Book review: Working Class Man by Cold Chisel's Jimmy Barnes

The quick way to find out what Barnesy’s second memoir by Harper Collins is all about

In his youth Jimmy Barnes reckons he was here for a good time not a long time.

And you definitely get that feeling from the start of the Australian rock-and-roll legend’s second memoirWorking Class Man released by HarperCollinsPublishers Australia Pty Ltd in 2017.

This fast-paced book is a follow up to Barnesy’s award-winning bestseller Working Class Boy (see my review here), which detailed moving to Australia and growing up in Adelaide.

While the first book is about running away, Working Class Man is about running out of time and trying to put things right.

The two books have reportedly sold over 500,000 copies making them the most successful biographical series in local publishing history.

And hot on the heels of these two is Killing Time: Short Stories From the Long Road Home, due out in October.

But first, let’s find out more about Working Class Man and what it can teach us as life-story writers …

A bit about Working Class Man

Working Class Man is a ripper of a read that starts off exactly where the previous book ended when the band Cold Chisel is in the back of a truck heading to Armidale, New South Wales, in 1974.

Then we hear about how they start to grow an audience and get traction playing covers to hippies and pub crowds.

Once band songwriter Don Walker graduated from an Honours degree in quantum mechanics, the band returned to Adelaide and started performing original songs.

Here the pub crowds were extra tough but they loved Cold Chisel’s hard and loud rock and roll.

Touring up and down the East Coast of Australia became a way of life, including excesses like drink, drugs and girls.

As top-charting albums were released, fame grew and so did musical opportunities.

The band headed to the United States but struggled to translate for a US market.

However, eventually cracks started to widen between band members.

By now Jimmy had a new wife Jane, was starting a family and wanted to support them.

Finally he goes out on his own to pursue a solo career.

This is rocky at first but soon becomes successful, if not more so than Chisel.

So life is back on track again … or is it?

Jimmy is an out-of-control freight train who spends decades running from his past.

“You can’t run from life or it will run you down.”

Coaching Calls Forever Young Autobiographies. Open hand outstretched over sparkling water.

The things you learn

Working Class Man is definitely a rock-and-roll book.

You hear stories about bands but wonder if the rumours are true.

Well, judging by Jimmy’s book they are and more!

For instance, a band can really be No. 1 and pay its members a pittance.

In Working Class Man we learn Jimmy was paid $25/week for years.

Clearly you can be ‘poor’ despite constantly touring and pulling big crowds.

A second point to be confirmed is rock stars and drugs are solid touring mates.

For example, Jimmy talks about buying copious drugs (at one point, 10g of cocaine a day, sometimes more) to get through tough tours.

But said he was ‘normal’ when home with Jane and the kids.

Finally, Jimmy’s love for Jane is a real highlight of the book.

He talks about falling in love at first sight in 1979 – even citing the day and hour.

It is beautiful to hear how Jimmy and Jane’s relationship grew and how, through everything, they have stuck together.

“Not only did (Jane) speak five languages but she spoke better English than I did. She was way out of my class but I loved her from the minute I saw her. Jane would change my life.”

Writing takeaways from Working Class Man

Jimmy is a super singer, musician and writer.

Indeed, one very talented bloke!

So we can learn much from Working Class Man to help us with our own writing.

Hell of a ride

Firstly, I think Jimmy’s book shows us how to write at a dramatic pace.

Certainly, he had a lot going on in his life to cover but he knows how to move a story along.

For example, he zooms in on important or interesting detail but then skims the reader through years and decades of events.

That is to say, there is no self-indulgent meandering or showy writing.

Storytelling dialogue

The second thing Jimmy does really well is write dialogue.

He moves the story along with great conversation snippets that clearly show people’s characters – especially his own.

Plus, I highly recommend the audio version because Jimmy is super at putting on different accents for those mentioned in his book.

Power of words

The last point we can learn from this book is how writing helped tame decades of demons.

Jimmy said he went to rehab twice, as well as received ongoing counselling, but the one thing that helped most of all was sitting down to write about his life.

He said it let him better understand and deal with his past, which in turn gave him clarity, peace and hope for the future.

“At first (writing) made the pain even worse but slowly, page by page, I could feel that thing inside me shrinking until it was almost gone … writing turned out to be one of the things that actually helped. It was the missing piece of the puzzle. It allowed me to put some of those demons in their place at last.”

Final say: Working Class Man

Of course Cold Chisel or rock-and-roll fans are going to love this book.

But I also think it appeals to anyone interested in ideas about fame, excess, love, painful childhoods, mateship and survival.

I thought I knew Jimmy’s story from following his career in the limelight but there is so much more under the surface.

Working Class Man feels a truthful account that lays bare raw nerves, struggles and failures.

But most importantly it soars to celebrate love, friendship, family and the power of music.

A moving and blistering-paced read.

Happy writing and reading!

Free gift!

Want to sit down and write a memoir like Jimmy’s Working Class Man? Many people find it helpful to first come up with a basic chapter outline using my free Structure Success video training. Sign up here or fill in the form below.

Your say

Are you going to read Working Class Man? Or what did you think of the book? And do you recommend any other books to read? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Send me an email or leave a reply in the comments section at the end of this article.

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This article first appeared on the website Forever Young Autobiographies.com.