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{{about|the single|the 1986 film released in Australia as "Working Class Man"|Gung Ho (film)|the 2018 Jimmy Barnes memoir|Working Class Man (memoir)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}
{{Use Australian English|date=November 2017}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Working Class Man
| cover = Jimmy_Barnes_-_Working_Class_Man_(single).jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = [[Jimmy Barnes]]
| album = [[For the Working Class Man]]
| B-side = Boys Cry Out For War
| released = November 1985 (Australia)<br/>1986 (US)
| recorded = 1985
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = [[Hard rock]]
| length = 3:50
| label = [[Mushroom Records]], [[Geffen Records]]
| writer = [[Jonathan Cain]]
| producer = Jonathan Cain
| prev_title = [[I'd Die to Be with You Tonight]]
| prev_year = 1985
| next_title = [[Ride the Night Away]]
| next_year = 1986
}}

"'''Working Class Man'''" is a song performed and made famous by Australian singer [[Jimmy Barnes]]. It was written by [[Journey (band)|Journey]] keyboardist [[Jonathan Cain]]. "Working Class Man" is generally considered Barnes' [[signature song]] as a solo artist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mediaman.com.au/profiles/barnes2.html |title=Jimmy Barnes Media Man Australia |publisher=Mediaman.com.au |access-date=2012-03-15}}</ref>

At the [[Australian pop music awards|1985 Countdown Music Awards]], the song won Best Male Performance in a Video.<ref name="Top40TV">{{Cite web | url = http://users.ncable.net.au/~ronjeff/top40/oz_king.htm | title = Australian Music Awards | publisher = Ron Jeff | access-date = 16 December 2010 }}</ref>

In January 2018, as part of [[Triple M]]'s "Ozzest 100", the "most Australian" songs of all time, "Working Class Man" was ranked number 3.<ref>{{cite news|work=Musicfeeds|title=Here Are The Songs That Made Triple M's 'Ozzest 100'|url= http://musicfeeds.com.au/news/songs-made-triple-ms-ozzest-100/|access-date=4 January 2020|date=27 January 2018}}</ref>

==Details==
The song was released in November 1985 as the second single from the 1985 album ''[[For the Working Class Man]]''. The single spent 14 weeks in the Australian charts, entering at No. 21 and peaking at No. 5.<ref>''The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music'', Guinness, 1995, p879</ref> It also spent seven weeks on the New Zealand charts, peaking at No. 34.

It was later played over the credits of the 1986 [[Ron Howard]] film ''[[Gung Ho (film)|Gung Ho]]'', where in some countries, including Australia, the film was released as ''Working Class Man''. Barnes also performed "Working Class Man" at the closing ceremony of the [[2000 Summer Olympics|2000 Sydney Olympic Games]].

Barnes has said of the song, "I went to America just after ''[[Bodyswerve]]'' and met [[Jonathan Cain]], who was in [[The Babys]] and [[Journey (band)|Journey]]. It means a lot to me. Most people thought it was written about me, but it was actually written about my audience-- staunch, honest people, who work and who care."<ref name="jenkins">{{cite book | author= Jeff Jenkins |title=50 Years of Rock in Australia|year=2007|page=303
|publisher=Wilkinson Publishing |location=Melbourne |isbn=9781921332111}}</ref> Barnes said that, due to the "great band" he had, the recording was done in about 5 takes. "It was fun to sing, so I was really pleased. I didn't realise how much of an impact it would have as an image centre for the next five years."<ref>{{cite book | author= Tracee Hutchison | author-link= Tracee Hutchison |title=Your Name's On The Door|page=86|year=1992
|publisher=ABC Enterprises |location=Sydney |isbn=0-7333-0115-0}}</ref>

The music video was filmed in Australia at the [[Port Kembla, New South Wales|Port Kembla]] Steelworks in Wollongong, New South Wales, and in cane fields near Cairns in Queensland. The Director/DOP of the clip was Chris Frazer, and the Producer/2nd unit Camera was Mark Lovick.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/3452514/an-insiders-tour-of-bluescope-steel-photos/|title=An insider's tour of BlueScope Steel | photos|first=GLEN|last=HUMPHRIES|date=28 October 2015|website=Newcastle Herald|access-date=13 April 2020}}</ref>

=="Working Class Anthem"==
At the 2003 [[Melbourne Comedy Festival]], comedian [[Adam Hills]] performed a popular version of Australia's [[national anthem]] "[[Advance Australia Fair]]" to the tune of "Working Class Man" titled the "Working Class Anthem". He released it as a single the following year.

Hills performed the song for Barnes when he appeared as a guest on the television program ''[[Spicks and Specks (TV series)|Spicks and Specks]]''.

==Track listing==
'''7" Single (K 9883)'''
*Side A "Working Class Man"
*Side B "[[No Second Prize (song)|No Second Prize]]" (Remix)

==Charts==
{| class="wikitable"
!Chart (1985/86)
!Peak<br>Position
|-
|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=27}} N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by [[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]] between mid-1983 and 19 June 1988.</ref>
|align="center"|5
|-
|United States ([[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]])<ref>{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Jimmy Barnes Chart History |url=
https://www.billboard.com/artist/jimmy-barnes/ |website=Billboard |location= |publisher=Billboard |access-date=May 15, 2025}}</ref>
|align="center"|74
|}

==Cover versions==
In 1993, Australian [[John Schumann]] covered the song on his album ''[[True Believers (John Schumann album)|True Believers]]''.
In 2004, Australian singer-songwriter [[Shannon Noll]] recorded a cover of "Working Class Man". It was released as a B-side track for his second single ''[[Drive (Shannon Noll song)|Drive]]''.
Australian singer songwriter Martin Way covered the song acoustically in 2012 and fellow Australian [[Adam Brand (musician)|Adam Brand and the Outlaws]] covered the song on the 2016 album ''[[Adam Brand and the Outlaws]]''.

[[Lacy J. Dalton]] released a version in 1986 that reached number 16 in the [[Hot Country Songs|US Country]] charts. Barnes said of this version, "She was managed by a guy who used to manage [[Split Enz]], a Kiwi guy, who took the song to her. She did a great version, but it's got a real twang."<ref name="jenkins" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.songlyrics.com/jimmy-barnes/working-class-man-lyrics/ Lyrics]

{{Jimmy Barnes}}
{{Lacy J. Dalton}}

[[Category:1985 singles]]
[[Category:1985 songs]]
[[Category:Geffen Records singles]]
[[Category:Jimmy Barnes songs]]
[[Category:Lacy J. Dalton songs]]
[[Category:Mushroom Records singles]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jonathan Cain]]
[[Category:Mass media portrayals of the working class]]

Working Class Man - Revision history

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