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MUSIC FEATURE

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JOHN FARNHAM Age of Reason (1988)

This month we’re lifting the lid on the highest-selling album of 1988: John Farnham’s Age of Reason . Be sure to head to jbhifi.com.au/stack to read the full, fascinating piece – and check out the album’s 35th anniversary edition, due to drop on juicy green vinyl this month. Words Bryget Chrisfield

Dragon breathe fire into Farnsy’s material Backstage at Palais Theatre in 1987, Farnsy approached Dragon’s Marc and Todd Hunter to hit them up for a song. As Todd recalled during an interview, “Marc and I were standing in the dressing room and John said, ‘Come on guys, write me a song for my new album’. I said yes.” So Todd got to work writing a song specifically for Farnsy, together with his partner Johanna Pigott, while Dragon toured Europe – opening up for Tina Turner, no less. “He took a portable studio with him,” Pigott recounted during an interview. “It was hilarious, it was like something out of Doctor Who .” Pigott was “pregnant as hell” during Age of John ‘The Voice’ Farnham – household name, cultural icon and ARIA Hall of Famer – has collected an astonishing 20 ARIA Awards across the course of his brilliant career. He was also the only Australian artist to boast a #1 record in five consecutive decades (akin to Cliff Richards in the UK) until his mate Jimmy Barnes joined this exclusive club in 2021. Although the 11x Platinum-certified Age of Reason didn’t shift quite as many units as its predecessor – Farnsy’s record-breaking 24x Platinum, multiple-ARIA-Award winning Whispering Jack , which remains the highest-selling album in history (by an Australian artist) with 1.7 million copies sold – it was still this country’s best-selling record of 1988.The renewed interest in Farnham following the release of Age of Reason also resulted in Whispering Jack re-entering the top 10 nearly two years after its initial release.

John Farnham in the photoshoot for the Age of Reason single, 1988

Reason ’s songwriting process, then finished off the lyrics after the birth. “Having a child gave me this feeling of having a future, and thinking about the next generation,” she explained. We’re all someone’s son Directed by Stephen Hopkins ( Highlander, Predator 2 ), Age of Reason ’s music video budget exceeded a whopping $100,000 and was filmed in various locations throughout Victoria, including Cathedral Point and Sherbrooke Forest in the Dandenong Ranges. Farnham’s sons, Rob and James, appear in this clip alongside 100+ members of the Victorian Children’s Choir (all of whom received a vinyl copy of the single). “It’s about the future and what’s going on, so it was good to have my kids in there,” Farnsy has commented. Mountain-top Uggs and a “coiffured” mullet In case you were wondering how the bloody hell Farnham came to be perched atop a mountain sporting Ugg boots in Age of Reason ’s film clip, he’s admitted that – although he would’ve preferred to climb it – a helicopter hovered alongside and dropped him off! “I’m not the best at flying as it is,” he’s since revealed. “There were no doors, and the pilot

says, ‘Okay, John, I’m going to rest on the side of the mountain, you just step out.’ As I stepped out I felt the chopper tilt because my weight was gone; then I had to get back on it. That thought still wakes me up occasionally... As far as the Ugg boots, I was in the throes of being recommended what to do. The mullet ended up a lot bigger than expected. It was coiffured at one point there. I just wanted long hair.” When Age of Reason ’s lead single and title track – the first taste of post- Whispering Jack material – topped the charts (holding pole position for four weeks), Pigott became the first Australian woman to write a #1 song. She had also come close to achieving this milestone back in 1983, when Dragon’s Rain (which she also co-wrote) peaked at #2 behind Austen Tayshus’ Australiana. “I managed to make a mark there for the girls a while ago, which is great,” Pigott has said. “I still hear [ Age of Reason ] in the supermarket sometimes, which is nice. I like having achieved something like that in my life...” The first Australian woman to write a #1 song

Continue reading the full article online at jbhifi.com.au/stack

14 OCTOBER 2023

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