Jono, Ben & Megan - The Podcast - BONUS: Jimmy Barnes on His Iconic Scream!

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

We chat to music royalty Jimmy Barnes! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Hits, the Jono and Ben podcast. Jimmy Barnes, the legendary Australian musician. You know him from many hits like this. Oh, what a tune with Tina Turner. He's got a new album. It's called The Barnstormers. It's an all-star band made up of artists from around the world. And listen to Jimmy Barnes here.

It does not sound like Jimmy Barnes. Yeah, it's very, very cool. And it's an honour to have him in the studio right now. Jimmy Barnes. We're joined by Royalty. Welcome. How are you guys? Nice to meet you.

How are you doing? It's nice to see you. Awesome. I'm fighting fit and ready to rock. Can I just say, you look magnificent, Barnes. Smooth talking. I'm really fit at the moment, actually Can I just say, you look magnificent, Bud. Smooth-talking Bud. I'm really fit at the moment, actually.

Last time I came to New Zealand, I was in agony. My hip collapsed, I think, from years of jumping off PEA stacks on the guitar players and stuff. But whatever it was, my back and my hip were bugging. So I got it fixed, and I'm like a new man. I'm full of beans. It's good. Oh, that's awesome. Because I saw those photos of you in hospital, visited by um Sam Neill and obviously you have been uh talking about him

recently because he's been going through yeah he went through he went through a bit of hell he um but he but he's doing well now he's good he's I spoke to him recently the other day he's in um he's in the Gold Coast making a movie I think so he's working hard how did that connection because I mean he's a legend on both sides of the Tasman like you are but I mean when did you first connect you with Sam's you and Samuel? Well, Sam's kids and my kids went to school together. Oh, really? So we used to sort of, we'd end up sort of working in the tuck shop.

That would be with me. We literally met through the kids, and Sam's just one of the great guys, you know, and so we hang out together all the time. I went down to his winery. Oh, down at Queenstown Way, yeah. We went down to Queenstown Way and helped him pick grapes one year. Did you? My kids, we got in a sing firm and stuff like that

while they're picking the grapes and stuff. Oh, that's good. I imagine it would be a nightmare for you guys at the school fundraiser. They'd be like, Jimmy Barnes, you've got to do singing at the – When my son was at school in Sydney, a really great school, and I used to get roped in to go to the fundraisers all the time, and I'd be in the oval, you know, it's freezing cold and they'd put me up in a thing and, you know,

throwing balls at me and they'd dunk you in the water. And then that night I'd have to go and sing with the headmaster's band. And I'd rather get dunked in the water than sing with the headmaster's band. And you're like, can I just make a donation to the school? Really, I'm busy that week. I can't come. But yeah, no, but I don't mind. You know, there was one time

my daughter was at the school with Sam's kids and I literally had to work in the canteen at lunchtime and you should have

seen the queue I had it was great I had the longest queue nobody else was serving anybody I had to do all the work you were pulling shifts in the tuck shop

oh yeah well just you know for charity I've got 15 Australian number ones five more with cold chisel more than the Beatles and I'm still working

in the tuck drop. Anyway, that's why you're so awesome. Hey, so the new band, as you say, it's a lot different from the Barnsley we've known and loved over the years, including the alarm clock that was made for you, which I think we played before, the screaming Barnsley alarm clock. You could just use that on any track. Have you got that in the barns residence is that what gets you up in the morning you know but you know when we that that alarm clock see my wife for about 10

years said oh you know you gotta make a screaming clop and i'm going are you crazy and and and the merch people go nah that won't sell and and finally after 10 years she talked a bit to making them and no kidding they sold like hotcakes. I can imagine. And we got a couple. They sent them down for us to check out, see if we approve them. They'll just go off repeatedly. So the kids were playing with them, and they're in the toy boxes,

buried in their bedrooms. And I'd be lying in bed in the middle of the night hearing this. I'm going, what's going on? And you can't find them. Not when your smoke alarm runs out of battery. And all you're hearing is. Yeah, be better. Get out of bed in a hurry.

I don't know if you've heard the screaming goats on the internet. The goats that sound like they scream. Oh yeah, I have, I have, yeah. And they put them... Why are you saying that when you're looking at me? Well, because... One of my favourite videos is they put a screaming goat into a Taylor Swift song. So we thought beforehand, it did work, but we thought we'd put your scream into a Taylor Swift song. So we thought beforehand it did work, but we thought we'd put your scream

into a Taylor Swift song for you, Barnsie. Now I'm lying on the cold, hot ground. I like it. Kind of works. It's your alarm clock with a Taylor Swift remix. She's coming out on tour soon. I think I'll be on stage with her now. Jimmy Barnes with us, the legend himself.

We've got some tracks of yours we do a game called Second Take where we play a split second of your music and I've got a re-recording

yes you know I won't I think you'll go fine I can't remember what I did yesterday okay here we go here's the first one Working Class Man

that's 0.73 of a second not even a second I could hear under the keyboard sound okay here's the next one Okay Here's this one Oh it's The Best

Yeah That one That was the NRL song And listen Once again That was a big connection Because I toured New Zealand

With Tina When that was out And I've got to tell you That the NRL They rang me up They said We want to pay you a fortune To go in

And record a song with Tina Turner. I went, oh, if I have to, you know. I didn't want to tell them. If they just kept quiet, I would have done it for nothing, you know. Because I love Tina. A fortune is all I'll do it for. But I went over, and no kidding,

it was just so good. She is such a great singer. And I remember walking in, and literally the film clip we made for the ad for the NRL, and there was a whole crew in there filming and i'm like terrified singing with tina turner and they say uh they said the director said look we're going to pan across you across the studio then you and tina be dancing and then and then and anybody who's seen me dance you know it reminds

me of the goats uh you know i don't dance well tina tina could feel the fear in me and as as the director left the room she said stand still honey i'll make you look good and she did her best jimmy i've been playing for that many years yeah we could actually we could sit here and talk with you for hours we uh we always love hanging out with you no worries anytime guys i'll come in again soon