Jimmy Barnes returned to the stage with his Cold Chisel bandmates in Sydney on Friday night after an emergency medical procedure derailed their tour.
The rock star, 68, was forced to cancel two months of concerts in August after noticing pain in his side while performing in New Zealand, leading to urgent hip surgery.
He previously underwent open heart surgery to fend off a staph infection, which then returned and attacked his hip, leading to the latest shock surgery and a six-week recovery.
But on Friday night, Jimmy made his triumphant return to the stage following his health problems while performing with his band Cold Chisel at The Entertainment Quarter.
He appeared to be in good spirits as he sang Cold Chisel’s best-known hits alongside bandmates Phil Small, Charley Drayton and Don Walker.
The Khe Sanh hitmaker cut a dapper figure in a black shirt and tight leather-look pants, which he teamed with chunky black boots.
The frontman appeared to be in good health as he strutted across the stage and put on an energetic performance for the crowd.
Before the show, Jimmy revealed that he had been waiting “a long time” for Cold Chisel’s first Sydney show on their 50th anniversary tour.
Jimmy Barnes returned to the stage with his Cold Chisel bandmates in Sydney on Friday night after an emergency medical procedure derailed their tour.
The star, 68, was forced to cancel two months of concerts in August after noticing pain in his side while performing in New Zealand, leading to urgent hip surgery.
‘The first of tonight’s Big Top shows. It’s always great to play in Sydney. Many of my colleagues will come forward… I have been waiting for this for a long time,” he said on Instagram.
‘Thank you Karen Lee Andrews and The Cruel Sea for warming up the crowd. I’m ready.’
Cold Chisel’s 50th anniversary tour, dubbed ‘The Big Five-0’, has already sold more than 150,000 tickets across 16 shows, making it one of the most anticipated Australian tours of the year.
His return to the stage comes just weeks after he was forced to postpone two months of shows while he recovered from urgent hip surgery.
In a heartfelt Facebook message at the time, Jimmy explained the unexpected need for surgery at the time and apologized to fans for the postponements.
‘I felt a twinge in my hip as I was leaving Dunedin, and at night the pain was unbearable. “The doctors are acting quickly, but I am expected to make a full recovery in six weeks,” he shared.
Fans offered overwhelming support and the rocker assured them that his postponed shows, which included dates in Wyong, Toowoomba, Thirroul and Sydney, would be rescheduled.
He canceled concerts in August after undergoing emergency surgery while spending more than six weeks recovering.
But on Friday night, Jimmy made his triumphant return to the stage following his health issues as he took to the stage at The Entertainment Quarter.
He appeared to be in good spirits as he sang Cold Chisel’s best-known hits alongside bandmates Phil Small, Charley Drayton and Don Walker.
The Khe Sanh hitmaker cut a dapper figure in a black shirt and tight leather-look pants, which he teamed with chunky black boots.
The frontman appeared to be in good health as he strutted around the stage and put on an energetic performance for the crowd (pictured with Phil Small).
To help him recover from home, a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) was placed in a vein in his arm to deliver medications to the larger blood vessels around his heart.
In late September, Jimmy took to Instagram to celebrate removing his PICC catheter after a difficult six-week recovery.
“This meant I could leave the hospital and continue most of my recovery at home,” he said. It has been restrictive and liberating at the same time.
“This part of my recovery is now over and with the help of (doctors), nurses, physiotherapists, family, friends, you and my Jane, everything is on track.”
The unexpected hip pain was due to a persistent bacterial infection that previously attacked his heart and forced him to undergo open heart surgery.
Earlier, reflecting on the terrifying moment, he admitted telling his wife Jane he didn’t think he would survive while in Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital.
‘I just had this horrible sick feeling because I had never felt so sick before. I thought I was gone,” he recently told 60Minutes.
He previously underwent open heart surgery (pictured in hospital) to fend off a staph infection, which then returned and attacked his hip, leading to the latest shock surgery and a six-week recovery.
Just hours before being admitted to the hospital, an ill Jimmy had taken the stage at a concert in memory of his late friend and promoter, Michael Gudinski.
He said he felt so bad he could barely remember the show and said he was sweating and had a fever backstage.
He was scheduled to fly abroad for another concert, but had to go to hospital when his health deteriorated.
Then a team of specialists discovered that his body was shutting down because an infection in his blood was causing endocarditis, a life-threatening inflammation of the heart.
When he was taken to the operating room for open heart surgery, his doctors said he only had hours to live.
In a marathon seven-hour surgery, doctors successfully replaced his damaged valves and repaired his heart.
