John Farnham. Copyright owner: Gaynor Wheatley
The John Farnham documentary Finding The Voice is a rare thing among Australian music films in that it is good, in fact, very good.
Everybody knows “Your The Voice”, a song where even non-singers will attempt to hit the high notes, but nobody could prepare themselves for the roller coaster ride that has been Farnham’s life as it unfolds in this documentary.
The first pivot of his life is when he turns in an apprenticeship to record “Sadie, The Cleaning Lady” , a song so dripping in fromage that it would have killed the career of a lesser singer.
Instead it became the biggest selling song of the year and was followed by further hits “One” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head”.
The rollercoaster to the top keeps going when he is crowned “King of Pop” five years in a row, as he branches out into stage musicals where he meets dancer Jill Bilman, who would become his future wife.
John Farnham and Glenn Wheatley at the Stock Exchange. Copyright owner: Gaynor Wheatley
As the seventies progress, single artists like Farnham are out of favour and he is soon relegated to the cabaret circuit, shortening his name from “Johnny” to John.
By now the roller coaster is heading downwards and the newly married Farnham’s family fall into penury as well as career obscurity, further clouded by the then little understood condition of depression.
Like a white knight of olde, former bass player for Masters Apprentices and now manager of the Little River Band (LRB), Glenn Wheatley, enters Farnham’s life, offering him a management deal and LRB’s Graeham Goble to produce a reworking of The Beatles “Help”, which puts him back on the upper deck of the roller coaster again.
John Farnham performing. Copyright owner: Serge Thomann
The project also cements the close bond between artist and manager, which they would maintain until Wheatley’s death in 2022.
That bond even survived Farnham’s little known and ultimately unhappy relationship with LRB after the sacking of Glenn Shorrock.
Once again Farnham felt that he had no control over his professional life and once again the debt collector comes knocking.
Once free of LRB commitments, Farnham is without a record deal. Wheatley decides to mortgage his home to fund Whispering Jack, which is put together in a garage with Farnham in charge, along with producer Ross Fraser and keyboardist David Hirschfelder.
“You’re the Voice” is one of a couple of thousand demo tapes that Farnham listened to, but it almost didn’t happen.
John Farnham & RossFraser. JOHN FARNHAM FINDING THE VOICE
The songwriters had not given permission for it to be recorded so Farnham had to take another chance and just do it, making Australian music history as a legend was born.
This is where most of us come into Farnham: the album Whispering Jack went to number one on the Australian charts for 25 weeks; was a top 10 hit in much of Europe and transformed the former English migrant into an Aussie legend.
What follows is a golden period for Farnham, with tracks such as “Age of Reason”, “Chain Reaction” and “Burn for You” searing themselves into the Australian music landscape.
Farnham also forges professional and personal relationships with other performers including Olivia Newton-John, Tom Jones, Jimmy Barnes and The Seekers.
John Farnham performing with Olivia Newton-John. Copyright owner: Serge Thomann
During this period Farnham also forms a stellar band of mainly unknown musicians referred to as the Farnham Band.
However, it is his relationships with wife, Jill and family, and his manager Wheatley that are the cornerstones of his life.
Fortunately there is also a strong bond between Wheatley’s wife Gaynor and the Farnham family that has been instrumental in the making of the film.
What makes Finding The Voice so impactful is what is left out as much as what is placed in.
The extensive footage covers Farnham’s career from “Sadie” to the last couple of big stadium shows.
In particular, there is great live material showing just how good LRB were when he was fronting, and touching images of him and ONJ performing together.
Throughout all stages of his career, Farnham possessed “the voice”, and it has been our treat to have been lucky enough to have heard it and to have lived with it.
Across the duration of the film Farnham takes a restrained presence, with the filmmakers letting others speak for his qualities.
This is a taut and engaging look at Farnham’s life that eludes hagiography and gratuitous interviews as it unflinchingly maintains its course over a long and event-filled career.
One of the best music documentaries about one of our best singers.