HE'S a working class man and he's looking forward to working it hard for Gladstone tomorrow night.

Australian rock legend Jimmy Barnes will be performing his Hotter than Hell tour and he's looking forward to hitting a town with the same working class background as his.

"I'm happy to play for people who work tough," Barnsey said. "Working crowds, when they get time to get loose, they cut loose and get big, this crowd will be a wild one."

The rock artist has spent 40 years on stage but his favourite songs are the ones that personally touch the crowd.

"When it's full on hard and the crowd goes nuts ... all crowds have different favourites," Barnsey said.

He said classic song Flame Trees, from his days with Cold Chisel, has "blokes crying in their beers".

The rock artist was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame with Cold Chisel in 1992 and as a solo artist in 2005.

"Working Class Man, it sort of defined the whole point of my career and it helped define my direction," Barnsey said of his solo hit.

With more number one albums than any other Australian artist, the star is humble about the success of his career.

Barnsey said it's really nice when people stop him in the streets, making him feel lucky to have his job.

Combining his two loves of singing and family on Saturday night, the rock legend plans to make as much happen as possible.

"My son will be playing drums, two daughters are on backing vocals, my son in law on guitar and my wife will be singing ... like the Von Trapps, not quite," he said.

Barnsey, or James when he's in trouble, said before a show they get there early to make sure everything is working and to watch the bands and the vibe of the audience.

"We don't get up there and get pissed," he said. "We're serious about what we do."

"See how the audience is working and I'll change the set ... if it feels different and they're after something else.

"And when they're wild I'll keep it going."

Barnsey said they will be playing songs from his early days with Cold Chisel to those from his latest albums.

"The wildness of a show is chemistry between band and audience," he said. "If the audience and band catch on together and set each other off you can fireworks.

"I'm expecting Saturday to be hot, sweaty, wild and a little bit drunken ... I hope everyone's ready to have a great time."

Jimmy Barnes will be performing on Saturday night at Marley Brown Oval supported by Jon Stevens and The Radiators. There has been 2000 tickets sold for the 5000-capacity venue.

Tickets can be bought here or at the door.