JOHN FARNHAM: 1968-present.
ok, john farnham, or johnny as he was called in the 60s and 70s, is a true legendary icon of Aussie music, and the only one i can think of who still releases albums since the 1960's as a pop/adult rock artist.
John was born in Daggenham,London in 1949, sometime in the early 1950s his family emigrated downunder, after finishing school early to start a career as a plumber, johnny decided one day around 1967 to book himself into a melbourne studio to make a private one off recording for his own benefit(sound familliar...like Elvis) and was duly picked up by the company's bosses, in what was to become the most successful career by an Aussie solo artist in post rock history.
he had a real boyish charm about himself and a quick cockney witt that appealed to young teenage girls, thus his first singles were aimed at that market...covers of "raindrops keep falling on my head" and "one(is the loneliest number)" were huge teeny bopper hits as was a little ditty called "sadie(the cleaning lady)"...a song he admits he has always hated but still plays it live for his fans. numerous top ten hits followed throughout the 1970s and culminated in a gloriously power ballad version of The Beatles "help" in 1979...Macca himself has publicly said in Aussie media interviews that Farnham's version of this Beatles classic is his favourite.
also during the 1970's Farnham was voted the best male singer seven out of the ten years of that decade.
sadie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0c55lXRAeg original version
one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auc6RjUf6pI 2003 live version(superior to the original IMO)
raindrops keep falling on my head
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ISwXBa-5WA original
rose coloured glasses
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqpJTocGM-E original
help
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7Le6RIgh6g live
following Glenn Shorrock's departure from LRB(little river band) in 1979, john was approached to take over vocal duties, he duly accepted thinking this would expose himself to the US market, he stayed with LRB for five years, in which time they racked up numerous hits on both sides of the Atlantic, including a great version of 1960s Easybeats classic 'st.louis'.
the other guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzn5vbviCv8 live
st.louis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwCdEirWxzM live
down on the border
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZePGvMi3rNo live
lightheated interview about his LRB days
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f25a24u7U...re=related
following the demise of LRB, Farnham had no real direction to go until he has given a set of songs from aussie writers and released the biggest selling album by an Aussie artist, a record that stood for nearly thirty years. that album was "whispering jack" which produced a fistful of hits for around two years, from there his popularity just got bigger and bigger as he got a new generational fanbase to compliment those that remained faithful from the 60s and 70s.....several huge albums followed as did massive tours downunder...were talking selling out 15,000 seat stadiums night after night on tours that last a good couple of months at a time(not bad considering theres really only 6 major cities here), around 1995ish Tom Jones toured here and John was his support act, Tom claimed at the time that "a guy with his vocal ability should not play secong fiddle to anyone"...a huge compliment to follow the Macca one re: "help".
Jones promised that next time he toured Austalia that it would be a joint series of shows with Farnham, with each performing a 90 minute set followed by a joint 60minute performance.
towards the end of the 1990s Farnhams health declined due to his 100 cigarette a day habit, had his bladder removed through cancer and needed to wear a 'piss bag'...he announced a final farewell tour before he retired and again packed out stadiums across Aust and New Zealand before heading into retirement. in the early 2000s he again began recording material and ventured out on the road again...believe it or not he faced lawsuits from disgruntled fans who believed that they had wasted money seeing him on his previous farewell tour and felt dupped by him!!!....bloody idiots!...and the courts agreed throwing out the lawsuits!
since then Farnham has released another couple of albums, toured once again with his good friend Tom Jones and continues to tour to sellout crowds every 18 months or so.....he is a true survivor of the rock scene and he still has that powerful voice to this day.
youre the voice
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxlE7yCSHAM video
burn for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PPvOhPspEA live
age of reason
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYRibEuL_m4 live
two strong hearts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqaMHMooiEU live
tryin' to live my life without you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McQtDUpTKDk live
chain reaction
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWGXmWB4tKQ live
man of the hour
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjTJX0M4AGo live
youre the voice (with Tom Jones)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgiOVgeMmFI live
mama told me not to come(with Tom Jones)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROfSAOmWd...re=related live
its a long way to the top(if you wanna rock and roll)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfmRQUTRaHc live....real classy version!
hope you enjoyed this post and more importantly checked out the links!
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