SYDNEY, 29 Sept. 2016: HarperCollins Australia congratulates Jimmy Barnes on a record-breaking debut week of book sales on the publication of his critically acclaimed childhood memoir, WORKING CLASS BOY.

Currently in the middle of his Australian book tour, Jimmy has been overwhelmed by the enormous public support for his story at his many book signings and events and across social media. Jimmy Barnes said today: When I wrote this book I was really doing it for myself – to try to make sense of what happened to me. Writing it helped me a lot so it’s been great to see it striking such a chord with so many other people too.

The Nielsen Bookscan chart released today for the week (17 – 24 Sept) confirms WORKING CLASS BOY as
the NUMBER 1 bestselling book in Australia with first week ‘across the counter’ sales in excess of 16,000 copies – besting renowned authors Andy Griffiths and J K Rowling for the top spot.

It is a week of firsts for Jimmy Barnes and HarperCollins. Nielsen Bookscan reports this is the biggest first-week sales for an Australian autobiography in more than five years.

James Kellow, CEO of HarperCollins commented: This is the most impressive debut week of any Australian author in the history of HarperCollins Australia. We couldn’t be more proud of Jimmy, he is one of Australia’s great storytellers, and his personal story has hit the nerve of the nation.

Sharyn Villaverde, the Category Manager at Dymocks head office in George Street Sydney says: First week sales have exceeded our expectations making this our fastest selling Australian biography of the past ten years.

Gemene Heffernan-Smith, Digital Sales Manager for HarperCollins commented on a very confident first week of ebook sales: Jimmy’s ebook sat at #1 on iBooks for several days, and hit every other retailer chart too. It was the top search term on iBooks on day 2 of sales.

Galina Marinov, National Group Manager, Leading Edge Books, Australian’s largest group of independent booksellers, congratulated Jimmy Barnes on the book claiming the Number 1 spot in the Indie bookshop bestseller charts. This is a very special book, a rare book that will resonate with Australians from all walks of life. And a real gift to booksellers at this time of the year! We have picked it as one of, if not the ONE, top sellers for independents this Christmas season.

Jimmy’s chart-topping achievement with his first book follows the release of his fifteenth #1 album earlier this year – an achievement that broke the Beatles’ record.

The book has struck a chord with both the public and the critics alike and is being widely applauded for the raw and powerful way Jimmy has written about domestic violence, alcoholism and disadvantage. The Sydney Morning Herald’s Alan Stokes, said this is a ‘must-read book on blokes, booze and breaking the cycle’ and The Australian’s Caroline Overington, confirms ‘Working-class boy Jimmy Barnes bares his soul in memoir’ in her recent article on the book.

Jimmy Barnes is currently touring Australia talking about his book, and in November and December he will take to the road with a unique live show called WORKING CLASS BOY: Stories and Songs which brings the book to life through spoken word and some music. The tour will also help draw attention to the work of the Luke Batty Foundation.