For more than half a century, John “Swanee” Swan has lived for one thing.
Not the record sales, nor the awards. It’s the moment the house lights dim, the first chord rings out and a room full of strangers comes together through music.
After six months away from the stage while battling serious health issues, the 74-year-old Australian rock veteran says he can’t wait to experience that feeling again.
“I had some serious health issues and I had to prioritise,” Swanee says. “I had a couple of operations and a hip replacement, but it’s all good now. Recovering, ready to get back out on the road. I can’t wait.”
For Australian music fans, it’s welcome news.
While many know him as the older brother of Jimmy Barnes, Swanee has long stood tall in his own right. From replacing Bon Scott as frontman of Fraternity, to leading The Party Boys during one of the band’s biggest eras and forging a successful solo career with hits including Lady What’s Your Name and If I Were A Carpenter, he’s been one of the defining voices of Australian pub rock for more than 50 years.
His latest album, Believe, reminded fans exactly why.
Released last August, the duets album became Swanee’s highest-charting release in almost four decades, reaching the ARIA Top 40 while topping the ARIA Blues chart. More importantly, it brought together a remarkable collection of lifelong friends and collaborators, including Jimmy Barnes, Alan Barnes, Colin Hay, Jon Stevens, Ian Moss, Diesel, Joe Camilleri, Russell Morris, Wendy Matthews and Jack Jones.
Then life unexpectedly hit pause.
Over the past six months, Swanee has undergone four operations, including a hip replacement, while further scans uncovered shadows behind his heart that required additional investigation.
“It was six months of a lot of stuff,” he told Starts at 60. “At 74, having that many general anaesthetics is really quite dangerous. They replaced my hip and, while they were doing all the checks, they found these shadows behind my heart. They thought it might be pneumonia, and that probably knocked me around more than anything else.
“My doctor said, ‘We’re taking this one day at a time. Don’t worry about anything until I tell you, and then we’ll focus only on what we’re going to do to fix it.’ That’s good advice for me.”
Rather than dwell on what might come next, Swanee has concentrated on getting stronger.
“I’m down the beach doing my walks. I’m doing weights. I’m dieting and I’m feeling fantastic. There’s still so much more to do.”
For someone who’s performed in front of thousands, Swanee still gets stage fright. In fact, he says it feels much the same today as it did when he was a teenager chasing his rock and roll dream.
“Honestly, it feels exactly the same as when I first started, and that’s the good thing,” he says with a laugh.
“The older I get, the more it feels like those early days. I still get anxiety walking on stage – proper stage fright.”
For years, alcohol became his way of coping.
“I’d have a scotch and, as it hit the top of my stomach, you could literally feel it spread through your body and the anxiety disappeared. That became my life for 25 or 26 years.”
Sober for decades now, he’s learned to embrace those nerves.
“The fear’s back, but it actually makes the music real. I’m not going out there just to do another gig. It’s an event,” he says.
“I still sit and practise every day. Recording songs and writing them doesn’t automatically make you confident. There’s still that inner child in there, and what I’m trying to do every night is connect that part of me with the audience.”
For Swanee, Believe was never simply another album and it became a celebration of friendships forged across five decades of Australian music.
“My original wish was really simple,” he says. “I just wanted to record one song with my brothers, Alan and Jimmy, as something we’d always have. So I sent them both a text asking if they’d do it. Straight away they said yes. Then I thought, ‘Well, if they’ll do it, I’ll ask a few mates as well.’
“I texted Colin Hay, Diesel, Jon Stevens, Jack Jones and a few others. I thought I’d probably hear back in a month because everyone’s busy.
“Before the footy game I’d been watching had even finished, my phone just kept lighting up. Every one of them said yes. Colin Hay was in Peru and came off stage to message me.
“We grew up sleeping on each other’s couches, sharing petrol money, helping each other out. That bond is real. That’s what this album is about.”
Before illness forced him to step away, the album had exceeded every expectation.
“It was going so good until I stepped back,” he says. “Top five across a number of ARIA charts, extra pressings of both the vinyl and CDs … I couldn’t have asked for more.”
Ask Swanee what keeps him performing after all these years and the answer has nothing to do with fame.
“I’ve never played music for money,” he says. “It’s about what happens between you and the audience. Everybody forgets their problems for a little while. You can literally see a sparkle in their eyes.”
He remembers one show where two teenage girls came along with his children.
One wanted to play drums.
“So I thought, ‘Come on up.’ She jumped behind the kit,” he reminisced.
“Then I looked across and saw the other girl’s face. She had that look like, ‘I wish I’d had a go.’ So I grabbed her hand, pulled her on stage, gave her the microphone and away she went.
“I looked out into the audience and their eyes were just sparkling. “That was one of the best moments I’ve ever had on stage. It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about everybody feeling something together.”
It’s the same reason he spent years volunteering his time in homeless shelters, burns units, palliative care wards and cancer centres.
“When people left, I’d see exactly that same look in their eyes. That’s why I play,” he says.
Mentally and physically, Swanee is back where he belongs.
Awards and accolades have never driven him.
“They’re rewards for what you’ve done, not reasons to do more,” he says.
What matters now is standing in front of an audience once again and after more than 50 years in Australian rock, home isn’t a place for Swanee.
It’s wherever the lights come up, the band kicks in and, somewhere in the crowd, he catches that familiar sparkle looking back at him.
Visit John Swan’s official website to purchase Believe, keep up with tour announcements and the latest news from one of Australian rock’s great survivors. Some unmissable upcoming shows include Sunday, August 30th at The Gov in Adelaide with special guests Dave Gleeson, Alan Barnes, and on Friday September 18th at The Forge Theatre in Bairnsdale (Vic), featuring Tim Henwood (Jon Stevens’ guitarist) and The Rogues Gallery. These intimate shows will also include Q&As with the audience and songs from his new album along with older favourites.
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