Australian singer John Farnham has revealed he is in hospital undergoing surgery following a shock cancer diagnosis.
Watch Below: John Farnham performs You’re the Voice
The 73-year-old’s family released a statement early this morning.
“Cancer diagnosis is something that so many people face every single day, and countless others have walked this path before me,” John explained in the statement.
“The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best specialist healthcare professionals in Victoria, and we can all be grateful for that. I know I am.”
The legendary singer is one of Australia’s most successful performers, known best for his 1986 single You’re the Voice.
After joining the Australian music scene as a teen in the late 1960’s as “Johnny Farnham,” the singer has gone on to receive 19 ARIA awards.
John was also named Australian of the Year in 1987 and an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1996.
John was close friends with Olivia Newton-John, who passed away earlier this month after a 30-year battle with breast cancer.
The two singers frequently collaborated together, releasing an album in 2015 and performing together at a bushfire relief fundraising concert in 2020.
John Farnham and his family paid tribute to Olivia when news broke of her death, writing, “the Farnham family send love and sympathies to Olivia’s family.”
“Behind that iconic smile was a tenacious fighter. A beautiful voice and a loyal friend. She will be greatly missed.”
Watch Below: John Farnham stars on Home and Away
John, who celebrated his 73rd birthday in July and has famously retired numerous times only to later stage comebacks, hasn’t performed in two years – preferring to spend time with his family.
He’s also been rarely seen in public since the “devastating” loss of his best mate and manager, Glenn Wheatley, who died of complications from COVID in February.
Three years ago John was forced to cancel his Australian tour dates following a severe kidney infection that required hospitalisation.
John credits his wife Jillie for help to regain his health after the scare, revealing to New Idea earlier this year that he quit smoking and cut down on alcohol following the infection.
“I live a pretty boring existence really,” he told New Idea about life on his Wonga Park farm north-east of Melbourne.
“If I’m not working, I go fishing. If I’m not working or fishing, I might ride my horse.”
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