Jimmy Barnes ran away from raising David Campbell because he felt he was going to die

For Jimmy Barnes, the road to repairing the relationship with his son, David Campbell,  was long and arduous.

In an interview with Who magazine on Wednesday, the Cold Chisel opened up about  his decision to flee when his David, now 45, was born. 

Jimmy, 62, told the publication it wasn’t his ‘beautiful boy’ he was running from, but rather the demons he still harboured from his difficult childhood.

Prior to discussing David, who is the host of Channel Nine’s Today Extra, Jimmy touched on the trauma he experienced when witnessing his father ‘bash’ his mother.

The publication suggested that it was no surprise he wanted to leave everything from his old life behind when Cold Chisel broke it big.

Sadly, David fell into that category – the rock star welcomed his son when he was just 17, and Chisel didn’t break it big until several years later.

‘He wasn’t a problem, he was a beautiful boy,’ the 62-year-old to the publication.

Regrets: In an interview on Wednesday, Jimmy, 62, said it wasn’t his ‘beautiful boy’ he was running from, but rather the demons he still harboured from his difficult childhood

 Without his father around, David was left in the care of his maternal grandmother.

‘I guess I ran away from the responsibility of [being a parent]. I just felt like I was dying [felt overwhelmed] I thought there were no prospects, no hope.

‘It was just a matter of time before I died. That’s why I was trying hard to flee.’  

Leave it all behind: As a result, when Cold Chisel broke it big, Jimmy felt as if he needed to run away from every aspect of his former life. Sadly, little David (pictured) fell into that category 

Jimmy had grown up fighting, lived in a home filled with violence and had seen many people around him lose their life to addiction. 

David was born when his parents were still young.

He was raised by his mother’s parents and had no idea who his father was for years.

He believed that his mother, Kim, was his sister and that the Glasgow-born musician was a family friend, according to News Corp.

‘I felt like I was dying’: ‘I guess I ran away from the responsibility of [being a parent]. I just felt like I was dying [felt overwhelmed] I thought there were no prospects, no hope.’ The rift between them lasted for decades.

Jimmy’s wife, Jane, tried to encourage her husband to tell his son who he was.

Likewise David’s wife, Lisa Hewitt, would plead her husband to connect with his father.

The initial rift between them has caused Jimmy great pain over the years.

In December 2016, on stage at The Sydney Opera House, Jimmy told the crowd that he had no regrets about his life, except that he missed David’s childhood.  

Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy will air on Seven on October 1 at 8.30pm.  

The women in our lives: Ultimately, it was David’s wife, Lisa Hewitt, who insisted David reconnect with his father.

One regret: In December 2016, on stage at The Sydney Opera House, Jimmy told the crowd that he had no regrets about his life, except that he missed David’s childhood. Pictured with Kasey Chambers