Who is John Farnham?
John Farnham is one of Australia's most popular singers, born in England in 1949 and raised in Melbourne. His 1986 anthem You're the Voice became one of the best-selling Australian songs of all time.
Farnham became a teen idol in 1967 with the novelty hit Sadie (The Cleaning Lady), which topped the Australian charts. Known as Johnny Farnham, he was a regular on television and in musicals through the late 1960s and 1970s.
His career slowed in the late 1970s, and in the early 1980s he sang lead for Little River Band. In 1986 he released the solo album Whispering Jack, which included You're the Voice.
Whispering Jack
Whispering Jack became the best-selling album in Australian history at the time, spending weeks at number one. You're the Voice, with its bagpipes and powerful chorus, became an anthem for many causes and sporting events.
Farnham's 2002 farewell tour, The Last Time, was followed by many more concerts, leading to jokes about his many farewells. He was named Australian of the Year in 1987.
In 2022 he underwent surgery for mouth cancer and later recovered. A 2023 documentary, John Farnham: Finding the Voice, became one of Australia's highest-grossing documentaries.
Did You Know?
Farnham's manager, Glenn Wheatley, mortgaged his house to fund the recording of Whispering Jack.