John Farnham
Encyclopedia
John Peter Farnham, AO
, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham (born 1 July 1949), is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol
from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock
as lead singer of Little River Band
during 1982–1985. In September 1986 his solo single, "You're the Voice
" peaked at No. 1 on the Australian singles charts
. The associated album, Whispering Jack
, held the No. 1 position for a total of 25 weeks, and is the highest-selling album in Australian history. Both the single and the album had Top Ten success internationally including No. 1 in Sweden.
Domestically he has remained one of Australia's best-known performers with a career spanning over 40 years, and he is the only Australian artist to have a number one record in five consecutive decades (echoing Sir Cliff Richard
in the UK) with singles: "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
" in 1967, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
" in 1969/1970, and "Age of Reason" in 1988; and albums: Age of Reason
, Chain Reaction
in 1990, Then Again...
in 1993, Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1986-1997 in 1997, 33⅓
in 2000 and The Last Time
in 2002.
Farnham has been recognised by honours and awards including 1987 Australian of the Year
, 1996 Order of Australia, and 19 Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) Awards including his 2003 induction into the Hall of Fame
. From 1969 he was voted by TV Week
readers as the 'King of Pop' for five consecutive years. Aside from his recording career, Farnham performed on stage with lead roles in Australian productions of Charlie Girl
, Pippin
and 1992's Jesus Christ Superstar
. He starred in his own TV series and specials including It's Magic and Bobby Dazzler
and as a guest on numerous other popular shows such as Countdown and Hey Hey It's Saturday
. Australian rock historian, Ian McFarlane described him as "the most successful solo artist in the history of Australian rock and pop [...] Farnham has retained an affable sense of humour and a simple, unpretentious 'everyman' charm which also makes him one of the most respected celebrities in Australian entertainment history."
, England, on 1 July 1949, to John Farnham Snr and Rose Pemberton. His sisters are Jean and Jaquiline (Jackie), and his younger brother is Steven. Farnham spent his first ten years in England before his family emigrated to Australia in 1959 to live in Melbourne, Victoria. He attended school at Yarraman State School, Lyndale Primary School and Lyndale High School. During school holidays Farnham worked with a plumber and soon he began a plumbing apprenticeship and left school, in 1967 he took two years leave from his plumbing job to pursue his music career.
. Harrell's boyfriend/manager, Darryl Sambell, was impressed with Farnham's vocals and offered to become his manager. Initially performing in Sambell's home town of Adelaide
, Farnham recorded an advertising jingle "Susan Jones" for TAA (Trans Australian Airlines) and was offered a solo record contract with EMI
.
entitled "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
", Sambell had disliked it as the lyrics were so persistent. However, EMI
's in house producer, David MacKay, insisted and so the single was released in November 1967. The B-side, "In My Room" was written by Farnham. By arrangement with Sambell, Melbourne radio DJ Stan Rofe
pretended that he disliked "Sadie" before playing it. Rofe continued the ploy on TV's Uptight and viewers responded with calls to play the song. It hit #1 on the Australian singles charts
in January 1968 and remained there for 6 weeks. Selling 180,000 copies in Australia, "Sadie" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. Rofe was also a writer for Go-Set
, a teen-oriented pop magazine, another writer for the magazine, Ian "Molly" Meldrum
, praised Farnham's efforts. Go-Set ran a pop poll to determine the 'King of Pop' which was first won by Normie Rowe
for 1967–1968. Farnham's 1968 singles were "Underneath the Arches" and "I Don't Want to Love You", each peaked at #6. In 1969, Farnham released his album Everybody Oughta Sing a Song which peaked at #12 on the Australian albums charts
. His next single was a cover
of Harry Nilsson
's "One"; Farnham's version peaked at #4. When television guide, TV Week
sponsored the 'King of Pop' awards, readers would forward their votes from coupons, Farnham won the most popular male award and was crowned 'King of Pop' five consecutive times from 1969–1973. He recorded a cover of the B J Thomas hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
" which became his second #1 hit in December 1969 and remained at top spot for seven weeks into January 1970.
Farnham's next album, Looking Through a Tear, was released in July 1970 and peaked at #11. "Comic Conversations", his single from October, peaked at #10. During 1971, Farnham teamed with Allison Durbin
, who had been chosen as 'Most Popular Female Performer' at the 'King of Pop' awards for 1969–1971. They released an album Together in September and a single "Baby, Without You" in November, both peaked into the top 30 of their respective charts. As well as his singing career, Farnham performed in stage musicals
starting with Dick Whittington and His Cat
in 1971 and on television variety shows either as a guest performer or as a host. At 22, Farnham was appointed 'King of Moomba
' in 1972 with Melbourne paper, The Sun, describing him as a "likeable English migrant" who is "King of Pop, King of Kids and today Johnny Farnham was King of Moomba."
Another stage musical for Farnham was Charlie Girl
in 1971. Jillian Billman was one of the dancers, and Farnham married her on 18 April 1973. Meldrum announced their wedding plans in Go-Set but Sambell denied the early reports, and, despite being best man at the wedding, was against Billman marrying Farnham. The clean-cut pop star had made several more albums and singles, but by the mid-1970s his recording career had begun to dwindle and he turned more to stage musicals and television. Farnham and 'Queen of Pop' for 1972–1973, Colleen Hewett
, combined on the 1973–1974 stage musical, Pippin
, and its associated show album
released in 1974. Also in 1974, Farnham and Hewett were co-hosts of It's Magic, a children's TV series on Channel Ten. He became familiar to viewers of Countdown when hosting its first colour transmission in early 1975 and introducing Skyhooks' performance of "Horror Movie".
Relations with Sambell became strained and in January 1976 they announced their split. Farnham first turned to Kenn Brodziak, producer of Pippin, for his management during 1976–1978 and then to Danny Finley, Hewett's then husband, from 1978. Farnham starred in a situation comedy series Bobby Dazzler
as the title character during 1977–1978, and narrated documentaries including Survival with Johnny Farnham. Farnham was in financial trouble with unpaid taxes and the collapse of a restaurant venture with Hewett and Finley. Farnham's singing career was now confined to the cabaret
circuit and stage musicals, in 1979 he changed his stage name to John Farnham.
, who was bass guitarist of 1960s rock group The Masters Apprentices
, when both acts were managed by Sambell. Wheatley was now managing Little River Band
(LRB) and in 1980 Farnham signed with Wheatley. They decided his comeback single would be a reworking of The Beatles
' "Help!
", which was produced by LRB's Graeham Goble
, it peaked at #8. Farnham was utilising a more adult contemporary pop
style and the associated album, Uncovered, also produced by Goble, peaked at #20. The B-side of "Help" was another of Farnham's songwriting efforts "Jillie's Song", co-written with Goble. In recording the album, Farnham's studio band were guitarist Tommy Emmanuel
(ex-Southern Star Band), keyboardist Mal Logan (ex-Renée Geyer Band
, LRB), drummer Derek Pellicci (LRB) and bass guitarist Barry Sullivan (ex-Chain). They became his tour band until Logan and Pellicci returned to their LRB commitments and were replaced by Sam McNally and David Jones respectively. In 1980, Farnham also appeared in a TV series, Farnham and Byrne with former Young Talent Time
teen star and 'Queen of Pop' Debra Byrne
. Three other solo singles followed in 1981 but none charted into the Top 50.
In February 1982, after Glenn Shorrock
had departed Little River Band, Farnham became their lead vocalist with recommendations by Goble and Wheatley. Farnham had initially resisted the idea of joining LRB but Wheatley convinced him that Shorrock approved of the replacement. This continued Farnham's move away from cabaret
and into rock music. As Little River Band was a successful band prior to Farnham joining, it was a surprise that they found little initial success.
With Farnham, Little River Band recorded three studio albums, which had modest success – not enough to pay back the advances the record company had provided. The first studio album, The Net
, was already written and Farnham had no say in the songs, he just had to record his lead vocals. In the US, charting albums with Farnham's vocals, were Greatest Hits
(1982), The Net (1983) and Playing to Win
(1984) on Billboard
Pop Albums chart
/Billboard 200. While charting singles were, "The Other Guy", "We Two", "You're Driving Me Out of My Mind" and "Playing to Win". Farnham's biggest Australian hits with LRB were the 1982 single "Down on the Border" which peaked at #7 and The Net which peaked at #11 on the albums charts in 1983.
During this time, Farnham started supplying vocal tracks for films including, Savage Streets (1984), The Slugger's Wife (1985), and Fletch (1985); he later continued with Rad (1986) and Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1987). "Justice for One" was co-written by Farnham, for Savage Streets and it was released as a solo single.
Little River Band recorded a concert in Melbourne that aired in the United States on HBO. The concert video was only one hour long, and it highlighted some of the songs from The Net as well as reworked versions of Little River Band classics such as "Cool Change" and "Reminiscing". "Please Don't Ask Me", a song written by Goble, and a non-Top 50 single for Farnham almost three years previously, was played during the "Australian Themed" opening of the show. Despite positive Australian and US reviews and responses, this performance has not yet been released on VHS or DVD.
