Rock legend Jimmy Barnes, 66, cancels summer tour as he battles chronic pain in serious health battle
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes announced on Tuesday that he was canceling his summer tour across Australia as he was forced to undergo hip and back surgery.
The 66-year-old is in “severe pain” after five decades of very physical performance and can no longer put off medical attention.
While confident that he will make a full recovery and return in the second half of 2023, the musician posted a video on his YouTube account explaining that his upcoming surgery would leave him out of action for several months.
Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes, 66, (pictured), announced on Tuesday he was canceling his summer tour across Australia as he was forced to undergo hip and back surgery
His last gig will be at the VALO Adelaide 500 on Saturday before officially canceling the rest of his tour.
“I skipped PAs and walked the stages for almost 50 years, but it finally caught up with me,” Jimmy said in his video as he sat at his desk.
“I’ve had back and hip problems for years, but things have suddenly gotten a lot worse over the past few weeks and I’m now in constant, intense pain.”
He continued: “As everyone knows it’s against my religion to blow up gigs but the doctors are telling me I need an operation as soon as possible and it’s really going to restrict my movement for a few month.”
Jimmy went on to say that it “kills” him to “inconvenience everyone”, but explained that it was important that he had the operation and recovery as soon as possible so he could “jump on stage for another 50 years.”
It comes just over a week after he canceled a personal appearance in western Sydney due to rising Covid cases.
The Scottish-born rock legend was due to sign copies of his new album Blue Christmas at the Penrith Panthers Leagues Club on November 26.
But the Cold Chisel founder dropped out of the gig over public safety concerns, reports The Western Weekender.
Jimmy’s fans learned the news via the music icons’ official Twitter account.
His last gig will be at the VALO Adelaide 500 on Saturday before officially canceling the rest of his tour
‘In order to keep everyone safe given the current rise in COVID cases,’ the post read, ‘the event at Penrith Panthers on Saturday…will not be going ahead’. Thank you for your understanding.’
Although most of the world dropped all restrictions due to fears caused by the pandemic, Jimmy’s fans welcomed his decision.
Covid cases had risen across the country, with some states seeing an 80% increase as variants of the virus raged.
It comes just over a week after he canceled a personal appearance in western Sydney due to rising Covid cases
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