JIMMY Barnes superfan Deb Blair has been following the rock legend for 39 years and met him several times, but still remains starstruck whenever she sees her idol.
Mrs Blair, of Gawler, first saw Barnes’ former band Cold Chisel perform at the Thebarton Theatre in 1980 when she was 14-years-old, and has adored the Elizabeth-raised rocker ever since.
Having met Barnes while travelling across the country to watch him sing over the years, Mrs Blair crossed paths with her hero once again at Elizabeth Shopping Centre last fortnight, where he was signing copies of his new album.
She said Barnes remembered her from their numerous other meetings, and made an effort to say hello.
“For my 50th birthday I didn’t have a party, I went over to Rottnest Island to see Jimmy Barnes play and got a photo with him there as well,” Mrs Blair said.
“They put on such great shows, everybody who knows me knows how loyal I am, and how much of a fan I am.
“They know I’m his number one fan.
“I saw him at Tanunda when he was doing his ‘Working Class Boy’ tour and I took all my photos in I have with him, and he remembered some of them.”
Barnes’ latest album, My Criminal Record, includes a song called “Shutting down our town”, which is his take on the closure of the Elizabeth Holden manufacturing plant.
It’s a song Mrs Blair, who used to live in Elizabeth, identifies with personally.
“Every time I hear it I cry, it just makes me so emotional, this new song,” she said.
“He said everyone has been saying similar things to him.
“It’s emotional for me, I lived in Elizabeth, all my uncles and friends worked at Holden and the song just pulled on my heart strings.
“His music has just gotten better and better over time.”
Mrs Blair’s favourite memory of Barnes was when she went to extreme lengths to get a photo with him.
“When I was younger, and he (Barnes) did remember this, I wanted a photo with him and he was doing a sound check on stage at Memorial Drive,” she said.
“I actually climbed up the scaffolding and said ‘Jimmy, can I have a photo?’
“He said ‘get down from there and you’ll get a photo’, so I climbed back down and got the best photo with him.”