It’s a starry line-up:Jimmy Barnes,Robbie Williams,Daryl Braithwaite and Celine Dion share their memories. Olivia Newton-John was interviewed shortly before she died last year,speaking fondly of their friendship and the work they did together.
Not that the film is a hagiography:it gives a full account of Farnham’s midnight blue period when frustration,self-doubt and a bad business decision sent him into such a spin he may never have re-emerged without the help of family and friends.
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The narrative is anchored by Gaynor Wheatley,wife of Farnham’s best friend and manager Glenn Wheatley,who died last year of complications from COVID-19. Blessed with perfect recall,she’s an engaging guide to Farnham’s relaunch,which was engineered by Wheatley in the 1980s.
It was her story,too,since her husband mortgaged their house to financeWhispering Jack,the album that revitalised Farnham’s career,soaring to the top of the charts in Australia and Europe.
Farnham’s first breakthrough was as a baby-faced 18-year-old in 1967 with his cover version of the novelty songSadie (The Cleaning Lady),which proved to be both a gift and a curse,typecasting him in the eyes of his peers as a teen idol incapable of growing up and finding a place in the much earthier world of rock’n’roll.