"You're the Voice" is a song written by

Andy Qunta Anderson Amos Temba "Andy" Qunta (born 9 January 1951) is an English singer, songwriter, composer and musician. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Qunta is best known as the keyboardist of the Australian rock band Icehouse from between 19 ...

Keith Reid Keith Stuart Brian Reid (born 19 October 1946 Allmusic.com biography by Jason Ankeny/ref>) is a lyricist and songwriter who wrote the lyrics of every song released by Procol Harum that was not previously recorded by someone else, with the excep ...

Maggie Ryder Maggie Ryder is an English singer/songwriter and musician, principally known as a backing singer for bands such Queen and Eurythmics. Career In her early career, Ryder was the keyboard player with British funk/rock band Krakatoa. She co-wr ...

and Chris Thompson, and recorded by the Australian singer

John Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

and released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album ''

Whispering Jack ''Whispering Jack'' is the twelfth studio album by Australian adult contemporary pop singer John Farnham. It was produced by Ross Fraser, and released on 20 October 1986, peaking at No. 1 on the Australian Kent Music Report Album Charts. NOTE: ...

''. "You're the Voice" was one of the biggest hits of 1986 in Australia, topping the

Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to January 1999. The chart was re-branded the Australian Music Report (AMR) in July ...

singles chart for seven weeks from 3 November to 21 December. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by

ARIA In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

between mid–1983 and 12 June 1988. At the

ARIA Music Awards of 1987 The First Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (generally known as the ARIA Music Awards or simply The ARIAS) was held on 2 March 1987 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney with Elton John as the host. The awards were ...

it won Single of the Year. The music video was recorded with celebrities (

Derryn Hinch Derryn Nigel Hinch (born 9 February 1944) is a New Zealand-born media personality, politician, actor, journalist and published author. He is best known for his career in Australia, on Melbourne radio and television. He served as a Senator for V ...

and

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress. Weaver emerged in the 1970s as a symbol of the Australian New Wave through her work in Ozploitation films such as '' Stork'' (1971), ''Alvin Purp ...

) and musicians (James and Vince Leigh of

Pseudo Echo Pseudo Echo are an Australian new wave band that formed in 1982 by founding mainstay Brian Canham on vocals, guitar and keyboards. Other original members were Pierre Gigliotti (as Pierre Pierre) on bass keyboards and bass guitar, and Tony Lugt ...

, Greg Macainsh), none of whom are on the original audio recording; and were assembled by Farnham's talent manager,

Glenn Wheatley Glenn Dawson Wheatley (23 January 1948 – 1 February 2022) was an Australian musician, talent manager and tour promoter. Career Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s. In the late 1960s he became known national ...

. Wheatley later recalled, " twas done on a shoestring budget. I called in Derryn and Jacki, some of the guys from Pseudo Echo (James and Vince Leigh) and Greg Macainsh from Skyhooks are in the band, it was pretty much anyone who'd do me a favour." "You're the Voice" re-entered the Australian singles chart more than 25 years after its original release (reaching No. 64), thanks to its appearance (to advertise the company's ''SYNC'' voice control system) in a 2012 Ford TV commercial. The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

is also one of Farnham's biggest successes in Europe, charting at No. 1 in Germany and Sweden and reaching the Top 10 in Austria, Ireland, Switzerland and the UK. Although "You're the Voice" was also successful in Canada (reaching the Top 20), in the US the track performed relatively poorly, missing the chart on its initial 1987 issue. BMG/RCA re-released the song in the US in February 1990 after Farnham made the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart with "Two Strong Hearts". Farnham's version eventually spent eight weeks on the US charts, peaking at No. 82, but in the US the song is probably best known for a charting version issued in 1991 by the band

Heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide t ...

. In January 2018, as part of

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

's "Ozzest 100" of the "most Australian' songs of all time", the song was ranked number 6.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Uses in popular culture

The song has been featured in numerous TV and film productions, including the film ''

Hot Rod Hot rods are typically American cars that might be old, classic, or modern and that have been rebuilt or modified with large engines optimised for speed and acceleration. One definition is: "a car that's been stripped down, souped up and made ...

'', the BBC series ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'', the film '' Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa'' and comedian

Peter Kay Peter John Kay (born 2 July 1973) is an English actor, comedy writer and stand-up comedian. He has written, produced and acted in several television and film projects, and has written three books. Born and brought up in Bolton, Kay studied ...

's '' Car Share'', and in the Swedish film '' Medicinen''. The

Australian Electoral Commission The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is the independent federal agency in charge of organising, conducting and supervising federal Australian elections, by-elections and referendums. Responsibilities The AEC's main responsibility is to ...

has used the song in advertisements surrounding Australian State and Federal elections since 2001. It is also featured in the original release of ''

Grand Theft Auto IV ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is a 2008 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It is the sixth main entry in the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series, following 2004's '' Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', and the ...

