The Voice Inside

John Farnham (Author)

JOHN FARNHAM is an Australian national treasure, one of Australia’s top performing artists and the greatest singer Australia has ever produced. Born in London, John immigrated to Australia with his family in 1959. From high school, he played in local bands around Melbourne and in 1967, John left a plumbing apprenticeship to pursue a full-time career in entertainment. And what a career it has been.

For five years, from 1969 to 1973, John was voted the King of Pop and his success brought him screaming fans and recording contracts, won him starring roles in stage shows and musicals, and delivered twelve singles and six albums that all achieved gold status. The fickle nature of pop saw his pop career wane in the late seventies, but John’s talent continued to develop. In 1982, he was invited to front the Little River Band (LRB) and he toured extensively with the band in the US. But it was after leaving LRB that John truly came into his own. In 1986, he released his solo album, Whispering Jack. This phenomenal album is still Australia’s highest-selling album of all time by a local artist.

In August 2022, John was diagnosed with mouth cancer and retreated with his wife of over fifty years, Jill, to fight this cancer battle. In 2023, the documentary called John Farnham: Finding the Voice, which looked at John’s career and the creation of Whispering Jack, was released. It became the highest-grossing Australian-made film in 2023.

Poppy Stockell (Author)

POPPY STOCKELL is an award-winning writer, director and producer with a penchant for stories exploring human identity, humour and the inherent contradictions of existence. She has written and directed for all the major networks and her independent projects have played to big audiences at the world’s most prestigious festivals including SXSW, Hot Docs, Sheffield Doc/Fest, New Orleans Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival. Her work has been recognised by an AACTA, a Walkley Award, a UN Media Peace Prize, two Logie nominations and the Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival.

Poppy’s debut feature, John Farnham: Finding the Voice, recently became the highest box-office grossing Australian documentary of all time, and her scripted comedy series Triple Oh! won the coveted Luna de Valencia Grand Jury Prize.