Do we like John Farnham?
Our score: 8 out of 10. No harmful words or company turned up, he gifted his best-known song to a cause that cost him some fans, and he backs a charity gig; the record on LGBTQ+ issues is thin.
Before he was the Voice he was Johnny, a teen star whose career was run by his first manager, Darryl Sambell, for about a decade until he was sacked in 1976. That chapter matters because Farnham himself has now told it, and it explains a lot about the man who came back in the 1980s.
In his memoir The Voice Inside, Farnham alleges Sambell secretly drugged him for years, with a half-dissolved pill in his coffee passed off as something to keep him awake. He also alleges Sambell was overbearing and sexually aggressive, controlled his clothes, diet, songs and schedule, and kept him from friends and family. Sambell died in 2001 and no response from him or his representatives was reported. Farnham put some of it on himself, writing that he “gave away control of my career, my direction and my life.”
On the harm check, nothing nasty turned up in what we read, and one thing stands out: in 2023 he gifted his performance of You're the Voice to the Yes campaign for the Indigenous Voice referendum. His friends said he was not paid, and he said he hoped the song might help change the lives of First Nations people. It cost him: some fans said they'd stop supporting him and reportedly binned their CDs. Honest gap: we found nothing from him specifically on LGBTQ+ or trans issues, so this is a pass on a thin record.
There's more coming. Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical has its world premiere at Sydney Theatre Company's Roslyn Packer Theatre from 15 November, running to 3 January 2027, with Michael Paynter playing him. The cast list includes the Wheatleys and Sambell, so the old stories get an airing too.
The good stuff is quieter than a trophy cabinet. He said the tribute gave him a way of “giving something back” to a cause that means a great deal to him, and he'd first declined the idea until the charity angle changed his mind. Gifting his best-known song to a referendum campaign, knowing the heat it would draw, is the other big mark in his favour.
So would we support him? Yes. We found no harmful words, no dodgy company and no pattern of treating people badly, and the one time he stepped into politics it was for First Nations people. The only thing keeping this from a ten is that the record on LGBTQ+ issues is thin, and we'd rather say so than gush.