Australian music legend John Farnham is diagnosed with cancer and rushed to hospital ‘in a wheelchair’ for an urgent operation this morning – as he releases a powerful statement
- Much-loved Australian musician John Farnham has been diagnosed with cancer
- He was taken to hospital on Tuesday morning and will undergo surgery
- Surgeons are confident the operation to remove the cancer will be successful
- His family is ‘quietly confident’ the iconic singer will make a full recovery
- Farnham was the last person to perform alongside Olivia Newton-John
Australian music icon John Farnham, 73, has been diagnosed with cancer and is scheduled to undergo surgery today.
The legendary pop singer’s family issued a statement revealing the shock diagnosis on Tuesday morning, but it’s understood surgeons are confident the operation to remove a cancerous growth will be successful.
‘We have recently discovered that John has a cancerous growth. He has been admitted to hospital this morning for surgery and ongoing treatment,’ the statement said.
Farnham, best known for his iconic Aussie anthem You’re the Voice, said cancer was something that ‘so many people face every single day’.
Much-loved Australian singer John Farnham (pictured in Melbourne in June 2015) has been diagnosed with cancer and will undergo surgery to remove a growth from his body
The musician is being supported by his wife Jill and their two adult sons Robert and James (pictured, the Farnham family pose for a photo in 2018)
Surgeons are confident the operation to remove the cancerous growth will be successful (Pictured: Farnham with Olivia Newton-John in February 2020)
‘The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best healthcare professionals in Victoria, and we can be grateful for that. I know I am,’ he said.
WHO IS JOHN FARNHAM?
John Peter Farnham is a British-born Australian who was born in Dagenham in Essex, England, in July of 1949.
Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979 and has since forged a career as a talented solo artist.
In September 1986, his solo single ‘You’re The Voice’ peaked at No.1 on the Australian singles charts.
His album ‘Whispering Jack’ held the No.1 position for 25 weeks and is the second-highest selling album in Australian history.
Farnham is one the country’s best-known rock and pop performers and has won 19 ARIA awards.
He was named Australian of the Year in 1987 and in 1996 an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Farnham married Jillian Billman, a dancer he met when performing the stage musical in April, 1973.
The pair share two sons Robert and James and reside in Victoria.
Veteran entertainment reporter Peter Ford said Farnham’s family was ‘quietly confident things are going to be fine’.
‘They don’t want people panicking. His wife is there, his two sons are there with him. The doctors are confident that they’re able to get it,’ he said on Sunrise.
‘What is it, we do now know, the family did not want to specify what type of cancer is is or where on the body it is. Fingers crossed it’ll be a good outcome.’
Ford said the entertainer was ‘in a wheelchair’ and ‘cracking jokes with staff’ according to a source who is with Farnham in hospital.
The source said the musician was being supported by his wife Jill and two adult sons Robert and James.
‘He is being prepped to go into surgery, he’s in great spirits, he’s cracking jokes with the staff,’ the reporter said.
The revelation comes just weeks after the Australian music industry was rocked by the death of Farnham’s long-time friend and collaborator, Olivia Newton-John, following her long battle with breast cancer.
The Farnham family expressed their ‘love and sympathies’ to Newton-John’s family in a statement following her death on August 8.
‘Behind that iconic smile was a tenacious fighter. A beautiful voice and a loyal friend. She will be greatly missed,’ the statement read.
He was the last person to perform on stage with Newton-John, at the Fire Fight Australia bushfire relief concert held in February 2020. He performed three songs and a duet with the Grease star.
John, pictured with wife Jillian Billman in 1973, had recently given up his 56-year smoking habit and cut down on alcohol
Farnham is most well-known for his hit single You’re the Voice, which was released in September 1986
Farnham also lost his long-time friend and manager Glenn Wheatley, 74, in February, who died of complications from Covid-19.
Farnham’s wife Jillian told Daily Mail Australia at the time that her husband was ‘too unwell’ to publicly discuss the loss of the legendary music producer.
Wheatley masterminded the rise of Farnham in the early 1980s at a time when the musician was struggling to feed his family.
Farnham’s family revealed the news of the legendary singer’s cancer diagnosis this morning
Farnham sang his way into Australian hearts as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1960s but had faded into near-obscurity before his most famous album Whispering Jack shot him back to the top some 20 years later.
The 1986 album featured one of the nation’s most popular pop music anthems, You’re the Voice, and propelled Farnham to iconic status.
Farnham followed up Whispering Jack with his chart-topping albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990).
His cancer diagnosis is not the first time Farnham has faced a major health battle.
In 2019, he was forced to cancel his Australian tour at the last minute when he was admitted to hospital with a severe kidney infection.
‘I didn’t realise until too late. I’d been feeling uncomfortable. My wife Jill had been telling me to go to the doctor,’ he explained at the time.
‘I was very unwell there for a while,’ he said, adding that he was ‘good now’ and ‘it gave me a wake-up call to look after myself a bit more’.
The kidney infection developed after he underwent a surgical procedure three months earlier which had also led to shows being cancelled.
Farnham said he completely overhauled his lifestyle after the health scare, including by quitting smoking and cutting back on alcohol.
After battling the kidney infection, he held a charity concert to support Australia’s farming community during the devastating drought, which raised more than $4.4million.
‘We’re talking about generations of farmers losing their properties or animals because of drought and in some cases losing their lives or hurting themselves,’ he said at the time.
Farnham has been recognised with several major honours and awards, including 1987 Australian of the Year, 1996 Officer of the Order of Australia, and 19 ARIA Awards, including his 2003 induction into the Hall of Fame.
Farnham was born in 1949 in Dagenham, England, and at age 10 emigrated to Australia with his family, who settled in Melbourne.
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