‘It just grabs you by the throat, you’ve got to join in’: John Farnham’s hit You’re The Voice turns 40

Forty years ago an unassuming Aussie artist released a song that would go on to become one of that country’s most recognisable hits, an unofficial national anthem that would redefine careers for decades to come.

It was 1986, Kylie Minogue made her debut on Neighbours, Crocodile Dundee was released and so was a 10-track album titled Whispering Jack that would go on to find global success.

John Farnham’s You’re the Voice was one such song that’s remained an Australian classic that still gets belted out by new generations of Aussies in backyards, cars and pubs around the nation.

One of its co-writers, Chris Thompson, a singer and guitarist with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, didn’t want Farnham singing the tune after the pop star’s success with doozies like Sadie (The Cleaning Lady). He thought Farnham “was a joke” in Australia.

But Farnham was driven and so was his manger Glenn Wheatley, who risked everything to establish the singer as a reputable solo artist in Australia.

The famous Aussie duo were working on Whispering Jack, they had put a band together and needed a final song to complete the album.

Musician and film composer David Hirschfelder was 26 years old at the time and had been recruited to join Farnham after they worked in the Little River Band together.

He recalls You’re The Voice stuck out when it landed on Wheatley’s desk among hundreds of cassettes 40 years ago.

“I loved working with John, and I loved the man and the singer, I thought he was incredible,” Hirschfelder said.

“We already had nine songs, we were one song short, and we were considering writing one and then this one turned up.

“We had no idea how (huge it would be). I mean, we all liked the song. It really leapt out at us as something very powerful, but you just never know with these things.

Hirschfelder said a tight-knit team worked on the song in a studio, including himself an engineer, a producer and Farnham, but Farnham never discussed with them Taylor’s disapproval.

Hirschfelder said it was Farnham’s idea to add bagpipes to the song after panpipes, whistles and ocarinas didn’t sound quite right.

“John said, ‘Well, we’ve tried all those pipes. What about bagpipes?’ Ross (producer Ross Fraser) and I looked at each other, ‘Bagpipes, that’s crazy’,” he said.