In an interview with Channel Seven
, Farnham stated, "I'll be better off leaving, rather than putting myself under pressure that I've created." Through this matter, it became apparent to the band that Farnham was intending on leaving and Playing to Wins lead single "Playing to Win
", a song believed by all to be the band's return to success, then started having authorship disputes. According to Farnham:
As a result, Farnham's relationship with the band was further sullied. To date, the royalties for the song are meticulously divided with different shares to each of the song's contributors, including Goble, Farnham, Stephen Housden, David Hirschfelder
and Wayne Nelson
. By late 1985, LRB were in conflict again and Farnham left. In mid-1986, Little River Band released the third studio album, No Reins
, but Farnham was already pursuing his solo career.
on lead guitar, Sam See on guitar and Derek Pellicci, formerly of Little River Band, on drums. In early 1986, sound engineer
Ross Fraser suggested to Farnham's manager Glenn Wheatley
that it was time to start working on the solo album. Wheatley searched vainly for a producer and record label willing to work with Farnham, Fraser took on the producer role and Wheatley provided financial support after mortgaging his house.
Whilst visiting a jazz club in the US, Farnham was mistakenly introduced as Jack Phantom, and when he subsequently provided a running commentary for a local pool game he named himself Whispering Jack Phantom after the Pot Black
commentator 'Whispering' Ted Lowe
. Farnham's work for the album, Whispering Jack
, included expanding his songlist with Fraser's advice. "A Touch of Paradise" was written by Gulliver Smith and Mondo Rock
's Ross Wilson, while "Pressure Down" was provided by Harry Bogdanovs. Two weeks before the album was due to be recorded a demo tape arrived from London with similar material as "Pressure Down", Farnham and Fraser listened to the demo of "You're the Voice
" and knew they had found a once-in-a-lifetime song. Another song on offer was "We Built This City
" but Farnham knocked it back, it was later recorded by US band Starship.
Initially, public interest in the re-branded former teen-idol was difficult to cultivate, and radio stations refused to play Farnham's album. Things however started to change after Sydney radio station 2Day FM
played its first single, "You're the Voice
", which was released in September 1986. Henceforth, radio stations began receiving requests for the song. Its television debut was on Hey Hey Its Saturday with Skyhook's Greg Macainsh providing bass guitar. "You're the Voice," peaked at #1 in Sweden and Australia, as well as being a Top Ten hit in some European countries: #3 in Switzerland, #6 in the UK, and #6 in Austria. The song was written by Andy Qunta (ex-Icehouse
), Keith Reid
(Procol Harum
), Maggie Ryder
and Chris Thompson (ex-Manfred Mann's Earth Band
).
Whispering Jack, released in October, became the highest-selling album by an Australian act in Australia, at the time, and peaked at number one on the Australian Album Charts
for a total of 25 weeks. As of 2006, it was 24× platinum indicating sales of over 1.68 million units in Australia alone. The album was released internationally on RCA
/BMG
and peaked at #1 in Sweden, #3 in Austria, and Top 20 in Norway. In August 1988 it returned to the Australian Top Ten. Other charting Australian singles were December's "Pressure Down", which peaked at #4, March 1987's "Touch of Paradise" and October's "Reasons".
After the success of the album, Farnham followed with Jack's Back Tour, an initial itinerary of eleven performances was thought to be enough considering they were up against tours by Michael Jackson
and Billy Joel
, but after high ticket sales, it was extended by eight more shows and use of larger venues. At that time, Jack's Back Tour was the highest grossing tour by an Australian act. John Farnham Band now consisted of Garsed on lead guitar, David Hirschfelder
on keyboards (ex-Little River Band), Macainsh on bass and Angus Burchill on drums. Farnham won six of the inaugural 1987
Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards
for 'Album of the Year', 'Single of the Year', 'Highest Selling Album', 'Highest Selling Single', 'Best Male Artist' and 'Best Adult Contemporary Album'. On 19 July 1987, TV series Countdown broadcast its last show, the 1986 Countdown Music and Video Awards with Farnham winning the 'Best Album Award' for Whispering Jack.
In 1988, Australia's Bicentennial Year, Farnham was named 1987 Australian of the Year
, although he was not yet naturalised – a hastily organised swearing-in occurred before the honour was bestowed. He was chosen due to: "his outstanding contribution to the Australian music industry over 20 years."
Age of Reason and Chain Reaction
Farnham's July 1988 single, "Age of Reason", which peaked at #1 on the ARIA singles charts
, was written by Johanna Pigott
and Dragon
members Todd Hunter
and his brother Marc Hunter
. The album, Age of Reason
, produced by Ross Fraser, debuted at #1 in August and stayed on top for eight weeks. It was the highest selling album in Australia from 1988, and, as of 1997, it was 8× platinum indicating sales of over 0.56 million units. Renewed interest in Whispering Jack returned it to the Top Ten in August, nearly two years after its initial release. As of December 2008, "Age of Reason" remains Farnham's last #1 Australian single. Other charting singles from this album were, "Two Strong Hearts" which peaked at #6 and "Beyond the Call". Age of Reason had international success peaking at #4 in Sweden, and #9 in Norway.
At the 1988
ARIA Awards, Farnham won 'Best Male Artist', 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for "Touch of Paradise", and the 'Outstanding Achievement Award'. In March 1989, Farnham was in Moscow, USSR to promote Greenpeace
album Rainbow Warriors, as part of an international ensemble including David Byrne
(Talking Heads
), Peter Gabriel
, Chrissie Hynde
(The Pretenders
), Annie Lennox
(Eurythmics
) and The Edge
(U2). Farnham found time to record a duet with Dannielle Gaha
, "Communication", which peaked at #13 in August 1989. It was recorded as part promotion for the Australian governments program to control the drug epidemic happening in the mid 80's entitled "The Drug Offensive". The Drug Offensive logo can be seen attached to a television camera in the video clip made to promote the song.
Chain Reaction
produced by Fraser, was released in October 1990, and also debuted at #1 on the Australian album charts, it provided three Top Ten hit singles, "Chain Reaction" in August, "That's Freedom" in September and "Burn for You" in December. Unlike the previous two albums, where most songs were written by outside writers, Chain Reaction saw Farnham write nine of its twelve tracks with Fraser and keyboardist/musical director David Hirschfelder
(ex-Little River Band). The sound was less electronic and more acoustic, it became the biggest selling album in Australia for 1990, and was #1 on the ARIA End of Year album chart. At the 1991 ARIA Awards, Farnham won 'Best Male Artist', 'Song of the Year' for "Burn for You", and 'Highest Selling Album' for Chain Reaction.
Full House to Anthology Farnham's live album, released in November 1991, was Full House
, produced by Ross Fraser and Farnham, which peaked at #2 on the ARIA album charts. It contained concert material recorded from May 1987 to October 1990. "Please Don't Ask" was released as a single, which peaked into the top 30. At #1 on the ARIA album charts was Jimmy Barnes
' album, Soul Deep, it included a duet with Farnham, "When Something is Wrong with My Baby", which peaked at #3 on the singles charts.
In August 1992, Farnham joined the Australian production of Tim Rice
/Andrew Lloyd Webber
's stage musical, Jesus Christ Superstar
in the title role of Jesus. Fellow cast members included, Angry Anderson
as Herod
, Kate Ceberano
as Mary Magdalene
, Russell Morris
as Simon Zealotes, Jon Stevens
as Judas
and John Waters
as Pontius Pilate
The stage soundtrack, Jesus Christ Superstar The Album provided the single, "Everything's Alright" by Ceberano, Farnham and Stevens, which peaked at #6 in September. Farnham released his next studio album, Then Again..
. in October 1993, produced by Fraser and Farnham, which peaked at #1. Of its four singles only, "Seemed Like a Good Idea (At the Time)" reached the top 20. The album won 'Highest Selling Album' at the ARIA Awards in 1994.
On Australia Day
, 26 January 1996, Farnham was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, "In recognition of service to the Australian music industry and to charitable and community organisations, particularly those relating to youth" His single, "Have a Little Faith (In Us)", in March peaked at #3, the associated album, Romeo's Heart
, produced by Fraser, was released in June and peaked at #2. It won the 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' at the ARIA Awards in 1996. Farnham collaborated with vocal group Human Nature
to record "Every Time You Cry" which peaked at #3 on the singles charts in October 1997. Also in 1997 he released a series of three compilation album
s, Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1986-1997, Anthology 2: Classic Hits 1967-1985 (Recorded Live)
and Anthology 3: Rarities
which all peaked in the top 20, with Anthology 1 reaching #1.
The Main Event with Olivia Newton-John & Anthony Warlow
For The Main Event Tour
during October–December 1998, Farnham performed with Olivia Newton-John
and Anthony Warlow
. The album Highlights from The Main Event
peaked at #1 in December, sold 4× platinum, and won 'Highest Selling Album' at the 1999 ARIA Awards. The Main Event
concert was broadcast on national TV and released on video.
During April–May 1999, Farnham undertook the I Can't Believe He's 50 Tour, supported by Merril Bainbridge
, Kate Ceberano
, Human Nature
, James Reyne
, Ross Wilson, and Nana-Zhami containing his son, Robert Farnham. Live at the Regent, recorded on 1 July 1999 (Farnham's 50th birthday), was released in September and peaked at #7. On 21 December, Farnham performed a set for the Tour Of Duty
concert in Dili
for the Australian troops serving with InterFET and East Timor
ese people. The concert also included James Blundell
, Dili Allstars
, Gina Jeffreys
, The Living End
, Kylie Minogue
, Doc Neeson
and the RMC Band
. Tour Of Duty was the first of Farnham's concerts to be webcast.
For the 2000 Summer Olympics
, Farnham and Newton-John performed "Dare to Dream", during the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. Broadcast of the ceremony was viewed by an estimated 3.5 billion people around the world. Farnham appeared as himself in the final episode of the Australian television series The Games (2000).
