert, but instead went to the hospital as his health continued to deteriorate.
A team of specialists discovered that his body was shutting down because an infection in his blood caused endocarditis, a life-threatening inflammation of the heart.
When he was rushed into the operating room for open-heart surgery, his doctors told him he had only hours to live.
During a seven-hour surgery, doctors successfully replaced his damaged heart valves and repaired his heart.
After many months, his recovery is going well and he recently performed on stage for the first time since his operation at the Bluesfest.
Read more in this week’s issue of Stellar Magazine