One of my all time favourite Australian bands is Cold Chisel and I am glad to say that I introduced the band to a few people around the globe and continue to do so! There is nothing like singing your heart along to the sweet sounds of Khe Sanh, Cheap Wine, Forever Now, or Saturday Night after a barbecue and a few beers with friends.
I have always followed the career of Jimmy Barnes with interest and recently read something about his biography in something called the Icons of Australian Music: Jimmy Barnes! The revelations were like how the hell does one live to tell this tale?
The revelations included this pearler on the period of his life from 1998 - 2002:
"I was doing about 10 grams of cocaine a day, maybe taking six or eight ecstasy [pills] and drinking three bottles of vodka - all in a day, every day".
Barnes is now clean and sober. His marriage is supposedly stronger than ever and he is now recognized as a global UNICEF parent. By all accounts he and his wife have raised four well-adjusted kids. This is testament to the character of the individual and to his family that in spite of all these demons he has managed to do what so many struggle to do!
I would not survive a week, let alone four or five years of this kind of drug and alcohol use (or abuse)! Yet, despite this I have no less respect for the man or Cold Chisel, they remain favourites.