The Last Time to Tom Jones On 1 January 2001, Farnham was awarded a Centenary Medal
, "For outstanding service to Australian music", as part of Australia's celebration of a centenary of federation
. In 2002, Farnham announced his decision to retire from full-scale national tours after his The Last Time Tour – he would still perform in concerts and record – which commenced on 6 November 2002 and finished on 15 June 2003. In conjunction with the tour, The Last Time was released in October 2002, it peaked at #1 and achieved 3× platinum sales. The Last Time Tour was a countrywide concert tour, taking a circus-style tent to smaller towns and filling large entertainment venues in capital cities, it became the biggest grossing tour in Australian history.
During July 2003, Farnham worked with Queen
to produce a new version of "We Will Rock You
" for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, released on his greatest hits
album, "One Voice". Media reports of Queen asking Farnham to join the band were subsequently denied by both Queen's Brian May
and Farnham. Farnham was inducted into the ARIA
Hall Of Fame on 21 October with a performance of "You're the Voice". Farnham also won 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for The Last Time. 2002 Hall of Fame inductee was Olivia Newton-John whilst in 2004 Little River Band was inducted.
Combining with singer Tom Jones
, Farnham undertook the Together in Concert series during 2004 with ten shows in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. Duets started with "That Driving Beat" and "Mama Told Me Not to Come", solos from Farnham were "One", "Pressure Down", "That's Freedom", "Heart's on Fire", "Playing to Win
", "Every Time You Cry", "Man of the Hour", "Age of Reason" and "Burn for You". The pair did five duets to close the show – Sam and Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming", Otis Redding
's "Try a Little Tenderness", Ray Charles
' "What'd I Say", Arthur Conley
's "Sweet Soul Music
" and AC/DC
's anthem, "Long Way to the Top". The DVD release, Together in Concert – John Farnham & Tom Jones, debuted at No 1. Farnham made an appearance during the 2005 Melbourne Music Festival, raising funds for rebuilding after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
at the Tsunami Benefit Concert.
I Remember When I Was Young I Remember When I Was Young: Songs from The Great Australian Songbook
was released in November 2005 – it contains 13 covers of hits, written and performed by Australian artists – which peaked at #2 on the ARIA albums charts.
In February 2006, Farnham performed four shows at the Sydney Opera House
, with the Sydney Symphony, followed by shows at the Victorian Arts Centre's Hamer Hall, Melbourne. These shows were sponsored by Dairy Farmers and a percentage of revenue received from the 'I Remember When I was Young' concerts went to the Dairy Farmers 'Creating Greener Pastures' program to help farmers and their communities. A 2006 DVD of Farnham entitled John Farnham with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
was released, it debuted at #2 on the ARIA DVD charts and then peaked at #1.
John Farnham Band members are Angus Burchall on drums, Bob Coassin on trumpet, Lachlan Davidson on saxophone
, Lisa Edwards
on backing vocals, Lindsay Field on backing vocals, Stuart Fraser
on guitar, Dannielle Gaha
on backing vocals, Brett Garsed
on guitar, Chong Lim
on keyboards/musical director, Jordan Murray on trombone
, Craig Newman on bass guitar, and Steve Williams
on harmonica
and saxophone.
From 18 February, Farnham embarked on a small Australian tour with Fleetwood Mac
singer Stevie Nicks
for a series of live shows. Both artists had equal billing but unlike the Tom Jones
shows, they did not sing together but rather individually. The same backup singers from the tour, however, were used by Stevie Nicks and John.
On 26 March, Farnham sang at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony
, in Melbourne starting with his hit "Age of Reason", followed by "I Remember When I Was Young" from his most recent studio album, "Playing to Win" from his Little River Band
days, and finished with his anthem song, "You're the Voice".
The twentieth anniversary of Whispering Jack
in 2006 was marked by an 'enhanced' commemorative re-release of the CD plus a DVD featuring an edited version of the tour that accompanied the album (the full concert was originally released on VHS in 1987). The original album was the first CD made in Australia and, as of June 2008, remains the highest selling album in Australia by an Australian act.
A new studio album Jack
was released by Sony BMG on 15 October 2010. The album contains 11 tracks and is Farnham's first studio album in over 5 years. Jack features covers of compositions by Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Percy Sledge.
The release of Jack coincides with a run of indoor and outdoor performances, under the title of "John Farnham Live!", throughout October and November 2010.
On 8 June 2011 it was announced that Farnham intends embarking on a nation-wide tour of Australia throughout October and November 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of his globally successful Whispering Jack
album.
In addition to this, a 25th anniversary edition of the Whispering Jack album is expected to be released by Sony BMG with a bonus acoustic hits disc.
(1968) Everybody Oughta Sing a Song
(1968) Looking Through a Tear
(1970) Christmas Is... Johnny Farnham
(1970) Johnny
(1971) Together
(1971) Johnny Farnham Sings the Shows (1972)
Hits Magic & Rock 'N Roll (1973)
Johnny Farnham Sings Hits from the Movies (1974)
J.P. Farnham Sings (1975)
Uncovered
(1980) Whispering Jack
(1986) Age of Reason
(1988) Chain Reaction
(1990) Then Again...
(1993) Romeo's Heart
(1996) 33⅓
(2000) The Last Time
(2002) I Remember When I Was Young: Songs from the Great Australian Songbook
(2005) Jack
(2010) The Acoustic Chapel Sessions (2011)
, Countdown Music and Video Awards, Mo Awards
and TV Week
magazine's King of Pop Awards and their Logie Award
s.
Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...
, formerly billed as Johnny Farnham (born 1 July 1949), is an English-born Australian pop singer. He was a teen pop idol
Teen idol
A teen idol is a celebrity who is widely idolized by teenagers; he or she is often young but not necessarily teenaged. Often teen idols are actors or pop singers, but some sports figures have an appeal to teenagers. Some teen idols began their careers as child actors...
from 1964 to 1979, and has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist although he briefly replaced Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of pop groups The Twilights, Axiom and Little River Band as well as being a solo performer....
as lead singer of Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
during 1982–1985. In September 1986 his solo single, "You're the Voice
You're the Voice
As a lead promotion for their first live album Rock the House Live! in 1991, US rock band Heart released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was captured during the US leg of their Brigade world tour in November 1990...
" peaked at No. 1 on the Australian singles charts
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
. The associated album, Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts...
, held the No. 1 position for a total of 25 weeks, and is the highest-selling album in Australian history. Both the single and the album had Top Ten success internationally including No. 1 in Sweden.
Domestically he has remained one of Australia's best-known performers with a career spanning over 40 years, and he is the only Australian artist to have a number one record in five consecutive decades (echoing Sir Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
in the UK) with singles: "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
"Sadie " was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The novelty song was released in November 1967 and was #1 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 . It was the largest selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in the 1960s...
" in 1967, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is B. J. Thomas's #1 song, written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. David and Bacharach also won Best Original Score. It was recorded in seven takes, after...
" in 1969/1970, and "Age of Reason" in 1988; and albums: Age of Reason
Age of Reason (album)
Age of Reason is a studio album by Australian pop singer John Farnham. It was released in Australia on 25 July 1988 and debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Albums Chart in August and remained on top for eight weeks...
, Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (John Farnham album)
Chain Reaction is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 24 September 1990. "Chain Reaction" was the highest selling album in Australia in 1990 and debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts in September....
in 1990, Then Again...
Then Again (John Farnham album)
Then Again... is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 18 October 1993, and reached #1 on the ARIA charts. It is notable along with its predecessor, Chain Reaction, for the fact that Farnham himself co-wrote most of the songs on the album, in this...
in 1993, Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1986-1997 in 1997, 33⅓
33⅓ (album)
-DVD track listing:-Personnel:* John Farnham – vocals* Chong Lim – keyboards, additional brass arrangements* Angus Burchall – drums* Joe Creighton – bass, vocals* Stuart Fraser – guitars* Lindsay Field – vocals...
in 2000 and The Last Time
The Last Time (album)
The Last Time is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 7 October 2002 and reached #1 in the ARIA charts.On 21 July 2003, a DVD of the subsequent national tour titled "The Last Time" was released....
in 2002.
Farnham has been recognised by honours and awards including 1987 Australian of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
, 1996 Order of Australia, and 19 Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) Awards including his 2003 induction into the Hall of Fame
ARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
. From 1969 he was voted by TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
readers as the 'King of Pop' for five consecutive years. Aside from his recording career, Farnham performed on stage with lead roles in Australian productions of Charlie Girl
Charlie Girl
Charlie Girl is a musical comedy which premiered in the West End of London at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965 and played for 2,202 performances, closing on March 27, 1971...
, Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
and 1992's Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
. He starred in his own TV series and specials including It's Magic and Bobby Dazzler
Bobby Dazzler
- External links :*...
and as a guest on numerous other popular shows such as Countdown and Hey Hey It's Saturday
Hey Hey It's Saturday
Hey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years , debuting on the Nine Network on 9 October 1971 and broadcasting its last episode on 20 November 1999. Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who would later...
. Australian rock historian, Ian McFarlane described him as "the most successful solo artist in the history of Australian rock and pop [...] Farnham has retained an affable sense of humour and a simple, unpretentious 'everyman' charm which also makes him one of the most respected celebrities in Australian entertainment history."
Early life
John Peter Farnham was born in DagenhamDagenham
Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...
