John Farnham

John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949), is a British-born Australian singer, actor, and television personality. As Johnny Farnham, he was a teen pop idol from 1967 to 1979 and thereafter was an adult contemporary entertainer, becoming one of Australia's best-known and most popular performers and the only Australian musical artist to have a number-one single or album in each of six consecutive decades. He was managed by Darryl Sambell from 1967 to 1976 and by his long-term friend Glenn Wheatley from 1980 until Wheatley's death in 2022. Farnham married former dancer Jillian Billman in 1973 and the couple have two children. Farnham's first commercially successful recording was the American-written novelty song "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)". Released in November 1967 the song gave Farnham widespread recognition in Australia. He subsequently replaced Glenn Shorrock as lead singer of Little River Band (LRB) from 1982 to 1986 but otherwise has worked mostly as a solo artist. In November 1986 his solo single "You're the Voice" peaked at No. 1 on the Australian singles charts, and the associated album, Whispering Jack, held the number-one position on the album charts for a total of 25 weeks. Whispering Jack is the third-highest-selling album in Australian history and as of September 2026 remains the highest-selling album in Australia by any Australian artist. Both the single and the album also had international success, with the album reaching No. 6 in the United Kingdom and No. 1 in Sweden. Farnham's other number-one recordings are the singles "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" (1970) and "Age of Reason" (1988), and the albums Age of Reason (1988), Chain Reaction (1990), Then Again... (1993), 33⅓ (2000), The Last Time (2002), and Two Strong Hearts Live (2015). He has toured with numerous artists including the Seekers, Stevie Nicks, and Lionel Richie, and has released three collaborative albums with Olivia Newton-John and one with Tom Jones. Farnham has been recognised with numerous honours and awards, including Australian of the Year (1987), Officer of the Order of Australia (1996), 22 ARIA Music Awards (including his 2003 induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame), and he was voted 'King of Pop' by TV Week magazine readers for five consecutive years from 1969 to 1973. Aside from his recording career Farnham has acted in musical theatre with lead roles in Australian productions of Charlie Girl (1971), Pippin (1974), and Jesus Christ Superstar (1992). He starred in his own TV series and specials, including It's Magic (with Colleen Hewett, 1974), Bobby Dazzler (1977–78), and Farnham and Byrne (with Debra Byrne, 1980), as well as appearing as a guest on numerous television shows, including The Don Lane Show, Countdown, and Hey Hey It's Saturday. Farnham has not performed publicly since February 2020. In August 2022 a cancerous tumour was successfully removed from his mouth in an operation involving jaw reconstruction. His autobiography The Voice Inside (2024), was co-written with Poppy Stockell. In May 2026 Farnham announced that, "because of the surgeries to my mouth and face over the past few years, singing on stage is not something I can consider again". On 20 September 2026 numerous local and international artists presented a tribute concert, The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend. However, Farnham was unable to attend due to his poor health.

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