John Farnham’s manager has spoken openly about whether the Australian singer will return to performing after a brutal battle with oral cancer.
The You’re The Voice hitmaker, 75, underwent extensive surgery in 2022 to remove a cancerous tumor from his mouth, including a 12-hour operation.
Farnham’s manager Gaynor Wheatley and documentarian Poppy Stockell sat down with Waleed Aly on Monday’s episode of The Project to talk about the singer’s new memoir, The Voice Inside, and asked the question on everyone’s lips.
‘Are you going to sing in public again?’ –Waleed asked.
“He’s a singer,” Wheatley replied.
“I know when he went back into the studio making the audiobook, he said, ‘I want to go back, I want to go back.'”
‘Whether he will act again, I don’t know. But I would certainly like him to return to the studio.”
However, in an extract from his recently published book, Farnham seemed unsure of his ability to sing again.
John Farnham’s manager has opened up about whether the Australian singer will return to performing after a brutal battle with mouth cancer. Pictured: Farnham in 2016
The You’re The Voice hitmaker, 75, underwent extensive surgery in 2022 to remove a cancerous tumor from his mouth, including a 12-hour operation. Pictured with his son Rob.
“My facial disfigurement due to surgery means I can’t open my mouth wide enough to eat a strip of spaghetti, let alone sing,” John detailed in an excerpt published in the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I can’t get the movement to make the sounds I want to make, that’s where the vibrations and my voice come from. It is something very disconcerting. And trying hurts.
He said that while he still can’t sing his signature voice, he still has high hopes that one day he will be able to sing again.
Farnham’s manager Gaynor Wheatley (pictured left) and documentarian Poppy Stockell (pictured right) sat down with Waleed Aly on Monday’s episode of The Project to talk about the singer’s new memoir, The Voice Inside.
‘They gave me a gift and being able to go out and affect people in some way was special, I would like to continue doing it. Although I’m not putting all my hopes in it, we’ll see,” he shared.
John also said that he believes the tumor arose as a result of his long-time smoking habit, which he eventually managed to kick.
“Cancer doesn’t discriminate, but as soon as they told me the results, I couldn’t help but think it was my fault, I smoked a lot my whole life,” he said.
However, in an extract from his recently published book, Farnham seemed unsure of his ability to sing again: “I can’t get the movement to make the sounds I want, that’s where the vibrations and my voice come from.” It is something very disconcerting. And trying hurts. Photographed in 2015
He said he started smoking at the age of 14 and would do so secretly after his disapproving parents found out.
Her memoir has been co-written with Poppy Stockwell and Farnham will tell her story in her own words and with her trademark humour.
The book, due for release on October 30, documents Farnham’s early life and stardom while growing up in Melbourne in the 1960s, through to his 1986 comeback album, Whispering Jack.
His voice was heard for the first time since the surgery earlier this month in an excerpt from Farnham recounting his upcoming memoir.
Publisher Hachette Australia published an excerpt from the book, in which Farnham sounded slightly graver than before his marathon 12-hour procedure.
“I don’t enjoy talking about myself, I really don’t,” he said in the preview.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m an egomaniac, but dredging up the past isn’t something I’ve really enjoyed.”
‘I will try to share as much as I can, but it is not easy because I have never been so open. I suppose there are reasons for that. Reasons for my reluctance.’
