John Farnham, billed under stage name Johnny Farnham from 1964 until 1979, is a British-born Australian pop singer who has released 21 studio albums, 6 live albums, 3 soundtracks, 19 compilation albums, 13 video albums, 3

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

s and 74

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

. Manager

Kenn Brodziak Kenneth Leo Brodziak OBE (31 May 19133 June 1999), known early in his career as Richard R. Raymon and nicknamed "Mr Show Business", was an Australian entrepreneur, theatre and concert promoter, producer and artist manager. His career lasted fro ...

changed his stage name to John Farnham in 1980, and he released his first album under this banner '' Uncovered'', featuring his version of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

hit single "

Help! ''Help!'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles and the soundtrack to their film of the same name. It was released on 6 August 1965. Seven of the fourteen songs, including the singles " Help!" and " Ticket to Ride", ...

". His career has mostly been as a solo artist but he replaced

Glenn Shorrock Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an English-born Australian singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo ...

as lead singer of

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a Rock music, rock band originally formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studi ...

during 1982–1985. Aside from solo releases, Farnham has recorded albums and duets with other artists or bands, including Tom Jones and

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Background

Farnham was vocalist for The Mavericks from 1964, by late 1965 he had joined Strings Unlimited, In 1966, they recorded a three-track demo tape with Farnham on vocals, Stewart Male on lead guitar, Barry Roy on rhythm guitar, Mike Foenander on keyboards and Peter Foggie on drums.

Talent manager A talent manager (also known as an artist manager, band manager or music manager) is an individual who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry. The responsibility of the talent manager is to oversee the day-to-da ...

Darryl Sambell Darryl Lloyd Sambell (26 November 194519 September 2001) was an Australian accountant, talent manager and music promoter from the mid-1960s. In 1967 Samball established the "Australian Musicians Booking Organisation" (AMBO), with fellow talent ...

, saw Strings Unlimited perform on 29 April 1967 and encouraged Farnham to go solo. Farnham recorded an advertising jingle, "Susan Jones", for airline, Ansett-ANA, and signed a contract with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

. Farnham's debut single was a

novelty song A novelty song is a type of song built upon some form of novel concept, such as a gimmick, a piece of humor, or a sample of popular culture. Novelty songs partially overlap with comedy songs, which are more explicitly based on humor, and wit ...

, "

Sadie (The Cleaning Lady) "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" was Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham's first solo single. The novelty song was released in November 1967 and was No. 1 on the ''Go-Set'' National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968 NOTE: ''Go-Set'' publis ...

", released in November 1967. His debut extended play, ''Johnny Farnham'', followed in December, and his single peaked at No. 1 on the Australian National Singles Charts for five weeks in early 1968. NOTE: ''Go-Set'' published its National Singles Charts from October 1966 until August 1974, they were compiled by

Ed Nimmervoll Edward Charles Nimmervoll (21 September 1947 – 10 October 2014) was an Australian music journalist, author and historian. He worked on rock and pop magazines ''Go-Set'' (1966–1974) and ''Juke Magazine'' (1975–92) both as a journalist ...

. Selling 180,000 copies in Australia, "Sadie" was the highest selling single by an Australian artist of the decade. Farnham's debut studio album, '' Sadie'' was issued in April 1968. Other No. 1 singles are "

Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the 1969 film ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid''. The uplifting lyrics describe somebody who overcomes his troubles and worries by realizing that "it w ...

" in 1969–1970, "

You're the Voice "You're the Voice" is a song written by Andy Qunta, Keith Reid, Maggie Ryder and Chris Thompson, and recorded by the Australian singer John Farnham and released as a single in September 1986 ahead of his album '' Whispering Jack''. "You're t ...

" in 1986 and "Age of Reason" in 1988; and his No. 1 albums are ''

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: ...

'' in 1986–1987, '' Age of Reason'' in 1988, ''

Chain Reaction A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events. Chain reactions are one way that sys ...

'' in 1990, '' Then Again'' in 1993, '' Anthology 1: Greatest Hits 1986-1997'' in 1997, ''

Highlights from The Main Event ''Highlights from The Main Event'' is an Australian live album released in 1998, which consists of performances from the collaborative The Main Event Tour by John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, and Anthony Warlow. The album peaked at No. 1 o ...

'' with

and with Anthony Warlow in 1998, '' 33⅓'' in 2000, '' The Last Time'' in 2002 and in 2015 and '' Friends for Christmas''.

Albums

Studio albums

Live albums

Soundtrack albums

Compilation albums

Video albums

Notes

Extended plays

Singles

Guest appearances

References

General *

External links

* *
John Farnham
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farnham, John Discographies of Australian artists Pop music discographies