Jimmy Barnes announces ‘Working Class Man 40th Anniversary Tour’ | With special guests ICEHOUSE, Ian Moss & Kate Ceberano

For The Working Class Man is packed with classics, including Jimmy’s first Top 10 solo single I’d Die To Be With You Tonight, the Top 40 smash Ride The Night Away, and the beautiful ballad that he wrote for his wife Jane, Without Your Love.

And, of course, the album features his signature song, the unofficial national anthem, Working Class Man.

For the Working Class Man also included seven reworked songs from his chart-topping solo debut Bodyswerve, including No Second Prize, Daylight and Promise Me You’ll Call.

To coincide with the landmark tour, a special 40^th anniversary release of the album via Mushroom Music will be welcome news to collectors and music fans alike, released on Friday 14 November and available to preorder now here. Honouring the formats originally released in 1985 and newly remastered for the anniversary, For The Working Class Man will be released as a 2LP ‘flame’ coloured, hand-poured vinyl in a gatefold jacket, the first time it’s been on two records since it hit shelves. Also for the first time since 1985, the singles will be available as an exclusive limited-edition boxset of coloured 7″s – Ride The Night Away, I’d Die To Be With You Tonight, Working Class Man – and a new fourth single which includes a stripped back, re-worked version of Working Class Man and a 10-minute reflection by Jimmy on the creation of the iconic music video. The 40^th Anniversary Edition will also be available on CD and cassette. The album’s cultural impact is undeniable; it continues to hold lasting significance in the DNA of Australian music. Working Class Man was recently included in the triple j Hottest 100 of Australian Songs. The juggernaut that is JIMMY BARNES is showing no signs of slowing down.

Joining JIMMY BARNES for these epic shows are three of the biggest stars of the Working Class Man era who are also still at the top of their game – ICEHOUSE, IAN MOSS and KATE CEBERANO.

Led by the evergreen Iva Davies, ICEHOUSE is responsible for one of the biggest Australian albums of all time – 1987’s classic Man of Colours. Two singles from the album were smash hits in the US: Electric Blue (#7) and Crazy (#14). Iva also wrote the enduring classic Great Southern Land. As author Andrew P Street said, “Great Southern Land remains one of the greatest evocations of the sheer ancient emptiness of Australia.” ICEHOUSE were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2006.

Barnesy’s Cold Chisel comrade IAN MOSS hit number one with his first solo album, Matchbook, featuring the classic Tucker’s Daughter. After eight studio albums, he recently released the acclaimed live album Live At Anita’s (“the new live album shows that Mossy’s voice is still a thing of beauty, while his guitar work remains instinctive and inventive” – STACK magazine). In 2014, Mossy’s fellow musicians ranked him as Australia’s greatest guitarist in a News Corp poll.

KATE CEBERANO was still a teenager when For The Working Class Man was released, but she was already a star, fronting the band I’m Talking.  Kate has recently been embracing Oz-music’s rich past with her Australian Made: Live show – and is treating audiences to an encore on Jimmy’s tour. Boasting a setlist of her own Platinum catalogue alongside songs made famous by Cold Chisel, ICEHOUSE, Divinyls through to Sia, Bernard Fanning and Wolfmother, this is a simultaneous act of grateful reflection and bold creative evolution.

JIMMY BARNES is the most successful artist in Australian chart history. He’s had 16 solo number one albums – no artist has had more – plus six chart-topping albums with Cold Chisel. Barnesy’s 21st solo album, DEFIANT, entered the Australian charts at number one in June this year. Cold Chisel’s new live album, The Big Five-O Live, will be released on August 8.

The shows will also honour a dear friend who was instrumental in the making of the album. The late-great Michael Gudinski said, “I’m as proud of For The Working Class Man as any album the Mushroom Group has released.” Michael called the album Jimmy’s gift to his fans – “a record for everyone who’s believed in him … For The Working Class Man.”

The time has come to celebrate the album in all its glory.

Tickets on sale Thursday 7 August from Ticketmaster.