John Farnham: Finding The Voice (2023)
Crocodile Dundee, Yahoo Serious, The Wiggles and Steve Irwin. Four of the most legendary imports from Australia that have penetrated the American Pop Culture consciousness. Unfortunately, one of the great figures from Down Under has not received the same attention and that is the singer known by fans as "The Voice"; John Farnham. Director Poppy Stockell has created one of the best music documentaries in recent years that has yet to reach the Netflix or Amazon Prime audience, but luckily is available on iTunes. Even if you've never heard of John Farnham or heard one note of his songs, you are in for a feel-good rock and roll tale.
The film opens in 1966 with Farnham, then a teenage plumber’s apprentice, being discovered while singing at a local musical event. After contributing to a few jingles, he became an overnight success under the name "Johnny Farnham" with the novelty song "Sadie (The Cleaning Lady)" which went to #1, beating The Beatles and other internationally recognized acts of the day. Suddenly, Farnham was the most recognized person in Australia and living the high life. Unfortunately, fame eluded him overseas and his matinee idol status became outdated by the mid-70s. Bordering on has-been, Farnham takes a job as lead singer of the already famous Australian group Little River Band in order to regain his status, but clashes with his fellow band members occurred and he came out of his tenure in debt. That's where his manager Glenn Wheatley comes to Farnham's side to institute the comeback of a lifetime. Mortgaging his house and shopping the album "Whispering Jack" to record companies and radio stations that wrote the singer of "Sadie..." off years earlier, Wheatley puts everything on the line to help his best friend. The gamble paid off and "Whispering Jack" became the biggest selling album by an Australian in the country's history and its hit song "You're The Voice" became an anthem for world peace. After struggling to regain his popularity, John Farnham was on top of the world, with endless tours of Australia and Europe that continued for years to follow.
"Finding The Voice" is as good a biography as you can get because not only do you get the full story that doesn't seem as stilted as a Wikipedia article, you walk in the subject's shoes. Director Stockell shows us John Farnham as both celebrity and regular human being. There are moments where you can picture Farnham at his lowest and the descriptions of a mid-life crisis backed up by depression, panic attacks and tears. Then there's the confidence of recording an album like "Whispering Jack", sifting through thousands of demos and eventually finding the song that becomes his signature tune, originally over the objection of its songwriter. The result is a biography that puts every episode of “Behind The Music” to shame, and honors its subject as a survivor of the music industry’s cutthroat system of instant fame and inevitable rejection.
This documentary also touches on the importance of Glenn Wheatley and his wife Gaynor in shaping Farnham’s life and helping his sanity when he was at his lowest point. Singer Richard Marx mentioned in the film that the music industry is not a place known for friendships, but John Farnham and Glenn Wheatley’s relationship ran so deep that even when Wheatley found himself in legal trouble, Farnham did not abandon him. If anything, their bond deepened. Sadly, Wheatley died in early 2022, around the same time as frequent collaborator Olivia Newton-John. The last 10 minutes acts as an elegy to the two and gives them the deserved credit for being integral parts of Farnham’s life and success.
One of John Farnham’s biggest hits with the Little River Band “Playing To Win” defines his pursuit to conquer the world:
If you want me, come and get me You don't have a chance if you don't move now I'm not waiting any longer You know that I'm playing to win this time
Well John, you won the battle and are reaping the rewards of your success.
9.5/10
