John Peter Farnham was born on July 1st, 1949 in Millend Hospital, Essex, England weighing a healthy five pound one ounce.
He and his family lived in Dagenham, Essex for the first ten years of his life. John always had music around him, there may have been little money in the Farnham household but there was plenty of love and sing-a-longs. John's Grandad could strike a tune on almost any instrument and his Uncle Alf would lull him to sleep playing record after record.
John had pneumonia when he was six and was confined to bed. His Uncle Alf gave him a record player and one record - Jim Reeves singing 'He'll Have A Go'.
John's first musical instrument followed shortly after and was a plastic, four string guitar.
In 1959 John's parents John snr.,and Rose, John and his sisters Jean and Jackie emigrated to Australia. They travelled on the P&O Liner Orsova which sailed from Southampton. John also has a brother Steven who was born in Australia.
When the Farnham's arrived in Australia they stayed with John's Aunt Mary in Yarraman Park in Victoria. John atended Yarraman State Scool and Lyndale Primary School.
His first experience as an entertainer was a concert night at school, he performed Elvis Presley's 'Wooden Heart'. The night didn't go well, his guitar was out of tune. By the end of the performance the audience was yelling for him to get off - an interesting start to his show business career!
John's first real step towards a musical career was when he and two school friends formed a band called 'The Mavericks'. They didn't know many numbers but managed to get a few gigs at school socials. They all progressed to Lyndale High School together and the group regularly played at school concerts and at the Dandenong Town Hall. During School holidays John worked with family friend Stan Foster in his plumbing business. He didn't enjoy school for several reasons and took up the opportunity to leave and begin a plumbing apprenticeship with Stan. John's mathematics score was lower than needed to grant his permit. A kind assistant in the Commission changed the score and and he was granted his apprenticeship.
Eventually John would take a two year leave of absence from his plumbing job to pursue his singing career. He never returned to it. John had overwhelming success in the sixties as a pop singer. The hits and awards just kept coming. Farnham was the most popular singer in the country. He could do no wrong. The hits continued into the seventies and so did the awards. In 1971 he starring in the musical 'Charlie Girl'. Fame comes at a price. Two death threats were made against him.
John met and proposed to Jillian Billman during the production of 'Charlie Girl' and they were married on April 18th, 1973 at St. Matthew's Church of England in the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy. John spent 1974 starring in the musical 'Pippin'. His popularity was still high at this time but his singles were failing to chart. Despite initial plans to go to the United States to give his career a boos, John decided that he would stay in Australia.
He made several appearances on television shows. In early 1976 John and his manager Darryl Sambell split, he approached Kenn Brodziak to be his mamager. John continued in television roles and released more singles. His career was picking up again. Danny Finlay took over as John's manager in 1978. John and Colleen Hewitt purchased a restaurant in Melbourne. It led to personal and financial losses. In 1979 John and Jill's first son, Robert was born. It was at this time that Glenn Wheatley took over as John's manager. 1980 saw the release of John's 'comeback' album, Uncovered. John joined the Little River Band in 1981. LRB released 3 albums and toured the world. They received popular acclaim, but after what was four turbulent years, John announced he was leaving the band to pursue a solo career.
While Glenn Wheatley searched in vain for a record deal and a record producer, John began the search for songs. Months rolled by, and still no producer in sight. John started working songs with soundman Ross Fraser. Ther was still no producer some months later so John and Ross decided they would produce the album themselves. Glenn Wheatley mortgaged his house to bankroll the album. The first single 'You're The Voice' restored John Farnham to Number One for the first time in 17 years. October 1986, John's first solo album in six years, Whispering Jack was an incredibly huge success. It spent an incredible 18 weeks at No.1. John scooped the awards at the next Aria Awards, winning a total of six awards.
'Whispering Jack' was also an international success, reaching the top three in Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland. It remains the biggest selling Australian album of all time and has reached 17 times platinum in Australia alone.
1988 was a busy year for John, his second son James, was born in January. He was announced 'Australian Of The Year' and his next album, 'Age Of Reason' was released which debuted at No.1.
John was invited to Moscow in 1989 to release the Greenpeace album, 'Rainbow Warriors'. 'Chain Reaction' released in 1990 followed its predecessors and debuted at No.1. The Chain Reaction tour broke attendance records across the country. In 1991 an album of live performances from between 1985 and 1991 was released called 'Full House'. John took on the role of Jesus in the 1992 production of Jesus Christ Superstar, the stage show and the album were both highly successful. John continued to release albums and tour in the 90's. First 1993's 'Then Again' followed by 'Romeo's Heart' in 1996. He toured in support of both albums with the highly successful Talk Of The Town and Jack Of Hearts tours.
John's 30 year career was celebrated with the release of 'Anthology 1, 2 and 3' in 1997. In 1998 he toured with The Main Event and in 1999 celebrated his 50th birthday with the 'I Can't Believe He's 50 Tour' and the album 'Live At The Regent Theatre'.
A concert on John's birthday at The Regent Theatre was a huge event in Melbourne, large screens projected the concert to the adoring crowds in the street. John was awarded 'The Key To The City' by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne and he ended the year with a concert held in East Timor for the INTERFET troops.
In July 2000 33 1/3 was released followed by the 'Man Of The Hour' tour in November and December. He played to sell-out concerts across the country. Throughout John's career he has been involved in many charities, promoted many products and been presented with numerable awards. He is one of this country's most popular and well liked entertainers. He is an Australian Icon.
John and Jill live on a property in Victoria with their two sons Robert and James. They share a passion for horseriding. They particularly love quarterhorses. Over the last few years they have become heavily involved with horse reigning. (which is designed to show a horse's ability in the show ring) They competed in the 1994 Celebrity Horse Reigning Title, John was first and Jill a well deserved third. John has a horse in the USA. Her name is Blue Boon's My Granny (he bought her after she was named. John also loves anything to do with the water. He particularly enjoys scuba diving and fishing, which sons Robert and James share his enthusiasm for.
Source: http://www.johnfarnham.info
