Jimmy Barnes once revealed that he had been contacted by late Van Halen rocker Eddie Van Halen after he quit Cold Chisel in 1983, though he turned down the chance to work with him. 

In his 2017 memoir Working Class Man, Barnes explained: “During that period I was asked to join Deep Purple, Van Halen and Little Feat, all within a few months; I was the flavour of the month.”

“I came back from the studio on the final day and Jane (his partner) was waiting to go to the shops to buy some things on our last day there and told me to look after Mahalia and EJ (his children).”

“As she left she says ‘By the way, Eddie Van Halen rang for you,’” Barnes continued, adding: “So I call him back and he asks me to come…