Mahalia Barnes shares surprising update on her father Jimmy's health and next career move after open heart surgery: 'He's got to do less'
Jimmy Barnes is fighting fit after his recent open heart surgery.
So much so that his daughter, Mahalia Barnes, who is also the singer's manager, cannot keep up with him.
'He's got to do less because he's too well – although I don't know how that's possible' the 41-year-old tells this week's issue of Stellar Magazine.
'I've had to increase my gym attendance because I feel like he was putting me to shame' she added.
Mahalia says her dad has spent his down time during his recovery writing new music.
'He's had to have a bit of time off and he's written some beautiful songs. He's putting out a new album next year. We've got this big acoustic run of sold-out shows' the performer explained.
'Then he goes straight into a big run of Cold Chisel shows. There's a lot to be excited about. As his child, it's a relief to see him so well, but also as a manager, it feels like a really exciting time for his career'.
Jimmy and his wife Jane share four children - daughters Mahalia, EJ, 39, and Elly-May, 34, and a son Jackie, 38.
Jimmy Barnes is fighting fit after his recent open heart surgery. So much so that his daughter, Mahalia Barnes (pictured), who is also the singer's manager, cannot keep up with him
Jimmy also shares another son, David Campbell, 50, with Kim Campbell, and long-lost daughters Amanda Bennett and Megan Torzyn - who he met in 2010 - from previous relationships.
Late last year, the rock star, 68, was struck down by a life-threatening infection that attacked his heart and he then underwent open heart surgery.
Reflecting on his health struggles, he admitted he told his wife Jane that he didn't think he was going to make it while lying in Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital.
'I just had this horrible morbid feeling because I've never felt this sick before. I thought I was gone,' he recently told 60Minutes.
Just hours before checking into hospital, an unwell Jimmy had taken to the stage at a memorial concert for his late friend and promoter, Michael Gudinski.
'He's got to do less because he's too well – although I don't know how that's possible' the 41-year-old said 'I've had to increase my gym attendance because I feel like he was putting me to shame'. Pictured together
Late last year, the rock star, 68, was struck down by a life-threatening infection that attacked his heart and he then underwent open heart surgery
He told how he was so unwell that he can barely remember the show and said he was sweating and had a fever backstage.
'I was really bad. And even though I felt like I could hardly walk, I just had to get there,' he said.
'There was a lot of pain. My back was really sore... I was struggling to walk. I don't know how I got through it. As soon as I came off, I sort of virtually collapsed.'
He was scheduled to fly abroad for a another concert the next morning but instead went to the hospital as his health continued to deteriorate.
A team of specialists discovered his body was shutting down because an infection in his blood was causing endocarditis - a life-threatening inflammation of the heart.
By the time he was wheeled into the operating theatre for a open heart surgery, his doctors said he had just hours to live.
In a marathon seven-hour surgery, the physicians successfully replaced his damaged valves and repaired his heart.
Many months on, his recovery has been going well and he recently returned to stage to perform for the first time since his surgery at Bluesfest.
Read more in this week's issue of Stellar Magazine
