John Farnham's You're the Voice turns 40 as Australia's unofficial anthem
The ballad nearly died when co-writer Chris Thompson rejected John Farnham, thinking he was a joke in the Australian music industry.
You're the Voice was released 40 years ago on John Farnham's 1986 album Whispering Jack and became one of Australia's most beloved songs. The track almost never happened.
Chris Thompson, a singer and guitarist with Manfred Mann's Earth Band, didn't want Farnham to sing it and thought he was a joke as a solo artist. Farnham's manager Glenn Wheatley pushed to include the song anyway.
When the album needed one final track, You're the Voice stood out among hundreds of demo cassettes. The team added bagpipes as the finishing touch, shifting the song up a key, which lifted it into the powerful anthem it remains today.
- Whispering Jack
- Album
- 1986
- Released
- Chris Thompson
- Co-writer
- Glenn Wheatley
- Manager
Why it mattersA song rejected by its own co-writer became a national icon, showing how close we came to losing a cultural landmark.
AustraliaYou're the Voice is sung at Australian pubs, gatherings and backyard barbecues nationwide, woven into the nation's shared identity for four decades.
Corroborated bythenightly.com.au
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 5 d ago