, England, on 1 July 1949, to John Farnham Snr and Rose Pemberton. His sisters are Jean and Jaquiline (Jackie), and his younger brother is Steven. Farnham spent his first ten years in England before his family emigrated to Australia in 1959 to live in Melbourne, Victoria. He attended school at Yarraman State School, Lyndale Primary School and Lyndale High School. During school holidays Farnham worked with a plumber and soon he began a plumbing apprenticeship and left school, in 1967 he took two years leave from his plumbing job to pursue his music career.
1964–1967: The Mavericks to Strings Unlimited
Johnny Farnham performed with local band The Mavericks on weekends, while still attending school, from 1964. The band had a five song repertoire. In late 1965 he was asked to join Strings Unlimited as a singer and they had a regular booking at a local hotel. In 1966, after making the state finals of the Hoadleys Battle of the Sounds, they recorded a three-track demo tape with Farnham on vocals, Stewart Male on lead guitar, Barry Roy on rhythm guitar, Mike Foenander on keyboards and Peter Foggie on drums. On 29 April 1967, Strings Unlimited performed as a backing band for pop singer Bev Harrell in CohunaCohuna, Victoria
Cohuna is a town situated north of Melbourne, on the Murray Valley Highway, in northern Victoria, Australia. At the 2006 census, Cohuna had a population of 1,893.-History:...
. Harrell's boyfriend/manager, Darryl Sambell, was impressed with Farnham's vocals and offered to become his manager. Initially performing in Sambell's home town of Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Farnham recorded an advertising jingle "Susan Jones" for TAA (Trans Australian Airlines) and was offered a solo record contract with EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
1967–1979: Teen pop idol
Farnham's first commercially successful recording was a novelty songNovelty song
A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its comical effect. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs. The term arose in Tin Pan Alley to describe one of the major divisions of popular music. The other two divisions...
entitled "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)
"Sadie " was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The novelty song was released in November 1967 and was #1 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 . It was the largest selling single in Australia by an Australian artist in the 1960s...
", Sambell had disliked it as the lyrics were so persistent. However, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
's in house producer, David MacKay, insisted and so the single was released in November 1967. The B-side, "In My Room" was written by Farnham. By arrangement with Sambell, Melbourne radio DJ Stan Rofe
Stan Rofe
Stan 'The Man' Rofe was Melbourne's first and most influential rock'n'roll disc jockey. He is remembered as playing the first rock and roll music on Melbourne radio 3KZ in 1956 and as a champion of Australian music, a pioneer who played songs other DJs were too scared to play.-Career:Stan Rofe...
pretended that he disliked "Sadie" before playing it. Rofe continued the ploy on TV's Uptight and viewers responded with calls to play the song. It hit #1 on the Australian singles charts
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
in January 1968 and remained there for 6 weeks. Selling 180,000 copies in Australia, "Sadie" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. Rofe was also a writer for Go-Set
Go-Set
Go-Set was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble...
, a teen-oriented pop magazine, another writer for the magazine, Ian "Molly" Meldrum
Ian Meldrum
Ian Alexander "Molly" Meldrum AM is an Australian popular music critic, journalist, record producer , and musical entrepreneur...
, praised Farnham's efforts. Go-Set ran a pop poll to determine the 'King of Pop' which was first won by Normie Rowe
Normie Rowe
Norman John "Normie" Rowe AM was a major male solo performer of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Pat Aulton, house producer for the Sunshine Records, Spin Records and...
for 1967–1968. Farnham's 1968 singles were "Underneath the Arches" and "I Don't Want to Love You", each peaked at #6. In 1969, Farnham released his album Everybody Oughta Sing a Song which peaked at #12 on the Australian albums charts
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
. His next single was a cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
's "One"; Farnham's version peaked at #4. When television guide, TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
sponsored the 'King of Pop' awards, readers would forward their votes from coupons, Farnham won the most popular male award and was crowned 'King of Pop' five consecutive times from 1969–1973. He recorded a cover of the B J Thomas hit "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head
"Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is B. J. Thomas's #1 song, written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. David and Bacharach also won Best Original Score. It was recorded in seven takes, after...
" which became his second #1 hit in December 1969 and remained at top spot for seven weeks into January 1970.
Farnham's next album, Looking Through a Tear, was released in July 1970 and peaked at #11. "Comic Conversations", his single from October, peaked at #10. During 1971, Farnham teamed with Allison Durbin
Allison Durbin
Allison Durbin is a New Zealand-born Australian former pop singer. In the early 1970s Durbin's visual 'trademark' was her lustrous waist-length auburn hair....
, who had been chosen as 'Most Popular Female Performer' at the 'King of Pop' awards for 1969–1971. They released an album Together in September and a single "Baby, Without You" in November, both peaked into the top 30 of their respective charts. As well as his singing career, Farnham performed in stage musicals
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
starting with Dick Whittington and His Cat
Dick Whittington and His Cat
Dick Whittington and His Cat is an English folk tale that has often been used as the basis for stage pantomimes and other adaptations. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat...
in 1971 and on television variety shows either as a guest performer or as a host. At 22, Farnham was appointed 'King of Moomba
Moomba
Moomba is Australia's largest free community festival and one of the longest running festivals in Australia. Held annually in the city of Melbourne, Australia, Moomba is celebrated during the Labour Day long weekend , and has been celebrated since 1955...
' in 1972 with Melbourne paper, The Sun, describing him as a "likeable English migrant" who is "King of Pop, King of Kids and today Johnny Farnham was King of Moomba."
Another stage musical for Farnham was Charlie Girl
Charlie Girl
Charlie Girl is a musical comedy which premiered in the West End of London at the Adelphi Theatre on December 15, 1965 and played for 2,202 performances, closing on March 27, 1971...
in 1971. Jillian Billman was one of the dancers, and Farnham married her on 18 April 1973. Meldrum announced their wedding plans in Go-Set but Sambell denied the early reports, and, despite being best man at the wedding, was against Billman marrying Farnham. The clean-cut pop star had made several more albums and singles, but by the mid-1970s his recording career had begun to dwindle and he turned more to stage musicals and television. Farnham and 'Queen of Pop' for 1972–1973, Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett
Colleen Hewett is an Australian actress and popular singer. She is perhaps best known to international audiences for her 1984 guest role in the television series Prisoner as Sheila Brady.-Pop singer:...
, combined on the 1973–1974 stage musical, Pippin
Pippin (musical)
Pippin is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Roger O. Hirson. Bob Fosse, who directed the original Broadway production, also contributed to the libretto...
, and its associated show album
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
released in 1974. Also in 1974, Farnham and Hewett were co-hosts of It's Magic, a children's TV series on Channel Ten. He became familiar to viewers of Countdown when hosting its first colour transmission in early 1975 and introducing Skyhooks' performance of "Horror Movie".
Relations with Sambell became strained and in January 1976 they announced their split. Farnham first turned to Kenn Brodziak, producer of Pippin, for his management during 1976–1978 and then to Danny Finley, Hewett's then husband, from 1978. Farnham starred in a situation comedy series Bobby Dazzler
Bobby Dazzler
- External links :*...
as the title character during 1977–1978, and narrated documentaries including Survival with Johnny Farnham. Farnham was in financial trouble with unpaid taxes and the collapse of a restaurant venture with Hewett and Finley. Farnham's singing career was now confined to the cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
circuit and stage musicals, in 1979 he changed his stage name to John Farnham.
1980–1985: Little River Band era
Farnham had met Glenn WheatleyGlenn Wheatley
Glenn Dawson Wheatley is an Australian artist manager and entertainment industry executive.Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s and in the late 1960s became nationally famous as a member of leading pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices...
, who was bass guitarist of 1960s rock group The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices
The Masters Apprentices were an Australian rock band fronted by mainstay Jim Keays on lead vocals, which formed in 1965 in Adelaide, South Australia, relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 and attempted to break into the United Kingdom market from 1970, before disbanding in 1972...
, when both acts were managed by Sambell. Wheatley was now managing Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
(LRB) and in 1980 Farnham signed with Wheatley. They decided his comeback single would be a reworking of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Help!
Help! (song)
"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom....
", which was produced by LRB's Graeham Goble
Graeham Goble
Graeham George Goble is a musician, singer/songwriter and record producer, best known as a founding member of rock performers Little River Band ....
, it peaked at #8. Farnham was utilising a more adult contemporary pop
Adult contemporary music
Adult contemporary music is a broad style of popular music that ranges from lush 1950s and 1960s vocal music to predominantly ballad-heavy music with varying degrees of rock influence, as well as a radio format that plays such music....
style and the associated album, Uncovered, also produced by Goble, peaked at #20. The B-side of "Help" was another of Farnham's songwriting efforts "Jillie's Song", co-written with Goble. In recording the album, Farnham's studio band were guitarist Tommy Emmanuel
Tommy Emmanuel
William Thomas "Tommy" Emmanuel AM is an Australian guitarist, best known for his complex fingerpicking style, energetic performances and the use of percussive effects on the guitar. In the May 2008 and 2010 issues of Guitar Player Magazine, he was named as "Best Acoustic Guitarist" in their...
(ex-Southern Star Band), keyboardist Mal Logan (ex-Renée Geyer Band
Renée Geyer
Renée Rebecca Geyer is an Australian singer who has long been regarded as one of the finest exponents of jazz, soul and R&B idioms. She had commercial success as a solo artist in Australia, with "It's a Man's Man's World", "Heading in the Right Direction" and "Stares and Whispers" in the 1970s and...
