Jimmy Barnes shares the moving reason he agreed to reunite with Cold Chisel as the iconic band announce national 50th anniversary tour
- READ MORE: Jimmy Barnes shares health update and reveals he is already out of bed following open heart surgery
Jimmy Barnes is going back on the road with his rock band Cold Chisel for their The Big Five-0 tour.
And the musician says that money was not a motivation, but rather his revelation that life is short, following his heart surgery and health scare.
'When I got sick at the end of last year – and I was as healthy as a mallee bull when that happened – I realised you can go from that to it could all be over in a heartbeat, literally; that sealed it for me,' the 68-year-old tells the Daily Telegraph.
'I wanted to make sure that we did it. It's not a get-together for the sake of it, it's not a get-together for the money, it's not a get-together to mend old riffs or water under the bridge.'
He added: 'I want to get together with these guys, and we want to get together, to grab hold of those moments that were the best things in our lives.'
Jimmy Barnes (pictured) is going back on the road with his rock band Cold Chisel for their The Big Five-0 tour
The iconic band have reunited to celebrate their 50th anniversary by announcing an Australia-wide tour. L-R: Ian Moss, Jimmy Barnes, Don Walker and Phil Small
It comes after Jimmy opened up about his close brush with death and grave fears he wouldn't wake up from heart surgery earlier this year, after he was struck down by a life-threatening infection that attacked his heart.
At one point, while lying in Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital, a gravely-ill Jimmy told his wife Jane: 'I don't think I'm gonna make it.'
'I just had this horrible morbid feeling because I've never felt this sick before. I thought I was gone,' he told 60Minutes.
The singer was recently rushed to ER following complications from bacterial pneumonia.
Jimmy says that money was not a motivation, but rather his revelation that life is short, following his heart surgery and health scare
Jimmy then informed his followers he was undergoing open heart surgery after a bacterial infection spread to his heart.
Following the procedure, the Scottish-born Aussie took to Instagram to let his followers know he is healthy, happy and likely to make a full recovery.
Cold Chisel have reunited to celebrate their 50th anniversary by announcing an Australia-wide tour.
Dubbed The Big Five-0 tour, frontman Jimmy joins forces with bandmates Ian Moss, Phil Small and Don Walker for 11 shows across the country.
'When I got sick at the end of last year – and I was as healthy as a mallee bull when that happened – I realised you can go from that to it could all be over in a heartbeat, literally; that sealed it for me,' the 68-year-old said
'The Big Five-0 will be a night like no other. This time, the band isn't touring to promote a new album; they are touring for the best possible reason... because we all love playing gigs together,' the band said on their Facebook page.
'Their anniversary provides scope for a show that features all the classic songs with which Cold Chisel carved their unique place in Oz Rock history - Khe Sanh, Bow River, Flame Trees, You Got Nothing I Want, When The War Is Over, My Baby, Cheap Wine, Choirgirl, Last Wave Of Summer, Breakfast At Sweethearts, Forever Now and so many more.'
Cold Chisel's tour kicks off October 5 at the Petersons Winery in Armidale, where the band based themselves back in 1974-1975.
They will then lap around major Australian cities for seven weeks before their final show on November 17 in Adelaide, the city the band formed.
Jimmy joined the band at the end of that year, on lead vocals - he was just 17 at the time.
