James Dixon Swain was born in Scotland, fifty something years ago. He emigrated to Australia at an early age and became a music icon… better known as Jimmy Barnes. The ocker rocker songwriter has more hit alblums than any other Aussie entertainer, as a solo artist and as lead singer of the band ‘Cold Chisel’.
His career took a bit of a dive in the mid 1990s but began to revive by 1996. He embarked on a six-gig ‘little New Zealand’ stint, playing smaller, more intimate venues. One of those was the Lake Hawea Motor Inn in Central Otago. I did this quick sketch to illustrate my review for The Southland Times. he signed the original backstage. It was called the Long, Hot, Summer Tour, but from memory, it was neither long (an hour and a bit), hot or felt like Summer, with the weather closing in. Hardly Barnes-storming, but it threatened! More importantly he was a decent bloke, with a ripper encore set.