, LRB), drummer Derek Pellicci (LRB) and bass guitarist Barry Sullivan (ex-Chain). They became his tour band until Logan and Pellicci returned to their LRB commitments and were replaced by Sam McNally and David Jones respectively. In 1980, Farnham also appeared in a TV series, Farnham and Byrne with former Young Talent Time
Young Talent Time
Young Talent Time is an Australian television variety program screened on Network Ten, running from 1971 until 1988. The series features a core group of young performers in the vein of The Mickey Mouse Club, and a weekly junior talent quest. The "Young Talent Team" regularly performed popular...
teen star and 'Queen of Pop' Debra Byrne
Debra Byrne
-Career:Byrne made her television debut on Brian and the Juniors, an early predecessor of Young Talent Time, which was hosted by a young Brian Naylor. She stayed with the show for 12 months. In 1971 she was cast as one of the original six Young Talent Time cast members...
. Three other solo singles followed in 1981 but none charted into the Top 50.
In February 1982, after Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Shorrock
Glenn Barrie Shorrock is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of pop groups The Twilights, Axiom and Little River Band as well as being a solo performer....
had departed Little River Band, Farnham became their lead vocalist with recommendations by Goble and Wheatley. Farnham had initially resisted the idea of joining LRB but Wheatley convinced him that Shorrock approved of the replacement. This continued Farnham's move away from cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
and into rock music. As Little River Band was a successful band prior to Farnham joining, it was a surprise that they found little initial success.
With Farnham, Little River Band recorded three studio albums, which had modest success – not enough to pay back the advances the record company had provided. The first studio album, The Net
The Net (album)
The Net is an album by the Little River Band, released on January 1, 1983. It would contain the band's last two singles to reach the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, with "We Two" reaching #22 and "You're Driving Me out of My Mind" peaking at #35.-Track listing:#"You're Driving...
, was already written and Farnham had no say in the songs, he just had to record his lead vocals. In the US, charting albums with Farnham's vocals, were Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Little River Band album)
Greatest Hits was a 1982 compilation of hits by the Australian band Little River Band. The album was digitally remastered and repackaged with additional tracks in an expanded edition in 2000....
(1982), The Net (1983) and Playing to Win
Playing to Win
Playing to Win is the eighth studio album by Little River Band released on One Way Records. This album is the second studio album to feature John Farnham as lead vocalist and the first to be recorded by the band in the United States. Both Farnham and Little River Band are ARIA Hall of Fame...
(1984) on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Pop Albums chart
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
/Billboard 200. While charting singles were, "The Other Guy", "We Two", "You're Driving Me Out of My Mind" and "Playing to Win". Farnham's biggest Australian hits with LRB were the 1982 single "Down on the Border" which peaked at #7 and The Net which peaked at #11 on the albums charts in 1983.
During this time, Farnham started supplying vocal tracks for films including, Savage Streets (1984), The Slugger's Wife (1985), and Fletch (1985); he later continued with Rad (1986) and Voyage of the Rock Aliens (1987). "Justice for One" was co-written by Farnham, for Savage Streets and it was released as a solo single.
Little River Band recorded a concert in Melbourne that aired in the United States on HBO. The concert video was only one hour long, and it highlighted some of the songs from The Net as well as reworked versions of Little River Band classics such as "Cool Change" and "Reminiscing". "Please Don't Ask Me", a song written by Goble, and a non-Top 50 single for Farnham almost three years previously, was played during the "Australian Themed" opening of the show. Despite positive Australian and US reviews and responses, this performance has not yet been released on VHS or DVD.
In an interview with Channel Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, Farnham stated, "I'll be better off leaving, rather than putting myself under pressure that I've created." Through this matter, it became apparent to the band that Farnham was intending on leaving and Playing to Wins lead single "Playing to Win
Playing to Win
Playing to Win is the eighth studio album by Little River Band released on One Way Records. This album is the second studio album to feature John Farnham as lead vocalist and the first to be recorded by the band in the United States. Both Farnham and Little River Band are ARIA Hall of Fame...
", a song believed by all to be the band's return to success, then started having authorship disputes. According to Farnham:
As a result, Farnham's relationship with the band was further sullied. To date, the royalties for the song are meticulously divided with different shares to each of the song's contributors, including Goble, Farnham, Stephen Housden, David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder is an Australian film score composer and performer.Hirschfelder was born and raised in Ballarat, Victoria....
and Wayne Nelson
Wayne Nelson
Wayne Nelson is an American musician best known for being a member of the famed Australian rock band, Little River Band....
. By late 1985, LRB were in conflict again and Farnham left. In mid-1986, Little River Band released the third studio album, No Reins
No Reins
No Reins is a 1986 album by the Little River Band. It was the last studio album to feature John Farnham on lead vocals.- Track listing :#"Face in the Crowd" - 4:38#"It's Just a Matter of Time" - 4:47...
, but Farnham was already pursuing his solo career.
"You're the Voice" and
Whispering Jack Farnham had started collecting a songlist for a future solo album while still in Little River Band, he finished his vocals for their album, No Reins, and left in late 1985. Farnham's first solo performances since 1981 were live shows with the John Farnham Band consisting of Brett GarsedBrett Garsed
Brett Garsed is an Australian guitar player. He plays with, among others, John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich and is a former member of the band Nelson...
on lead guitar, Sam See on guitar and Derek Pellicci, formerly of Little River Band, on drums. In early 1986, sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
Ross Fraser suggested to Farnham's manager Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Wheatley
Glenn Dawson Wheatley is an Australian artist manager and entertainment industry executive.Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s and in the late 1960s became nationally famous as a member of leading pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices...
that it was time to start working on the solo album. Wheatley searched vainly for a producer and record label willing to work with Farnham, Fraser took on the producer role and Wheatley provided financial support after mortgaging his house.
Whilst visiting a jazz club in the US, Farnham was mistakenly introduced as Jack Phantom, and when he subsequently provided a running commentary for a local pool game he named himself Whispering Jack Phantom after the Pot Black
Pot Black
Pot Black was a British series of snooker tournaments televised by BBC, that played a large part in the popularisation of the modern game, from 1969 to 1986. The event was revived in the form of several one-off tournaments throughout the 1990s and up to 2007...
commentator 'Whispering' Ted Lowe
Ted Lowe
Edwin Charles Ernest Lowe, MBE , known as Ted Lowe, was an English snooker commentator for the BBC. His unmistakably husky, hushed tones earned him the nickname "Whispering Ted".-Life and career:...
. Farnham's work for the album, Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts...
, included expanding his songlist with Fraser's advice. "A Touch of Paradise" was written by Gulliver Smith and Mondo Rock
Mondo Rock
Mondo Rock is a rock band from Melbourne, Australia, most prominent in the early 1980s. The band was formed in late 1976 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Ross Wilson.-Early years: 1976–1979:...
's Ross Wilson, while "Pressure Down" was provided by Harry Bogdanovs. Two weeks before the album was due to be recorded a demo tape arrived from London with similar material as "Pressure Down", Farnham and Fraser listened to the demo of "You're the Voice
You're the Voice
As a lead promotion for their first live album Rock the House Live! in 1991, US rock band Heart released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was captured during the US leg of their Brigade world tour in November 1990...
" and knew they had found a once-in-a-lifetime song. Another song on offer was "We Built This City
We Built This City
"We Built This City" is the title of a song written by Bernie Taupin, Martin Page, Dennis Lambert, and Peter Wolf, and originally recorded by the American pop rock group Starship and released as its debut single on August 1, 1985....
" but Farnham knocked it back, it was later recorded by US band Starship.
Initially, public interest in the re-branded former teen-idol was difficult to cultivate, and radio stations refused to play Farnham's album. Things however started to change after Sydney radio station 2Day FM
2Day FM
Not to be mixed up with Today FM in Ireland.2Day FM is a commercial FM radio station broadcasting in Sydney, Australia, on a frequency of 104.1 MHz, and part of Austereo's Today Network.- Transmission :...
played its first single, "You're the Voice
You're the Voice
As a lead promotion for their first live album Rock the House Live! in 1991, US rock band Heart released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was captured during the US leg of their Brigade world tour in November 1990...
", which was released in September 1986. Henceforth, radio stations began receiving requests for the song. Its television debut was on Hey Hey Its Saturday with Skyhook's Greg Macainsh providing bass guitar. "You're the Voice," peaked at #1 in Sweden and Australia, as well as being a Top Ten hit in some European countries: #3 in Switzerland, #6 in the UK, and #6 in Austria. The song was written by Andy Qunta (ex-Icehouse
Icehouse (band)
Icehouse is an Australian rock band, formed as Flowers in 1977 in Sydney. Initially known in Australia for their pub rock style, they later achieved mainstream success playing new wave and synthpop style music and attained Top Ten singles chart success in both Europe and the U.S...
), Keith Reid
Keith Reid
Keith Reid is a songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every Procol Harum song that is not a cover...
(Procol Harum
Procol Harum
Procol Harum are a British rock band, formed in 1967, which contributed to the development of progressive rock, and by extension, symphonic rock. Their best-known recording is their 1967 single "A Whiter Shade of Pale"...
), Maggie Ryder
Maggie Ryder
Maggie Ryder is an English singer, principally known as a backing singer for bands such as Eurythmics and Queen.Ryder had a solo record deal with Polydor Records in the 1970s and released a self-titled album in 1978. She worked as a backing singer and songwriter through the Eighties...
and Chris Thompson (ex-Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a British progressive rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:Having started in the 1960s with a British band that had such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn", then moving on to Jazz Fusion with Manfred Mann's Chapter Three, Manfred's third...
).
