His maternal grandmother was Jewish, but he was raised Protestant. Early life īarnes was born James Dixon Swan in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow, the son of Dorothy and Jim Swan. Additionally, Barnes achieved five more as the lead singer of Cold Chisel, bringing his combined sum to 20 number-one albums in Australia, comfortably eclipsing the Beatles (with 14), Madonna (12), Eminem and U2 (11). īarnes has achieved 15 solo number-one albums in Australia, more than any other artist. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-selling Australian music artists of all time. James Dixon Barnes AO ( né Swan born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer.
