Photos by Martin Philbey
Australia’s music-loving public packed Rod Laver Arena last night to pay tribute to a vocal legend. After much anticipation, The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert, was presented in a large-scale survey of Farnham’s career featuring more than 120 performers and musicians. The night was even more poignant given the recent news that John’s health had deteriorated and he would not be able to attend the event.
Produced by Cochrane Entertainment and TEG Dainty, the concert brought together a broad cross-section of Australian music, with Vanessa Amorosi, Tina Arena, Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Diesel, Human Nature, Jack Jones, Jessica Mauboy, Keith Urban, Jon Stevens, Richard Marx, Mark Vincent, Ross Wilson and Mitch Tambo among the performers.
Special guests, Chris Martin, Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman also appeared remotely.
The show opened with an extended Age of Reason sequence, featuring Jon Stevens, Jessica Mauboy, Jack Jones, Mahalia Barnes and Human Nature among those taking on Farnham’s material. From there, the set moved through familiar Farnham songs and collaborations, including Chain Reaction, When the War Is Over, Touch of Paradise, Everything’s Alright, Burn For You, Pressure Down and That’s Freedom.
Farnham’s son Rob Farnham performed Love To Shine, accompanied by an adult choir, while Ross Wilson revisited Touch of Paradise and Keith Urban performed Burn For You solo with guitar.
Chong Lim AM, Farnham’s longtime musical director, was responsible for the arrangements and musical direction, conducting a 38-piece orchestra alongside The John Farnham Band. The production also featured the Australian Girls Choir, Royal Melbourne Philharmonic Choir, D² Drumline and Bagpipes of Distinction.
There was plenty of Farnham history in the set, but the performances weren’t confined to straight recreations. Artists brought their own styles to the material, from Tina Arena’s Angels and Richard Marx’s Pressure Down to Hans’ accordion-led take on Raindrops / Sadie and Mitch Tambo’s contribution to the closing You’re The Voice.
The penultimate number was It’s a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock ‘n’ Roll), performed by Jon Stevens and Mahalia Barnes with the full ensemble. Farnham has previously described the AC/DC classic as “the best rock and roll song ever written”.
The concert then finished with You’re The Voice. Mitch Tambo joined the ensemble, with didgeridoo, choir and 24 pipers adding to Lim’s arrangement.
The concert was also streamed into HOYTS Cinemas around Australia, giving audiences outside Melbourne access to the event.
Head and Neck Cancer Australia was the beneficiary of the concert, with the organisation using the event to launch its $1 million, 12-month Lend Your Voice fundraising appeal. The campaign supports people affected by head and neck cancer and their families.
Producer Tony Cochrane AM described the event as “one of the most amazing concerts Australia has ever witnessed”, while Thea Jeanes-Cochrane said the intention was to create a production “worthy of John Farnham’s extraordinary legacy”.
Whatever the scale of the production, the centre of the night remained the catalogue itself. Age of Reason, Burn For You, Pressure Down, That’s Freedom and You’re The Voice are songs deeply embedded in Australian popular music, and the concert offered them in a variety of voices rather than attempting to reproduce Farnham’s performances note for note.
THE SONGS OF JOHN FARNHAM: A LIVING LEGEND – THE CELEBRATION CONCERT was more than just a concert, it was a collective expression of love and gratitude for an artist whose voice, music and generosity have touched generations of Australians.