Whispering Jack, released in October, became the highest-selling album by an Australian act in Australia, at the time, and peaked at number one on the Australian Album Charts
Kent Music Report
The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
for a total of 25 weeks. As of 2006, it was 24× platinum indicating sales of over 1.68 million units in Australia alone. The album was released internationally on RCA
RCA
RCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
/BMG
BMG
Bertelsmann Music Group, , was a division of Bertelsmann before its completion of sale of the majority of its assets to Japan's Sony Corporation of America on October 1, 2008. It was established in 1987 to combine the music label activities of Bertelsmann...
and peaked at #1 in Sweden, #3 in Austria, and Top 20 in Norway. In August 1988 it returned to the Australian Top Ten. Other charting Australian singles were December's "Pressure Down", which peaked at #4, March 1987's "Touch of Paradise" and October's "Reasons".
After the success of the album, Farnham followed with Jack's Back Tour, an initial itinerary of eleven performances was thought to be enough considering they were up against tours by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
and Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, but after high ticket sales, it was extended by eight more shows and use of larger venues. At that time, Jack's Back Tour was the highest grossing tour by an Australian act. John Farnham Band now consisted of Garsed on lead guitar, David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder is an Australian film score composer and performer.Hirschfelder was born and raised in Ballarat, Victoria....
on keyboards (ex-Little River Band), Macainsh on bass and Angus Burchill on drums. Farnham won six of the inaugural 1987
ARIA Music Awards of 1987
The First Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 2 March 1987 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney with Elton John as the host. Presenters of the 20 awards included, Slim Dusty, Basia Bonkowski and Donnie Sutherland, the ceremony was not televised...
Australian Record Industry Association (ARIA) Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Australian Recording Industry Association...
for 'Album of the Year', 'Single of the Year', 'Highest Selling Album', 'Highest Selling Single', 'Best Male Artist' and 'Best Adult Contemporary Album'. On 19 July 1987, TV series Countdown broadcast its last show, the 1986 Countdown Music and Video Awards with Farnham winning the 'Best Album Award' for Whispering Jack.
In 1988, Australia's Bicentennial Year, Farnham was named 1987 Australian of the Year
Australian of the Year
Since 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual...
, although he was not yet naturalised – a hastily organised swearing-in occurred before the honour was bestowed. He was chosen due to: "his outstanding contribution to the Australian music industry over 20 years."
Age of Reason and Chain Reaction
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
, was written by Johanna Pigott
Johanna Pigott
Johanna Paton Pigott is an Australian musician, singer/songwriter and screenwriter. Her best known hit songs are Dragon's "Rain" which peaked at #2 on the Australia singles charts in 1983 and John Farnham's "Age of Reason". "Rain" was co-written with partner Dragon's Todd Hunter and his brother...
and Dragon
Dragon (band)
Dragon is a popular New Zealand rock band, they were formed in Auckland, New Zealand in January 1972 and relocated to Sydney, Australia in May 1975. They were previously led by singer Marc Hunter and are currently led by his brother bass player Todd Hunter...
members Todd Hunter
Todd Hunter
Todd Stuart Hunter is a New Zealand musician and composer known for his involvement in the band Dragon. Their best known songs are "April Sun in Cuba", "Are You Old Enough?", "Still in Love With You", and "Rain"...
and his brother Marc Hunter
Marc Hunter
Marc Alexander Hunter was a New Zealand rock and pop singer best known as the lead vocalist with Dragon, a band formed by his older brother Todd in Auckland in 1973....
. The album, Age of Reason
Age of Reason (album)
Age of Reason is a studio album by Australian pop singer John Farnham. It was released in Australia on 25 July 1988 and debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Albums Chart in August and remained on top for eight weeks...
, produced by Ross Fraser, debuted at #1 in August and stayed on top for eight weeks. It was the highest selling album in Australia from 1988, and, as of 1997, it was 8× platinum indicating sales of over 0.56 million units. Renewed interest in Whispering Jack returned it to the Top Ten in August, nearly two years after its initial release. As of December 2008, "Age of Reason" remains Farnham's last #1 Australian single. Other charting singles from this album were, "Two Strong Hearts" which peaked at #6 and "Beyond the Call". Age of Reason had international success peaking at #4 in Sweden, and #9 in Norway.
At the 1988
ARIA Music Awards of 1988
The Second Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 29 March 1988 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Cliff Richard was the host, with Bryan Ferry, Feargal Sharkey and Ian "Molly" Meldrum included as presenters of the 21 awards...
ARIA Awards, Farnham won 'Best Male Artist', 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for "Touch of Paradise", and the 'Outstanding Achievement Award'. In March 1989, Farnham was in Moscow, USSR to promote Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
album Rainbow Warriors, as part of an international ensemble including David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
(Talking Heads
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American New Wave and avant-garde band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band comprised David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison...
), Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Chrissie Hynde
Chrissie Hynde
Christine Ellen "Chrissie" Hynde is an US musician best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.-Early life and career:Hynde is the daughter of a part-time...
(The Pretenders
The Pretenders
The Pretenders are an English rock band formed in Hereford, England in March 1978. The original band consisted of initiator and main songwriter Chrissie Hynde , James Honeyman-Scott , Pete Farndon , and Martin Chambers...
), Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox
Annie Lennox, OBE , born Ann Lennox, is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving minor success in the late 1970s with The Tourists, with fellow musician David A...
(Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
) and The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
(U2). Farnham found time to record a duet with Dannielle Gaha
Dannielle Gaha
Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea, sometimes styled as Danni'elle, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She has toured and recorded with fellow Australian John Farnham, their 1989 duet, "Communication", peaked at number 13 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Singles Chart...
, "Communication", which peaked at #13 in August 1989. It was recorded as part promotion for the Australian governments program to control the drug epidemic happening in the mid 80's entitled "The Drug Offensive". The Drug Offensive logo can be seen attached to a television camera in the video clip made to promote the song.
Chain Reaction
Chain Reaction (John Farnham album)
Chain Reaction is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 24 September 1990. "Chain Reaction" was the highest selling album in Australia in 1990 and debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts in September....
produced by Fraser, was released in October 1990, and also debuted at #1 on the Australian album charts, it provided three Top Ten hit singles, "Chain Reaction" in August, "That's Freedom" in September and "Burn for You" in December. Unlike the previous two albums, where most songs were written by outside writers, Chain Reaction saw Farnham write nine of its twelve tracks with Fraser and keyboardist/musical director David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder
David Hirschfelder is an Australian film score composer and performer.Hirschfelder was born and raised in Ballarat, Victoria....
(ex-Little River Band). The sound was less electronic and more acoustic, it became the biggest selling album in Australia for 1990, and was #1 on the ARIA End of Year album chart. At the 1991 ARIA Awards, Farnham won 'Best Male Artist', 'Song of the Year' for "Burn for You", and 'Highest Selling Album' for Chain Reaction.
Full House to Anthology Farnham's live album, released in November 1991, was Full House
Full House (John Farnham album)
Full House is a live compilation album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 4 November 1991, and is the first live album by Farnham since his comeback via the 1986 release of the seminal, Whispering Jack....
, produced by Ross Fraser and Farnham, which peaked at #2 on the ARIA album charts. It contained concert material recorded from May 1987 to October 1990. "Please Don't Ask" was released as a single, which peaked into the top 30. At #1 on the ARIA album charts was Jimmy Barnes
Jimmy Barnes
James Dixon Swan , better known as Jimmy Barnes, is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer-songwriter. His father Jim Swan was a prizefighter and his older brother John Swan is also a rock singer. It was actually John who had encouraged and taught Jim how to sing as he wasn't really interested at...
' album, Soul Deep, it included a duet with Farnham, "When Something is Wrong with My Baby", which peaked at #3 on the singles charts.
In August 1992, Farnham joined the Australian production of Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
/Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer of musical theatre.Lloyd Webber has achieved great popular success in musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of...
's stage musical, Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar is a rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Tim Rice. The musical started off as a rock opera concept recording before its first staging on Broadway in 1971...
in the title role of Jesus. Fellow cast members included, Angry Anderson
Angry Anderson
Gary Stephen "Angry" Anderson AM is an Australian rock singer, television presenter/reporter, actor and conservative political activist. He is best known as the vocalist with the hard rock band Rose Tattoo since 1976 but he is also recognised for his acting roles and his charity work...
as Herod
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipater , known by the nickname Antipas, was a 1st-century AD ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch...
, Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
as Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
, Russell Morris
Russell Morris
Russell Norman Morris is an Australian singer-songwriter who had five Australian Top 10 singles during the late 1960s and early 1970s...
as Simon Zealotes, Jon Stevens
Jon Stevens
Jon Stevens is a New Zealand-born singer of Maori descent, now an Australian citizen. Stevens is the brother of New Zealand Idol judge Frankie Stevens....
as Judas
Judas Iscariot
Judas Iscariot was, according to the New Testament, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is best known for his betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver.-Etymology:...
and John Waters
John Waters (actor)
John Russell Waters is a film, theatre and television actor and musician best known in Australia, to where he moved in 1968...
as Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilatus , known in the English-speaking world as Pontius Pilate , was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26–36. He is best known as the judge at Jesus' trial and the man who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus...
The stage soundtrack, Jesus Christ Superstar The Album provided the single, "Everything's Alright" by Ceberano, Farnham and Stevens, which peaked at #6 in September. Farnham released his next studio album, Then Again..
Then Again (John Farnham album)
Then Again... is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 18 October 1993, and reached #1 on the ARIA charts. It is notable along with its predecessor, Chain Reaction, for the fact that Farnham himself co-wrote most of the songs on the album, in this...
