JIMMY'S GREATEST HIT YET...FATHER OF THE BRIDE!

A near-fatal health battle wasn't enough to stop the singer from walking his daughter down the aisle

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There wasn't a dry eye in the house when Jimmy Barnes still recovering from his close brush with death walked daughter Eliza-Jane down the aisle to marry the love of her life, musician Jimmy Metherell.

Nobody cried harder than the Working Class Man himself. Desperately ill in ICU just before Christmas, Jimmy, 67, feared he wouldn't make it through a life-threatening infection and open heart surgery, let alone survive to give away his adored "EJ".

"There were a lot of tears, a lot of emotion for everyone, but a lot of laughter as well. Tears and joy and music," smiles singer-songwriter EJ. "It was just a great celebration of love, and we were so happy to have Dadda in such fine form for our wedding. My Jim's father also had health issues at the end of last year, right before Christmas. So it was even more special to have both of our dads there.

"There's so much darkness in the world right now, it's nice to get together with people you don't usually see and have a party." And what a party it was, with 140 guests! "Our families are BIG," laughs 39-year-old EJ of the wellwishers, which included famous faces like Crowded House star Neil Finn, with his wife and sons, who are close friends of the extended Barnes clan.

LET THE MUSIC PLAY

At such a gathering of rock royalty, of course, almost everybody sang and played.

Uncle Mark "Diesel" Lizotte serenaded the wedding party down the aisle with a soulful version of Otis Redding's beautiful ballad, I've Been Loving You Too Long.