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John Farnham

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
1988 Age of Reason
1990 Chain Reaction
1993 Then Again…
1996 Romeo’s Heart
2000 33⅓
2002 The Last Time
2005 I Remember When I Was Young: Songs from The Great Australian Songbook
2007 Whispering Jack
2010 Jack
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Latest Articles

News / Music
Severe Weather Forces John Farnham To Postpone WA Gig Last-minute
“We apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused."
News / Music
John Farnham To Headline 2018 By The C Event
See the full line-up.
News / Music
John Farnham, Hoodoo Gurus & More Aussie Legends To Play 'World's Most Remote Music Fest'
Pack up the car, we're going to the Simpson Desert.
News / Music
From left: John Farnham, Baby Animals, Daryl Braithwaite
John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite, Baby Animals & More Named On Red Hot Summer Tour Line-up
The all-Aussie all-star affair returns for another run in 2018.
News / Music
Scumbags Scalp Tickets To All-star Aus Charity Concert
"Everyday folk are constantly being ripped off and steered to this site and others through their Google advertising ... Enough is enough."
News / Music
John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite Lead One Electric Day 2017 Line-up
“One Day Electric has become an important part of Melbourne music lovers annual calendar."
Reviews / Live
Live Review: A Weekend In The Gardens: John Farnham, Daryl Braithwaite, Ross Wilson
"We hear the first beat to 'You're The Voice' and the crowd becomes ecstatic."
News / Music
Melbourne's Botanic Gardens To Host John Farnham, Boy & Bear Gigs Next Year
Oysters, gardens and music? We're gonna feel fancy as fuck
News / Music
John Farnham in Sydney, 2015. Pic by Josh Groom
John Farnham & Daryl Braithwaite Are Heading To Rottnest
Music by the beach
News / Music
Pic provided by Jeff Apter
Read An Exclusive Extract From The Latest John Farnham Biography That Singer Has Slammed
"By the night of the final show, John was fed up. He’d had enough of the bickering,"
News / Music
John Farnham in Sydney, 2015. Pic by Josh Groom
EXCLUSIVE: Author Of Unauthorised John Farnham Biography Hits Back After Singer Slams Book
'He won’t endorse this, but the book that you’ve written is the most honest and real portrait of John.'
News / Music
Red Hot Summer Tour Unveils Second 2017 Line-up ft. John Farnham, Shannon Noll, Taxiride & More
Tickets on sale next week