. in October 1993, produced by Fraser and Farnham, which peaked at #1. Of its four singles only, "Seemed Like a Good Idea (At the Time)" reached the top 20. The album won 'Highest Selling Album' at the ARIA Awards in 1994.
On Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...
, 26 January 1996, Farnham was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, "In recognition of service to the Australian music industry and to charitable and community organisations, particularly those relating to youth" His single, "Have a Little Faith (In Us)", in March peaked at #3, the associated album, Romeo's Heart
Romeo's Heart
Romeo's Heart is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 3 June 1996, and is Farnham's first studio album since the release of Then Again... in 1993....
, produced by Fraser, was released in June and peaked at #2. It won the 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' at the ARIA Awards in 1996. Farnham collaborated with vocal group Human Nature
Human Nature (band)
Human Nature are an Australian pop vocal group. The group was originally formed as a doo-wop band in 1989 while the current members were at school together in Sydney. So far, the band has had 17 Top 40 hits and five Top 10 hits in Australia since 1996 when their first album Telling Everybody was...
to record "Every Time You Cry" which peaked at #3 on the singles charts in October 1997. Also in 1997 he released a series of three compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
s, Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1986-1997, Anthology 2: Classic Hits 1967-1985 (Recorded Live)
Anthology 2: Classic Hits 1967-1985 (Recorded Live)
Anthology 2: Classic Hits 1967–1985 is a greatest hits compilation album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 29 September 1997, and is the second of a three disc Anthology set....
and Anthology 3: Rarities
Anthology 3: Rarities
Anthology 3: Rarities is a greatest hits compilation album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 10 November 1997, and is the third of a three disc Anthology set.-Track listing:...
which all peaked in the top 20, with Anthology 1 reaching #1.
The Main Event with Olivia Newton-John & Anthony Warlow
The Main Event (concert tour)
The Main Event Tour was a 1998 joint concert tour by Australian singers John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John and Anthony Warlow.-Description:The overture would start with the percussionist on the timpani, and the Drummer . Then the brass would come in, and the last four bars of "You're the Voice"...
during October–December 1998, Farnham performed with Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
and Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow
Anthony Warlow is an Australian opera and musical theatre performer, noted for his character acting and considerable vocal range ....
. The album Highlights from The Main Event
Highlights from The Main Event
Highlights from The Main Event is a live album released in 1999, which consisted of music from the 1998 Australian tour The Main Event Tour which features Olivia Newton-John, John Farnham, and Anthony Warlow...
peaked at #1 in December, sold 4× platinum, and won 'Highest Selling Album' at the 1999 ARIA Awards. The Main Event
The Main Event (video)
The Main Event is a video, released in 1999, of a tour The Main Event Tour by singers Olivia Newton-John, John Farnham and Anthony Warlow.-Track listing:#"Overture"#"Age Of Reason" [JF,ONJ,AW]#"Phantom of The Opera" [AW,ONJ,JF]...
concert was broadcast on national TV and released on video.
During April–May 1999, Farnham undertook the I Can't Believe He's 50 Tour, supported by Merril Bainbridge
Merril Bainbridge
Merril Bainbridge is an Australian pop music singer and songwriter. Her debut was in 1994 with the single, "Mouth", which peaked at number-one for six consecutive weeks in Australia and became a top five hit in the United States.- Early career :Bainbridge started performing when she was at the...
, Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
, Human Nature
Human Nature (band)
Human Nature are an Australian pop vocal group. The group was originally formed as a doo-wop band in 1989 while the current members were at school together in Sydney. So far, the band has had 17 Top 40 hits and five Top 10 hits in Australia since 1996 when their first album Telling Everybody was...
, James Reyne
James Reyne
James Reyne is an Australian rock musician and singer/songwriter both as a member of the iconic 1980s band Australian Crawl and solo work.. He is a successful singer/ songwriter and prolific artist...
, Ross Wilson, and Nana-Zhami containing his son, Robert Farnham. Live at the Regent, recorded on 1 July 1999 (Farnham's 50th birthday), was released in September and peaked at #7. On 21 December, Farnham performed a set for the Tour Of Duty
Tour of Duty - Concert for the Troops
Tour of Duty - Concert for the Troops was a concert in 1999 in Dili for the Australian troops serving with the International Force for East Timor...
concert in Dili
Dili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
for the Australian troops serving with InterFET and East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
ese people. The concert also included James Blundell
James Blundell (singer)
-Music:He won a Golden Guitar Award for best new talent of 1987.Blundell's eponymous first album, in 1989, followed up by "Hand It Down", which was released in the United States in 1990 following its success in Australia. Successive albums were This Road and Touch of Water. This Road included the...
, Dili Allstars
Dili Allstars
The Dili Allstars are an Australian and East Timorese reggae/ska band based in Melbourne. They are one of the leading voices of support for the East Timorese people and a popular musical group...
, Gina Jeffreys
Gina Jeffreys
Gina Jeffreys is an Australian country singer. She was born on 1 April 1968 at Toowoomba, Queensland. She has often been called Australia's "Queen of Country" and has won numerous Australian country music awards....
, The Living End
The Living End
The Living End are an Australian rock band from Melbourne, Victoria, formed in 1994. The current lineup consists of Chris Cheney , Scott Owen and Andy Strachan...
, Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
, Doc Neeson
Doc Neeson
Bernard "Doc" Neeson is an Australian rock singer. Neeson is known as the lead singer and frontman for Australian hard rock band The Angels.-Early life:...
and the RMC Band
Royal Military College, Duntroon
The Royal Military College, Duntroon is the Australian Army's officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, in the Australian Capital Territory, in 1911 and is situated on picturesque grounds at the foot of Mount Pleasant near Lake Burley Griffin, close to the Department of Defence...
. Tour Of Duty was the first of Farnham's concerts to be webcast.
For the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, Farnham and Newton-John performed "Dare to Dream", during the Parade of Nations at the Opening Ceremony. Broadcast of the ceremony was viewed by an estimated 3.5 billion people around the world. Farnham appeared as himself in the final episode of the Australian television series The Games (2000).
The Last Time to Tom Jones On 1 January 2001, Farnham was awarded a Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...
, "For outstanding service to Australian music", as part of Australia's celebration of a centenary of federation
Federation of Australia
The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. In 2002, Farnham announced his decision to retire from full-scale national tours after his The Last Time Tour – he would still perform in concerts and record – which commenced on 6 November 2002 and finished on 15 June 2003. In conjunction with the tour, The Last Time was released in October 2002, it peaked at #1 and achieved 3× platinum sales. The Last Time Tour was a countrywide concert tour, taking a circus-style tent to smaller towns and filling large entertainment venues in capital cities, it became the biggest grossing tour in Australian history.
During July 2003, Farnham worked with Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
to produce a new version of "We Will Rock You
We Will Rock You
"We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded and performed by Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. Rolling Stone ranked it #330 of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA placed it at #146 on its list of Songs of the Century...
" for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, released on his greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album, "One Voice". Media reports of Queen asking Farnham to join the band were subsequently denied by both Queen's Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
and Farnham. Farnham was inducted into the ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
Hall Of Fame on 21 October with a performance of "You're the Voice". Farnham also won 'Best Adult Contemporary Album' for The Last Time. 2002 Hall of Fame inductee was Olivia Newton-John whilst in 2004 Little River Band was inducted.
Combining with singer Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Farnham undertook the Together in Concert series during 2004 with ten shows in Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne. Duets started with "That Driving Beat" and "Mama Told Me Not to Come", solos from Farnham were "One", "Pressure Down", "That's Freedom", "Heart's on Fire", "Playing to Win
Playing to Win
Playing to Win is the eighth studio album by Little River Band released on One Way Records. This album is the second studio album to feature John Farnham as lead vocalist and the first to be recorded by the band in the United States. Both Farnham and Little River Band are ARIA Hall of Fame...
", "Every Time You Cry", "Man of the Hour", "Age of Reason" and "Burn for You". The pair did five duets to close the show – Sam and Dave's "Hold On I'm Coming", Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
's "Try a Little Tenderness", Ray Charles
Ray Charles
Ray Charles Robinson , known by his shortened stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He was a pioneer in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by fusing rhythm and blues, gospel, and blues styles into his early recordings with Atlantic Records...
' "What'd I Say", Arthur Conley
Arthur Conley
Arthur Lee Conley was an American soul singer, best known for the 1967 hit "Sweet Soul Music".-Career:...
's "Sweet Soul Music
Sweet Soul Music
Sweet Soul Music is the second album of New Zealand RnB artist, Aaradhna released in 2008 on Valentine's Day.-Track listing:#"Didn't I "#"I Want You Back"#"Betcha By Golly Wow"#"You Are The Sunshine Of My Life"...
" and AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
's anthem, "Long Way to the Top". The DVD release, Together in Concert – John Farnham & Tom Jones, debuted at No 1. Farnham made an appearance during the 2005 Melbourne Music Festival, raising funds for rebuilding after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
at the Tsunami Benefit Concert.
I Remember When I Was Young I Remember When I Was Young: Songs from The Great Australian Songbook
I Remember When I Was Young
I Remember When I Was Young is an album by Australian vocalist John Farnham, released on 6 November 2005. The album features cover versions of songs by Australian artists....
was released in November 2005 – it contains 13 covers of hits, written and performed by Australian artists – which peaked at #2 on the ARIA albums charts.