'' in in-game radio station Vice City FM. The song has been used by anti-lockdown

protesters A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...

who rallied in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. On 21 September 2020, it was reported by ''

Seven News ''7NEWS'' is the television news service of the Seven Network and, as of 2021, the highest-rating in Australia. National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition television, high definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while f ...

'' that the song had become a common theme at rallies around the city as Stage 4 lockdowns continue, however, Farnham's manager described it as "offensive" to Farnham and the manager himself.

Heart version

As a lead promotion for their first live album, '' Rock the House Live!'', in 1991, US rock band

released their live version of "You're the Voice" as a single. It was recorded during the US leg of their ''

Brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. Br ...

'' world tour in November 1990. Commercially, the single reached No. 20 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' Album Rock Tracks chart. In the UK, the single peaked at No. 56. A music video was released that includes footage shot from the tour while coverage of the then-ongoing

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

intervene. The song was released in multiple limited-edition formats in different territories. A studio version of the track had been recorded in late 1989 as part of the sessions for the ''Brigade'' album, though it did not make the album track list. This studio version would not see release until July 2000, when it was included on the greatest hits package, '' Greatest Hits: 1985–1995''.

Charts

Other covers

The Greek singer-songwriter

Lavrentis Machairitsas Lavrentis Machairitsas ( el, Λαυρέντης Μαχαιρίτσας; 5 November 1956 – 9 September 2019) was a Greek rock musician from Volos, Thessaly, Greece. Biography Early years Machairitsas was born in Volos and began taking pian ...

covered the song with lyrics translated to Greek, under the title "Rixe Kokkino Sti Nyhta" ("Ρίξε Κόκκινο στη Νύχτα" in Greek, translates to "Throw Red into the Night") in his 1993 album of the same name. Italian group

Matia Bazar Matia Bazar () is an Italian pop band formed in Genoa in 1975. The original members of the group were Piero Cassano (keyboards), Aldo Stellita (bass), Carlo Marrale (guitar, vocals), Giancarlo Golzi (drums) and Antonella Ruggiero (vocals). T ...

proposed a translated version of the song, with the title "La scuola dei serpenti" (The school of snakes), in their 1995 album "Radiomatia" Christian singer Rebecca St. James (who is from Australia) covered the song on her 1996 album ''

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

.''

David Archuleta David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American pop singer. At ten years old, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, leading to other television singing appearances. When he was twelve years old, he becam ...

performed a cover of the song on the 25, March 2008 episode of the singing competition

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

German Power Metal band

Blind Guardian Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres.Forever Never
covered the song on the album
I Can't Believe It's Not Metal
(

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Dami Im Dami Im ( , , ; born October 17, 1988) is a South Korean-born Australian singer and songwriter. She represented Australia at the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 held in Stockholm, Sweden with the song " Sound of Silence", placing second and ach ...

covered the song during Aussie Week in the fifth season of ''The X Factor Australia'' in 2013.

Mitch Tambo Mitch Tambo is an Australian singer, songwriter and political activist, who self-released his debut extended play, EP in 2016. In 2019, he reached the final of the Australia's Got Talent (season 9), ninth series of ''Australia's Got Talent'' an ...

performed an version sung in the

Gamilaraay The Gamilaraay, also known as Gomeroi, Kamilaroi, Kamillaroi and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose lands extend from New South Wales to southern Queensland. They form one of the four largest Indigenous nations in Aust ...

language in 2019 on '' Australia's Got Talent'' as his semi-final performance. In 2021, after doing a improvised performance of the song on an episode of '' Spicks and Specks'', his rendition entered the top 20 on the iTunes Charts. Jorn Lande covered the song on his 2016 covers album Heavy Rock Radio.

Emm Gryner Emm Gryner (born 8 June 1975 in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian-Filipino singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfie ...

released a version in 2022 on an album of the same name. In November 2022

Sam Ryder Sam Ryder Robinson (born 25 June 1989) is a British singer, songwriter, producer, composer and social media personality. He rose to prominence in 2020, after posting music covers on TikTok, during the first UK lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic ...

sang a cover of the song on the Blackpool results show of the 20th series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' during the show's opening group dance. He used an electric guitar in place of bagpipes. The track also appears on the deluxe version of his album ''

There's Nothing but Space, Man! ''There's Nothing but Space, Man!'' is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Sam Ryder, released on 9 December 2022 through Parlophone Records. Primarily a pop and pop rock record with elements of various genres including dance- ...

World Liberty Concert

Chris Thompson had joined

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and ''Let It Be'' ( ...

' band for his first solo album after the split of

The Alan Parsons Project The Alan Parsons Project was a British rock band active between 1975 and 1990, whose core membership consisted of producer, audio engineer, musician and composer Alan Parsons and singer, songwriter and pianist Eric Woolfson. They were accompanie ...

and was also one of the two frontmen on the ensuing tour, which was captured on the album '' Alan Parsons Live''. For the US release of this album in 1995 (retitled ''The Very Best Live''), the band added three new studio recordings, recorded in February 1995. One of these was "You're the Voice", which marked the first time a version featuring the original songwriter had been released. "You're the Voice" was then performed at the World Liberty Concert in May 1995 by The Alan Parsons Band, Chris Thompson and

Metropole Orkest The Metropole Orkest (Metropole Orchestra) is a jazz and pop orchestra based in the Netherlands, and is the largest full-time ensemble of its kind in the world. A hybrid orchestra, it is a combination of jazz, big band and symphony orchestra. Com ...

