John Farnham reveals shocking secret struggle in memoir

Two years after life-saving surgery for oral cancer that seemingly ended his singing career, it would be natural to assume that John Farnham health problems to mark the darkest chapter of his life.

However, the Australian icon now reveals he had to overcome much worse challenges in the beginning.

IN Voice insideco-written by Poppy Stockwell, the beloved 75-year-old musician finds a new way to share her story. In the memoir, Farnham recalls the low points of his more than five-decade career, which has been in the spotlight since he rose to fame as teen pop idol Johnny Farnham in 1967 with his rendition of “Sadie (The Cleaning Lady).”

Despite his wholesome image, Farnham’s early years of fame were dominated by his manager Darryl Sambell, who exercised excessive and aggressive control over the young star.

“He drugged me for years and I had no idea,” Farnham writes in the book.

“I caught him one day. I drank coffee, and at the bottom there was only a half-dissolved tablet. When I asked him what it was, Darryl replied, “It’s just something to help you stay awake.”

Sambell, from whom he separated in 1976, seemed to be in charge of every aspect of the musician’s life.

“At that time, in the early years, he was aggressively sexual towards me…” says Farnham.

“For years, Darryl controlled where and when I worked, what I sang, what I wore, what I ate. He isolated me from friends and family, he tried to keep me away from (now wife) Jill, he drugged me and made me believe that all my success, everything I had, was because of him.”

The hardest thing for him to remember was his relationship with his former manager, Stockwell confirms.

“The music industry can be very predatory,” a writer who spent months interviewing Farnham for the memoir tells WHO. “It’s a shame that he carried the guilt around for so long.”

Farnham also spoke about his battle with cancer. He performed with Olivia Newton John. in February 2020, when she joined him on stage for the duet “Two Strong Hearts.” After being unable to open his mouth much following surgery, he admitted it was probably his last time.

“I still sing at home though,” he wrote. I can barely open my mouth, but I’m still crying inside. I like to make sounds with my throat. Since childhood I loved to whistle, I loved to sing. I was given a gift and to be able to go out and impact people in some way was special. I’d like to keep doing it.”

And this “hope” he has for the future is the crux of his story, Stockwell says. “There were so many times he could have given up, but he never said he was giving up on his dream… I think everyone can take inspiration from John.”

Despite his famous friends, platinum albums and many not. 1, Stockwell confirms that his family is Farnham’s pride and joy. He spent most of his time talking about sons Robert, 45, James, 36, and wife Jill, 51,

“I am very proud of my sons,” he writes. “It wasn’t easy having my father in the spotlight and having to tour or perform frequently. Jilly was always there for them, and I was there whenever I could. I always wanted to be like that, and it all worked out in the end.”

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