John Farnham

Born: 1 / 7 / 1949

Location: Australia

Open artist website
Open artist Apple Music

John Farnham

John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed until then as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer. His career has mostly been as a solo artist, although he replaced Glenn Shorrock as lead singer of Little River Band from 1982 to 1985.In November 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. Both the single and the album had top-ten success internationally, including No. 6 in the United Kingdom and No.1 in Sweden. Whispering Jack is the third-highest-selling album in Australian history, and as of May 2023 remains the highest-selling album in Australia by an Australian act.Farnham has become one of his country's best-known and most popular performers, and he is the only Australian artist to have a number-one record (album or single) in five consecutive decades (echoing that of Cliff Richard in the UK), with singles including "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" in 1967, "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" in 1970, and "Age of Reason" in 1988; and albums Whispering Jack in 1986, Age of Reason in 1988, Chain Reaction in 1990, Then Again... in 1993, 33⅓ in 2000, and The Last Time in 2002. Along with touring with numerous artists, including The Seekers and international acts like Stevie Nicks and Lionel Richie, he released various collaborative albums: Tom Jones on Together in Concert (2005); Olivia Newton-John and Anthony Warlow, including Highlights from The Main Event (1998); Two Strong Hearts Live (2015); and Friends for Christmas (2016).Farnham has been recognised by many honours and awards, including 1987 Australian of the Year, 1996 Officer of the Order of Australia, and 19 ARIA Awards, including his 2003 induction into the Hall of Fame. Starting in 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 (With Colleen Hewett), Bobby Dazzler, and Farnham and Byrne (with Debra Byrne), and as a guest on numerous other popular shows such as The Don Lane Show, Countdown and Hey Hey It's Saturday.

Albums

1968 Sadie
1970 Christmas Is…
1970 Looking Through a Tear
1980 Uncovered
1986 Whispering Jack

MusicBrainz content provided under the terms of the Data License
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

News / Music
'John Farnham: Finding The Voice' Doco Wins Logie

'John Farnham: Finding The Voice' Doco Wins Logie

News / Music
Jessica Mauboy & Guy Sebastian To Honour John Farnham With Logies Tribute

Jessica Mauboy & Guy Sebastian To Honour John Farnham With Logies Tribute

Features / List
Favourite Aussie Collabs: John Farnham, Gotye & Kimbra, Fanning Dempsey National Park & More

Favourite Aussie Collabs: John Farnham, Gotye & Kimbra, Fanning Dempsey National Park & More

Features / Music
John Farnham's Turbulent Road To 'You're The Voice': 'Aussie Rock Anthems' Extract

John Farnham's Turbulent Road To 'You're The Voice': 'Aussie Rock Anthems' Extract

News / Music
John Farnham, The Wiggles Documentaries Nominated For Logie Awards

John Farnham, The Wiggles Documentaries Nominated For Logie Awards

News / Music
John Farnham's Son Shares First Public Photos Of His Dad Post-Surgery

John Farnham's Son Shares First Public Photos Of His Dad Post-Surgery

Features / Music
15 Great International Covers Of Australian Hits

15 Great International Covers Of Australian Hits

News / Music
Tour Of Duty: Live Album Dropping On ANZAC Day

Tour Of Duty: Live Album Dropping On ANZAC Day

News / Music
John Farnham Announces Long-Awaited Memoir 'The Voice Inside'

John Farnham Announces Long-Awaited Memoir 'The Voice Inside'

News / Music
John Farnham’s Family Share First Photo Following Cancer Surgery

John Farnham’s Family Share First Photo Following Cancer Surgery