We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, what is with all these whacked out collaborations going on in music? The Metallica and Lou Reed was bad enough, let alone Jack White with the Insane Clown Posse, and just yesterday dubstep god Skrillex with the surviving members of The Doors.
Yep, the industry has officially begun to eat itself and feast on the flesh of good musicians. We’d like to say we’re surprised to have this next collaboration arrive in our inboxes, but we’re not. To be fair we’ve got a lot of respect for Jimmy Barnes and Cold Chisel, except of course for Barnes’ bizarre endorsement of a certain alcohol brand.
But even the most passionate fans surely must be shaking their collective heads. In fact, the most passionate fans will most likely be horrified. You see the king of pub rock anthems as lent his talent to dance producer DJ Yaleidys who has just released the track ‘Sun In Cuba’ and shot up into the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club chart.
Yes that’s right, Jimmy Barnes is charting on the club charts in the US. Who thought we’d ever see that? The matchmaking was orchestrated by Petrol Electric founder Chris Murphy who looks after DJ Yaleidys and as also Cold Chisel’s agent 30 years ago. So you can direct the hate mail in his direction.
“I am extremely proud of this release as it completes a musical cycle for me,” says Murphy. “Over 30 years ago, as a young agent I found Cold Chisel in a Sydney wine bar earning $60 on a Tuesday night. I became the band’s agent for many years and together we broke down many of the barriers the music business then had in place.”
“Recently a journalist from an Australian newspaper stated, “The US Billboard Dance charts mean nothing”. I am sure this misinformed individual has absolutely no idea that it is hard, some say harder to break into US dance charts than the pop charts due to every heavy weight star in the world wanting a dance / club chart hit these days. Just ask Coldplay.”
“And to my knowledge, this is Jimmy Barnes’ first Billboard Dance chart.” Probably for good reason Murphy. If you’re a glutton for punishment you can watch and listen to the track below. Don’t say we didn’t warn you though.
Also don’t forget to check out our slideshow of the most bizarre collaborations in music.
