Volume #14 | John Farnham. We can write what we want to write.
Even our own destiny.
We’re all someone’s daughter.
Discovering John Farnham was inevitable. As the middle-child born into a music-loving Australian family in the late 1980’s, I was surrounded by Farnham’s music. It regularly blasted from the speakers at home or in the car with my grandparents. I can still hear my Dad whistling along to the bluesy harmonica in ‘Chain Reaction’. Hit after hit, all I ever knew was John Farnham’s voice, his songs and his captivating spirit.
‘Farnsy’ is an Australian icon and legend. His story is heroic: a plumber by trade who found his voice and moved heaven and earth to share it with the world on his own terms. His life is layered and interesting, marked by love, luck, loss, and everything in between.
As a child, I knew John Farnham as the famous Australian with long blonde hair who sang that song with the bagpipes. He was blessed with an unwavering, powerhouse vocal. Even Stevie Nicks was intimidated by Farnham when she supported him on tour one year, saying that no one told her he was the ‘Sinatra of Australia’.
I was too young to grasp that he was, surprisingly, middle-aged when he hit the big time with his smash hit ‘You’re The Voice’ (he was 38 years old). Only as an adult did I learn that the strategy behind Farnham’s ‘Whispering Jack’ album was to re-brand and make a comeback after quite the mid-life slump.
Johnny Farnham, as he was initially known, was perceived as a 1960’s has-been with a one hit wonder titled ‘Sadie The Cleaning Lady’. Certainly, this is how my grandparents knew of him. Almost twenty years later and after quite the hiatus, no record company would give his new work a look in. Breaking free from the barriers of an identity that had seemingly stuck was no easy task. Farnham was perceived by an entire generation as the King of Pop from the sixties, almost irrelevant compared to the colourful eighties pop and edgy rock ‘n’ roll saturating the airwaves.
Nowadays, artists pursuing a re-brand is common. We only need to look at the careers of Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga. In Farnham’s era, things were different. Getting noticed and being taken seriously was a challenge, and fortunately, he and his right-hand man were up for it.
Farnham’s partnership with manager and best mate, Glen Wheatley, was what got him over the line. They had a working relationship built entirely on trust and sealed with a handshake, not a contract. A couple of Aussie battlers who never gave up, whilst carrying the weight of significant financial debt and a career on the verge of defeat.
They needed a hit. Luck have it, along came a demo tape of ‘You’re The Voice’ two weeks before they were heading into the studio to record ‘Whispering Jack’. It was last minute, a defining moment where Farnham and his crew knew it was ‘the one’. Throw in some bagpipes and Bob’s your uncle! Okay, it’s not quite as simple as that…
Whilst Farnham brings a typical Australian “give everything a go” attitude, he’s riddled with anxiety and prefers not to talk about himself too much. Farnham was in good hands though, with wife Jillian constantly picking him up when he was down and manager Wheatley who had a firm grasp on the reins of the album. So much so that he and wife Gaynor mortgaged their house to fund the production and distribution of the album. Together, they all persisted because they believed in each other. Now that’s friendship.
Finally, someone gave it a crack. ‘You’re The Voice’ was played on radio. Within a month, it was number 1 on the charts in various countries around the world and it stayed there for seven weeks in Australia. An anthem was born, and a star was re-born.
Following phenomenal international success, Farnham was named Australian of the Year in 1987. ‘Whispering Jack’ still holds the record for the biggest selling album in Australia by an Australian artist. Did I mention he’s snapped up more ARIA Awards than anyone else in history? Beat that.
The Farnham Effect
My earliest memory of Farnham’s music is when I performed ‘Two Strong Hearts’ at primary school with friends, creating whimsical dance moves that expressed the lyrics. Whilst the dancing was nothing groundbreaking, those joyful actions have stuck with me forever.
We've got two strong hearts
We stick together like the honey and the bee
You and me
✌🏻💪🏻❤️+🍯🐝+🫵🏻☝🏻
I have fond memories of his duet with Jimmy Barnes singing ‘When Something Is Wrong (With My Baby)’. My Mum is a huge Cold Chisel fan. Listening to Farnsy and Barnsy while drinking Two Dogs Lemon Brew beers in the backyard; how very cliché of my denim-clad parents in the 90’s.
‘You’re The Voice’ is my karaoke song, but only after a few drinks so I can really hit that high note in the chorus.
“Make a noise and make it clearrrrrr”
It’s an anthem, often sung around friends in sporting clubs or at pubs. My favourite memory of this song is when it was played at my wedding reception as my husband and I farewelled our guests. I was bawling my eyes out and hugging everyone! Incredibly special.
Jump to the 13:23 mark of this YouTube clip for ‘You’re The Voice’ performed in Munich, 1987.
‘Chain Reaction’ is the album where I recognise every song because my parents and grandparents played it all the time. That opening strum of the guitar in ‘That’s Freedom’ triggers my childhood heartbeat. Every song is sing-along worthy and gives me flutters.
It would be remise of me not to mention Farnham’s duets with dame Olivia Newton John. Here’s my favourite. Their connection whilst singing together was always touching.
Farnham branched out into musical theatre, playing the role of Jesus in the Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar, alongside Kate Ceberano and Jon Stevens. Iconic.
Farnham’s Narrative | ‘The Voice Inside’
John Farnham was one of the first artists I wanted to dive into for Mixtape. He is the soundtrack of my Australian life, after all. I was desperate for more of Farnham’s side of the story after seeing the 2023 documentary ‘Finding The Voice’. It is a fantastic film by Poppy Stockell, yet it lacked his personal presence and narrative.
Waiting for the release of his biography was worth my while. You see, Farnham wasn’t ever interested in putting together a memoir. However, the success of the documentary motivated him. The film making process formed relationships built on trust between creatives, Farnham, his family and management. From there, they embarked on countless interviews, approximately 50 hours’ worth, to capture Farnham’s tell-all tales and publish them as ‘The Voice Inside’. Thank goodness. I needed this memoir more than I realised.
Farnham’s reflections and storytelling are compelling, moving, and authentically brilliant. I learned how tough life was for the first two decades of his career - personally and financially. Plagued with self-doubt, coercively controlled and drugged by his first manager, and completely broke. Farnham also struggled to conceive children with wife Jill, who lovingly wrote a couple of chapters in the book. Hearing them talk about each other after 50 years of marriage is wonderful. Then there is his recent battle with sadly and ironically, oral cancer.
Despite all of this, he is gracious, happy to be alive, as cheeky as ever and refreshingly honest. He talks about the music making process, the songs, the tours and his most memorable shows and audiences. His gratitude for his band is welcoming, because all I could ever dream of was being John Farnham’s backup singer. I am sure I’m not alone!
I prefer the audiobook version because he reads it himself, ad-libbing as he goes. He also laughs and hums a tune now and then, which is beautiful to hear.
‘The Voice Inside’ linked below.
🎞️ Watch It On Prime, Apple TV, YouTube
Enjoy my curated John Farnham Mixtape filled with hits and covers, such as this one by Guy Sebastian. Perfection.
Thank You, John Farnham.