In February 2006, Farnham performed four shows at the Sydney Opera House
Sydney Opera House
The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
, with the Sydney Symphony, followed by shows at the Victorian Arts Centre's Hamer Hall, Melbourne. These shows were sponsored by Dairy Farmers and a percentage of revenue received from the 'I Remember When I was Young' concerts went to the Dairy Farmers 'Creating Greener Pastures' program to help farmers and their communities. A 2006 DVD of Farnham entitled John Farnham with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra
With The Sydney Symphony Live At The Sydney Opera House
With The Sydney Symphony Live At The Sydney Opera House is a DVD release by Australian singer John Farnham. The DVD was released in Australia on 29 April 2006....
was released, it debuted at #2 on the ARIA DVD charts and then peaked at #1.
John Farnham Band members are Angus Burchall on drums, Bob Coassin on trumpet, Lachlan Davidson on saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, Lisa Edwards
Lisa Edwards
Lisa Edwards is an Australian singer and musician, who had an Australian Top 5 hit with the Godley and Creme song Cry.Born in Adelaide, she is the daughter of a Jazz pianist and a stage performer. She made her stage debut aged seven with her father, who would then regularly take the young girl on...
on backing vocals, Lindsay Field on backing vocals, Stuart Fraser
Stuart Fraser
Sir Stuart Fraser KCSI CIE was a distinguished officer of the Foreign and Political Department of the Government of India. Five years after joining the Indian Civil Service, he was appointed tutor to the Maharajas of Kolhapur and Bhavnagar, and later was tutor and guardian to the Maharaja of Mysore...
on guitar, Dannielle Gaha
Dannielle Gaha
Dannielle Gaha DeAndrea, sometimes styled as Danni'elle, is an Australian singer-songwriter. She has toured and recorded with fellow Australian John Farnham, their 1989 duet, "Communication", peaked at number 13 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Singles Chart...
on backing vocals, Brett Garsed
Brett Garsed
Brett Garsed is an Australian guitar player. He plays with, among others, John Farnham and T. J. Helmerich and is a former member of the band Nelson...
on guitar, Chong Lim
Chong Lim
Chong Lim is an Australian keyboardist, producer, and session musician. He played with James Valentine of Models at Melbourne University, then joined Vanetta Field's Gospel Band. He has toured with the Eurogliders, Jermaine Jackson, WJAZ, and John Farnham...
on keyboards/musical director, Jordan Murray on trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
, Craig Newman on bass guitar, and Steve Williams
Steve Williams
-Association football:* Steve Williams , English former football midfielder for Southampton and Arsenal* Steve Williams , Welsh goalkeeper with Drogheda United...
on harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and saxophone.
From 18 February, Farnham embarked on a small Australian tour with Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
singer Stevie Nicks
Stevie Nicks
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums...
for a series of live shows. Both artists had equal billing but unlike the Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
shows, they did not sing together but rather individually. The same backup singers from the tour, however, were used by Stevie Nicks and John.
On 26 March, Farnham sang at the 2006 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony
2006 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony
The Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games was held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia on 26 March 2006 to mark the closing of the 18th Commonwealth Games.-Performances:The ceremony began with a fireworks show...
, in Melbourne starting with his hit "Age of Reason", followed by "I Remember When I Was Young" from his most recent studio album, "Playing to Win" from his Little River Band
Little River Band
Little River Band is an Australian rock band, formed in Melbourne in early 1975.The group chose the name after passing a road sign leading to the Victorian township of Little River, near Geelong, on the way to a performance. Little River Band enjoyed sustained commercial success in not only...
days, and finished with his anthem song, "You're the Voice".
The twentieth anniversary of Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts...
in 2006 was marked by an 'enhanced' commemorative re-release of the CD plus a DVD featuring an edited version of the tour that accompanied the album (the full concert was originally released on VHS in 1987). The original album was the first CD made in Australia and, as of June 2008, remains the highest selling album in Australia by an Australian act.
"Live By Demand" tour and
Jack album On 27 May 2009, Farnham announced a new concert tour for September and October, "John Farnham – Live By Demand".A new studio album Jack
Jack (John Farnham album)
Jack is the twentieth studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 15 October 2010, and supported by a series of performances titled "John Farnham Live!"...
was released by Sony BMG on 15 October 2010. The album contains 11 tracks and is Farnham's first studio album in over 5 years. Jack features covers of compositions by Ray Charles, Curtis Mayfield and Percy Sledge.
The release of Jack coincides with a run of indoor and outdoor performances, under the title of "John Farnham Live!", throughout October and November 2010.
On 8 June 2011 it was announced that Farnham intends embarking on a nation-wide tour of Australia throughout October and November 2011 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of his globally successful Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts...
album.
In addition to this, a 25th anniversary edition of the Whispering Jack album is expected to be released by Sony BMG with a bonus acoustic hits disc.
Personal life
Farnham married Jillian Billman, a dancer he met when performing the stage musical Charlie Girl, on 18 April 1973. They have two sons, Robert Farnham and James Farnham. Farnham is a keen fan of the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League.Discography
Sadie (album)
Sadie is the debut studio album by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, it was released by EMI Records in April 1968. The lead single, "Sadie " had been released in November 1967, it was #1 on the Go-Set National Singles Charts for five weeks, and was the largest selling single in Australia by an...
(1968)
Everybody Oughta Sing a Song
Everybody Oughta Sing A Song is the second solo studio album by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham and was released on EMI Records in November 1968. Its first single, released in July, was the double A-sided, "Jamie"/"I Don't Want To Love You", which peaked at #8 on the Go-Set National Singles...
(1968)
Looking Through a Tear
Looking Through A Tear is the third studio album by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, it was released in Australia by EMI Records in July 1970. Farnham's covers of Harry Nilsson's "One", and B. J. Thomas' "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" were released as singles, and helped to propel the...
(1970)
Christmas Is Johnny Farnham
Christmas Is... Johnny Farnham is a studio album of Christmas songs recorded by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham and released on EMI Records in December 1970...
(1970)
Johnny (John Farnham album)
Johnny is the fifth studio album by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, which was released on HMV for EMI Records in August 1971. It peaked at #24 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Charts...
(1971)
Together (John Farnham album)
Together is a studio album of duets by Australian pop singers Johnny Farnham and Allison Durbin, which was released on HMV for EMI Records in September 1971...
(1971)
Uncovered (John Farnham album)
Uncovered is a solo studio album by Australian singer John Farnham, produced by Little River Band's Graeham Goble, and released on 3 July 1980, which peaked at #20 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts. Farnham's first single from the album was a reworking of The Beatles' song "Help!";...
(1980)
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, which peaked at #1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts...
(1986)
Age of Reason (album)
Age of Reason is a studio album by Australian pop singer John Farnham. It was released in Australia on 25 July 1988 and debuted at No. 1 on the Australian Recording Industry Association Albums Chart in August and remained on top for eight weeks...
(1988)
Chain Reaction (John Farnham album)
Chain Reaction is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 24 September 1990. "Chain Reaction" was the highest selling album in Australia in 1990 and debuted at #1 on the ARIA charts in September....
(1990)
Then Again (John Farnham album)
Then Again... is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 18 October 1993, and reached #1 on the ARIA charts. It is notable along with its predecessor, Chain Reaction, for the fact that Farnham himself co-wrote most of the songs on the album, in this...
(1993)
Romeo's Heart
Romeo's Heart is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 3 June 1996, and is Farnham's first studio album since the release of Then Again... in 1993....
(1996)
33⅓ (album)
-DVD track listing:-Personnel:* John Farnham – vocals* Chong Lim – keyboards, additional brass arrangements* Angus Burchall – drums* Joe Creighton – bass, vocals* Stuart Fraser – guitars* Lindsay Field – vocals...
(2000)
The Last Time (album)
The Last Time is a studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 7 October 2002 and reached #1 in the ARIA charts.On 21 July 2003, a DVD of the subsequent national tour titled "The Last Time" was released....
(2002)
I Remember When I Was Young
I Remember When I Was Young is an album by Australian vocalist John Farnham, released on 6 November 2005. The album features cover versions of songs by Australian artists....
(2005)
Jack (John Farnham album)
Jack is the twentieth studio album by Australian singer John Farnham. The album was released in Australia on 15 October 2010, and supported by a series of performances titled "John Farnham Live!"...
(2010)
Charities
- Save The Children Fund
- CARE Australia
- The Prince's Trust
- Victorian Association for Deserted Children
- Dairy Farmers Association
- Gympie Rural Aid Appeal
- Starlight Children's Foundation
- Make A Wish Foundation
- Breast Cancer Foundation
- Parkinson's Disease Association
- AIDS Trust
- Variety Clubs of Australia
- Boxing Day Tsunami Appeal (Melbourne)
Awards and nominations
Farnham has won and been nominated for numerous Australian music and entertainment awards. These include 19 ARIA Awards from 49 nominations and induction into the Hall of FameARIA Hall of Fame
Since 1988 the Australian Recording Industry Association has inducted artists into its ARIA Hall of Fame. While most have been recognised at the annual ARIA Music Awards, in 2005 ARIA sought to create a separate standalone "ARIA Icons: Hall of Fame" event as only one or two acts could be inducted...
, Countdown Music and Video Awards, Mo Awards
Mo Awards
The Mo Awards are long running annual Australian entertainment industry awards. They recognise achievements in live entertainment in Australia....
and TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
magazine's King of Pop Awards and their Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
s.
External links
- John Farnham at the National Film and Sound ArchiveNational Film and Sound ArchiveThe National Film and Sound Archive is Australia’s audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national collection of audiovisual materials and related items...
- John Farnham in AusStage