Jimmy Barnes admits he contemplated suicide multiple times after watching a stranger tragically take his own life in front of him
He’s been open and honest about battling the demons in his past.
And on Saturday, Jimmy Barnes recalled the devastating time he came face-to-face with a man who had taken his own life in a parking lot – a moment which went on to haunt him throughout his life.
Speaking to the The Courier Mail on Saturday, the 64-year-old recalls how the 1984 incident was one of the reasons he attempted suicide himself, as he discussed his new tell-all book on his life, Killing Time.
Heartbreaking: On Saturday, Jimmy Barnes , 64, (pictured) recalled the devastating time he came face-to-face with a man who had taken his own life in a parking lot – a moment which went on to haunt him throughout his life
‘I remember I was downstairs for an hour sitting with him, waiting for an ambulance to come. I didn’t want to leave him alone in this pool of blood,’ the Cold Chisel singer said.
‘I just sat there with him thinking ‘How could you do this? Why did you do this?’ It was a bit of me talking to myself in a way.’
Moments before, Jimmy said he had stood on his own balcony wrestling with his own troubled thoughts about suicide.
Honest: Jimmy made the heartbreaking revelation in his new book, titled Killing Time
And it wasn’t the first time, he admits.
Jimmy added that following the death of AC/DC’s Bon Scott in 1980, he had found himself contemplating his life as he drank a bottle of vodka on the edge of ocean cliff The Gap in Sydney.
‘I had to move away because it started to be enticing, you know, thinking of a way out,’ he added.
In 2017, Jimmy made the admission that he attempted suicide in his hotel room in 2012 in his book, Working Class Man.
He wrote that he woke up in his large hotel suite – where he was staying with wife Jane – not remembering that he tried to take his own life.
Jimmy said that he attempted suicide after drinking his hotel minibar dry.
Heartbreaking: In 2017, Jimmy made the admission that he attempted suicide in his hotel room in 2012 in his book, Working Class Man. Pictured in 2016
‘Tied around the clothes rail is the dressing gown cord, just where I must have left it,’ Jimmy wrote in the book.
‘The rail, the cord and me with the cord around my neck waiting to die. But I didn’t. It’s not that easy to die, apparently,’ he wrote.
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the former Cold Chisel star said telling his wife Jane about the incident made him turn his life around for good.
He and Jane have been married since 1981.
Jimmy believes his suicide attempt was a ‘subconscious thing’ and came after years of battling demons from his childhood to his addictions.
The Scottish-born star said he soon found a therapist to help him.
If you are experiencing mental health difficulties, or know someone who is, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Unravelling the truth: Jimmy believes his suicide attempt was a ‘subconscious thing’ and came after years of battling demons from his childhood to his addictions