. The only official release associated with the concert was a single featuring a radio edit of the live version (faded out after four minutes). The B-side was a live recording of "White Dawn", which was performed by the

and Gelders Opera and Operetta Gezelschap (GOOG) choir. The song was arranged by

Andrew Powell Andrew Powell (born 18 April 1949) is an English musical composer, arranger and performer, born of Welsh parents. He himself moved to Wales in 2003. Early life Powell was born Surrey, England. He began piano lessons at the age of four and late ...

and conducted by Dick Bakker. During the performance of "White Dawn", a battle was simulated that included gunfire, which can be heard around the middle of the recording. This track has not been issued on any other release.

Track listing

#"You're the Voice (Radio Edit)" – ( Qunta,

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

Reid Reid is a surname of Scottish origin. It means "red". People with the surname * Alan Reid (disambiguation) * Alex Reid (disambiguation), includes Alexander Reid * Amanda Reid, Australian Paralympic athlete * Amanda Reid (taxonomist), Australia ...

Ryder Ryder System, Inc., commonly known as Ryder, is an American transportation and logistics company. It is especially known for its fleet of commercial rental trucks. Ryder specializes in fleet management, supply chain management, and transp ...

) – 4:14 Lead Vocals Chris Thompson #"White Dawn" – (

Parsons Parsons may refer to: Places In the United States: * Parsons, Kansas, a city * Parsons, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Parsons, Tennessee, a city * Parsons, West Virginia, a town * Camp Parsons, a Boy Scout camp in the state of Washingt ...

) – 4:50 instrumental Thompson has continued singing the song live in concert, e.g. with Mandoki Soulmates as recorded on the live album ''BudaBest'' as well as recording several more studio versions, e.g. with

Mads Eriksen Mads Eriksen (born 15 July 1977) is a Norwegian cartoonist, best known for the comic strips '' M'' and ''Gnom''. Biography Eriksen was born in Malvik. His career in comics began in 2000, when his first comic strip, ''Gnom'', was accepted into ...

on the album ''Rediscovery''. The original demo by Andy Qunta and Chris Thompson appeared on the deluxe reissue of Qunta's album ''Legend in a Loungeroom''.

Planet Rock Allstars

In November 2019, a single in support of the mental health charity

MIND The mind is the set of faculties responsible for all mental phenomena. Often the term is also identified with the phenomena themselves. These faculties include thought, imagination, memory, will, and sensation. They are responsible for various m ...

was curated by Planet Rock DJ Wyatt Wendels in conjunction with a 2000-mile charity cycle ride ''The Road to Rockstock''. The limited release CD was then made available from the ride's support vehicle, during late November/early December. The CD features three versions, the main version featuring many well-known rock artists including

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

Joe Elliott Joseph Thomas "Joe" Elliott (born 1 August 1959) is an English–Irish rock singer, best known as the lead singer and one of the founding members of the hard rock band Def Leppard. He has also been the lead singer of the David Bowie tribute ba ...

Lzzy Hale Elizabeth Mae "Lzzy" Hale (born October 10, 1983) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of hard rock band Halestorm, which she co-founded with her brother Arejay Hale in 1997. Career Hale began writing and ...

Justin Hawkins Justin David Hawkins (born 17 March 1975) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and YouTube personality best known for being the founder, lead singer, and lead guitarist of The Darkness. He was influenced by rock bands of the 1970s and 1 ...

Doug Aldrich Doug Aldrich (born February 19, 1964) is an American hard rock guitarist. He founded the band Burning Rain with Keith St. John in 1998 and has played with Whitesnake, Dio, Lion, Hurricane, House of Lords, Bad Moon Rising and Revolution Saints. ...

, Phil Campbell,

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

and Dan Reed. The other versions include the original backing track with

Toby Jepson Toby Jepson is a singer and songwriter, and is the lead vocalist and guitarist of British rock band Wayward Sons. He was formerly the lead vocalist and guitarist of Little Angels between 1984 and 1994. Between 2008 and 2015, he was the lead ...

on vocals, and a version with vocals by

. The song will be available as a digital download on 6 December 2019.

Sampling

Farnham's vocals are sampled in a

UK hardcore Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or "hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s. ...

track "You're the Voice" by the artist Waxman, released by record label Raving Mad in 1996 as the A-side of a 12" Vinyl record.

References

{{Authority control 1986 singles 1991 singles 1995 singles ARIA Award-winning songs John Farnham songs Heart (band) songs Rebecca St. James songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Germany Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Sweden 1980s ballads Pop ballads Rock ballads Songs with lyrics by Keith Reid 1986 songs Songs written by Andy Qunta Capitol Records singles CNR Music singles