Australian star Jimmy Barnes reveals he has been battling a deadly infection

Jimmy Barnes has revealed his health has taken another turn one year after having emergency hip surgery and being forced to undertake months of bed rest.

Taking to Facebook earlier this week, the Working Man singer revealed he is currently in hospital being treated for bacterial pneumonia and would have to cancel his upcoming show.

Barnes wrote in the post, “I’m sorry to let you know that I’ve been receiving intravenous antibiotics over the last 36 hours to treat bacterial pneumonia,” adding, “Unfortunately, this has stopped me travelling to Noumea to join Rock The Boat 2023 as planned.”

Despite the absence of their main man, Barnes revealed his band, Cold Chisel, as well as his daughter Mahalia Barnes, 41, whom he shares with his wife Jane, will continue to perform at the show as well as a couple of other special guests.

“I’d like to apologise sincerely to everyone for the inconvenience and disappointment this has caused, but the doctors have confined me to bed for two days.” he regretfully informed fans adding, “The timing couldn’t be worse.

Bacterial pneumonia is an inflammation of the lungs following an infection. The air sacs in the lungs get infected and fill up with water which causes pneumonia. While it sounds as though Barnes is on the mend, serious cases of the illness can result in respiratory failure, sepsis and even death.

The rocker’s latest health scare comes just over one year since he was forced to have emergency hip surgery due to pain caused by half a century of “jumping off PAs and stomping around stages”.

He kept fans updated via his official Facebook page as he recovered from the surgery, and in February shared some very happy news: He was given the all-clear to fly, revealing he and his wife would jet off to her native Thailand for a holiday.

This article was first published by the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission.