Jimmy Barnes Hospitalised With Pneumonia

Jimmy Barnes will no longer appear at the Rock The Boat cruise meets music festival in Noumea as he battles bacterial pneumonia. According to a new Facebook post, the singer has been confined to bed rest as he recovers and takes intravenous antibiotics to treat the condition.

Bacterial pneumonia is one of the worst types of pneumonia to be contracted, according to a HealthDirect factsheet. Barnes apologised to fans expecting to see him at Rock The Boat this week, saying, “I’m sorry to let you know that I’ve been receiving intravenous antibiotics over the last 36 hours to treat bacterial pneumonia.”

While he won’t make it, Barnes wrote that his daughter, Mahalia, and special guests will take his place as he recovers. He continued, “Unfortunately, this has stopped me travelling to Noumea to join Rock The Boat 2023 as planned. My band will still perform on board, together with my daughter Mahalia and 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. The timing couldn’t be worse.”

Barnes is expected to make a full recovery to perform at By The C in Torquay on Saturday, 2 December.

Barnes was due to headline Rock The Boat alongside Jon Stevens, Daryl Braithwaite and The Black Sorrows, with Mi-Sex, Chocolate Starfish, Sarah McLeod and many more to perform.

On Sunday night (26 November), Barnes performed at the concert event celebrating Mushroom Group’s 50th anniversary, perfectly fitting into the title Fifty Years Of Making Noise. The Music reviewer Noah Redfern complimented his performance, “Jimmy Barnes opened the performances with his hits No Second Prize and Working Class Man. The raw energy on display from Barnsey’s vocals alone was marvellous.”

This month, Barnes shared the details of Blue Christmas (2023 Expanded Edition), adding two new tracks to his hugely successful festive album released last year.

On the new tracklist, he covered the Christmas classic, O Holy Night, and reprised a life-changing hit for the Barnes family, If Santa Forgets, starring three generations of the family.