{"id":899733,"date":"2026-09-21T05:54:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T05:54:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/899733\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T05:54:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T05:54:11","slug":"john-farnham-tribute-celine-dion-chris-martin-and-hugh-jackman-honour-living-legend-at-livestreamed-concert-john-farnham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/899733\/","title":{"rendered":"John Farnham tribute: C\u00e9line Dion, Chris Martin and Hugh Jackman honour \u2018living legend\u2019 at livestreamed concert | John Farnham"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a Sydney shopping centre on a balmy Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered to watch a concert that, according to its host, Richard Wilkins, would set a new livestreaming record for Australian cinemas.<\/p>\n

Experiencing a Rod Laver Arena event with popcorn in a cinema chair was unusual in itself \u2013 but so too was the fact that its hero, John Farnham<\/a>, would not be performing, or even in attendance.<\/p>\n

At the sold-out tribute concert in Melbourne more than 120 artists and musicians celebrated the man of the hour. C\u00e9line Dion<\/a>, Hugh Jackman and Chris Martin made special appearances via live telecasts, while Keith Urban, Human Nature, Tina Arena, Jimmy Barnes, Vanessa Amorosi and Jessica Mauboy belted out Farnham songs on stage.<\/p>\n

Jimmy and Jane Barnes on the bagpipes on Sunday. Photograph: Martin Philbey<\/p>\n

Farnham\u2019s absence was confirmed by his family on Saturday evening, who said he required 24-hour nursing care and would have to watch the tribute, titled \u201cthe celebration concert\u201d for a \u201cliving legend\u201d, at home.<\/p>\n

\"C\u00e9lineC\u00e9line Dion sings You\u2019re the Voice live from Paris at John Farnham tribute concert \u2013 video<\/p>\n

His absence loomed as a large, poignant reminder of the evening\u2019s cause: raising money for Head and Neck Cancer Australia, the charity that supported Farnham during his oral cancer battle in 2022<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 77-year-old\u2019s surgeries mean he can no longer sing in public. His last live performance was at a bushfire benefit concert in February 2020.<\/p>\n

Human Nature on stage. They sang Every Time You Cry and Simple Life, as well as the opening medley. Photograph: Martin Philbey<\/p>\n

\u201cJohn\u2019s health has deteriorated in recent months,\u201d the family said on social media. \u201cHe now requires continuous oxygen support and uses a wheelchair for mobility.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have kept these matters private while our family has adjusted to John\u2019s changing needs. However, we now feel it is important that John\u2019s fans and supporters understand his circumstances and why he cannot be there this weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a strange way to watch a concert. The back two rows of the \u201cxtremescreen\u201d cinema had recliner seats, so many in the audience, including myself, were essentially lying down for its duration.<\/p>\n

Before it began, the screen displayed a countdown timer backed to crowd noise and soft pop hits.<\/p>\n

As a rendition of Love Is in the Air began to play with three minutes on the clock, an elderly man sitting next to me turned and asked excitedly, \u201cYou\u2019ll be singing?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes,\u201d I laughed with a hint of fear.<\/p>\n

Farnham was Australian of the year in 1987 after the astronomical success of Whispering Jack, which remains the highest-selling album by a domestic artist in Australia. In addition to winning 21 Aria awards, he\u2019s the only Australian artist to have a No 1 record on local charts across five consecutive decades.<\/p>\n

Many in the Sydney crowd were retirees but there were also teenagers, mother-and-daughter duos and young couples. At some points, cinemagoers tapped their feet, while at others, the brave among us launched into soft cheers.<\/p>\n

Before the screening, Hoyts emailed ticket-holders warning that a \u201clarge number of guests\u201d were expected, urging them to arrive 30 minutes early to manage delays.<\/p>\n

All was handed smoothly and the cinema was a notably full. More than one Farnham T-shirt was spotted and some carried programs they\u2019d bought for $35.<\/p>\n

Jessica Mauboy joins the stirring opening rendition of Age of Reason. Photograph: Martin Philbey<\/p>\n

At risk of losing my citizenship rights, I am not a Farnham fan, yet I found myself moved to tears during a stirring opening rendition of Age of Reason by Mauboy and Mahalia Barnes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs kindness an ancient skill buried by our blindness?\u201d they sang, and I thought: \u201cYes! Exactly. What about the age of reason?\u201d<\/p>\n

I found myself crying again when Dion \u2013 now on tour in Paris<\/a>, her first full-length concert since being diagnosed with the incurable neurological disorder stiff person syndrome\u2013 was beamed into the arena via video to perform You\u2019re the Voice, which she recalled singing with Farnham eight years ago.<\/p>\n

The sad irony of a man who has inspired generations for his voice losing it in old age was not lost on me, nor was the weirdness of watching a screen that showed people watching Dion on another screen.<\/p>\n

It was, undoubtedly, a celebration, not only of Farnham but of the nation\u2019s culture, one that is diverse and inclusive and warm and a little bit silly.<\/p>\n

Hans leads the crowd to sing Sadie, the Cleaning Lady. Photograph: Martin Philbey<\/p>\n

There was a queer cabaret star, Hans, leading the crowd to sing Sadie, the Cleaning Lady. There was Hugh Jackman, making fun of his own obsession with Farnham.<\/p>\n

The final song was always going to be another go at You\u2019re the Voice, with Mitch Tambo performing the opening lines in Gamilaraay and other performers flocking to the stage: Jimmy Barnes and Amorosi and Arena and Farnham\u2019s son Rob. I cried again, as did the woman to my right, as they all hugged each other.<\/p>\n

I was thinking of Farnham sitting at home, watching the world pay tribute to him in a way few see while they\u2019re still alive. And I was thinking of a line Chris Martin sang in a song he wrote for his remote performance that evening:<\/p>\n

double quotation markOne day we\u2019ll all be gone but the thing about John Farnham songs is they\u2019ll be living on.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At a Sydney shopping centre on a balmy Sunday evening, hundreds of people gathered to watch a concert…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":899734,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-899733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=899733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/899733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/899734"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=899733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=899733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=899733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}