Blog #1 Jimmy Barnes on Khe Sanh
With the launch of my shiny new website & in anticipation of a stellar 2012, I decided it was time to indulge myself in the odd Blog. What better way than to kick it off with a behind the scenes story featuring our Aus Rock Legend ‘Barnsey’ & his iconic song ‘Khe Sanh’. Apologies to him for latching onto his coat tails, but I know he wouldn’t mind.
I hope this will be the first of many inside stories, musings & the odd rant. I hope the reader finds them stimulating & entertaining, cos that’s what I do J Bobby V
As any singer, who has sung to a crowd of any kind in the years since ‘Khe Sanh’ became a hit, will attest, the song has attained a status bordering on the mythical. Before I go any further, I must make it clear that I think the song is brilliant & Barnesy’s performance still one of his best.
I’ve never been a big Chisel fan (not owning a single album), but I don’t deny their place in Aus music legend & I do ‘Like’ quite a few of their songs. I am a big Ian Moss fan & admire Don Walker’s songwriting enormously – also the late Steve Prestwitch, ‘Forever Now’ being my Favourite Chisel song.
It was some years ago (I won’t say how many out of deference to Jimmy) that I was booked to perform at Jimmy’s 40th Birthday party up at the Gudinski retreat in Mt. Macedon. This was a great honour &, as with many of the gigs I did around this time, I was the ‘envy’ of many of my colleagues. Obviously there was stellar guest list & I was asked to put a band together capable of jamming with anyone who might wish to get up & ‘have a hit’ – awesome & it was a helluva jam.
At this point I should go back a ways & provide the background to the specifics of this story, namely ‘any singer’ & the song!
It’s fair to say, that of all the requests one gets in the course of a career in pubs, weddings &, well just anywhere one might find oneself performing, ‘Khe Sanh’ looms like an enormous storm cloud over proceedings – waiting for the first bawled shout to “Play Khe Sanh”, bracing against the howls of disbelief when you say you don’t know it & culminating in the outright vitriol that follows your foolish assertion that you don’t particularly like it either!!! (not to mention launching into “Love is in the Air” - how have I lived this long J)
So, over the years I developed a few strategies for fending off the aggrieved punters, quite possibly often saving my sorry arse in the process.
The most successful of these was; “Aw mate (or Luv) I love that song,
BUT I CAN’T DRINK THAT MUCH VODKA!”
This simple statement transforms you from; “Your (sic) F%#*d mate” to “Hahaha f%#*in’ cool – love ya band.”
So, onto the party. I head up early to get the PA setup & everything in place before the guests arrive. I’m greeted by mine host Mr Gungadinski esq. & we get into where the band will go & how the evening will proceed. Then Michael asks if I’ve met Jimmy. I tell him no & he asks if I’d like to as he was there already. Well, I have to say, I’m hopeless in these situations, I get very shy & tongue-tied & like most people, kick myself after the fact for saying whatever the hell it was I said. This was no exception. I followed Michael out to the verandah & here’s the great one sitting quietly surveying the beautiful gardens below accompanied by the tallest glass of what, I can only guess, was his fave drink of choice – straight!!! Gunga introduced & as I shook his hand all I could think to say was “Jim it’s about F%#*ing Khe Sanh!”
Well he looked at me for what seemed like the longest minute, then he laughed & said, in his thick Scots accent; “Ooo I knooo Bawbby, I heat thet foookin’ song...
I CAN’T DRINK THAT MUCH VODKA ANYMORE!!!!”