John Farnham

Australian singer

John Peter Farnham AO (born 1 July 1949) is an English-born Australian singer.

Farnham in Brisbane, March 2014
Farnham statue in Melbourne

Life and career change

Farnham was born in Dagenham, Essex, United Kingdom. In 1959, his family moved to Australia to live in Melbourne, Victoria.

Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, known as Johnny Farnham. He then went on to have a very popular career as an adult popular music singer. In his career, he has mostly been as a solo artist. However, from 1982 to 1985, he was the lead singer of the rock band Little River Band. He has been called one of his country's best-known and most popular musical performer.[1] In September 1986, his solo single "You're the Voice" was released. It peaked at No. 1 on the Australian singles charts. The song was also No. 1 on Sweden's Sverigetopplistan[2] and on West Germany's Official German Charts.[3] He has also performed on stage with lead roles in Australian productions of Charlie Girl, Pippin and Jesus Christ Superstar (1992).

In 1987, Farnham was named Australian of the Year.[4] In 1996, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia. He has also won a total of 19 ARIA Awards.

Farnham is married to Jillian Billman. The couple have two sons. He is a supporter of the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League.

In August 2022, Farnham was diagnosed with cancer and had surgery to treat it.[5]

References change

  1. "Encyclopedia entry for 'John Farnham'". Whammo. Archived from the original on 29 August 2004. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  2. "JOHN FARNHAM – YOU'RE THE VOICE (SONG)". Swedish Charts Portal. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  3. "John Farnham – Offizielle Deutsche Charts". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  4. "1987 Australian of the Year". Australian of the Year Awards. Retrieved 5 April 2019.[permanent dead link]
  5. "Singer John Farnham undergoes surgery after revealing cancer diagnosis". ABC News. 2022-08-22. Retrieved 2022-08-23.

Other websites change