Jimmy Barnes pictured with Sam Neill ahead of Cold Chisel shows

Aussie rocker Jimmy Barnes posed for a photo with “king of the vines” Sam Neill ahead of his shows with Cold Chisel over the weekend.

Jimmy shared a photo with longtime friend Sam amid the grapevines at Sandalford Wines, a winery in Western Australia.

“Just arrived at Sandalford Wines and I ran into the king of the vines himself, Sam Neill and a mystery friend. Guess who?” Jimmy wrote in a post on Facebook.

The “mystery friend” was Cold Chisel’s Don Walker, who took to the stage alongside Barnes, Ian Moss and Phil Small.

The band performed at the winery on October 19 and 20 as part of their Big Five-O Tour, which marks 50 years of performing together.

Sam and Jimmy have been friends for many years.

In March last year, Jimmy paid tribute to the actor, who had recently shared his diagnosis with a rare blood cancer in his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?

“Sam Neill and I have had our fair share of hospitals, especially over the last couple of years,” the singer wrote on Facebook.

“We both have a good story or two to tell about it.”

It was Sam who introduced Jimmy to director Mark Joffe, who turned the singer’s memoir Working Class Boy into the documentary Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy, released in 2018.

It comes after Jimmy announced he was returning to rehearsals last month after undergoing surgery in August this year.

After experiencing joint pain on stage during a tour of New Zealand, he underwent “remedial” hip surgery and ended up in the ICU, having antibiotics sent to his heart 24/7.

In September, he revealed that a tube allowing him to recover at home instead of in hospital had been removed.

“This part of my recovery is now over and with the help of [doctors], nurses, physiotherapists, family, friends, you guys and my Jane, everything is on track,” he shared on social media.

“Rehearsing with Cold Chisel this week has topped things off.”

Cold Chisel will return to New Zealand in January 2025 for the Summer Concert Tour alongside Bic Runga, Icehouse and Everclear, with stops in Queenstown, Taupō and Whitianga.

- Written by the NZ Herald and republished here with edits and permission.