Beyond the Call ~~ John Farnham ~~ Expo 88, Brisbane

John ‘Whispering Jack’ Farnham was born in Dagenham, Essex, UK in July 1949 to John Farnham Snr and Rose. His sisters are Jean and Jaquiline (Jackie), and his younger brother is Steven. Farnham spent his first ten years in England before his family emigrated to Australia in 1959 to live in Melbourne, Victoria. He attended school at Yarraman State School, Lyndale Primary School and Lyndale High School. During school holidays Farnham worked with a plumber and soon left school to start a plumbing apprenticeship. However in 1967 he took two years leave from his job to pursue his music career. But while still attending school, in 1964 Farnham performed with local Melbourne band The Mavericks on weekends. The band had a five song repertoire. Then in late 1965 he was asked to join Strings Unlimited as a singer and they had a regular booking at a local hotel. In 1966, after making the state finals of the Hoadleys Battle of the Sounds, they recorded a three-track demo tape with Farnham on vocals, Stewart Male on lead guitar, Barry Roy on rhythm guitar, Mike Foenander on keyboards and Peter Foggie on drums. On 29 April 1967, Strings Unlimited performed as a backing band for pop singer Bev Harrell in Cohuna. Harrell’s boyfriend/manager, Darryl Sambell, was impressed with Farnham’s vocals and offered to become his manager. Initially performing in Sambell’s home town of Adelaide, Farnham recorded an advertising jingle for an airline and was offered a solo record contract with EMI …