CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses alleged abusive behaviour.
Before Aussie legend John Farnham became a household name, he claims his first music manager secretly drugged him “for years”.
Excerpts from his upcoming memoir The Voice Inside have been published in The Australian, and they’re pretty shocking. According to Farnham’s recollections, the late music manager Darryl Sambell was overbearing, sexually aggressive and manipulative, wanting to control Farnham at all times.
“He drugged me for years and I had no fucking idea,” he wrote in his book. “I caught him one day. I was drinking a cup of coffee and there was a pill only half-dissolved in the bottom. When I asked him what it was, Darryl replied, ‘That’s just something to help you stay awake’.”
Sambell managed Farnham’s music career for about a decade before he was finally sacked in 1976, and the musician also recalls how openly gay Sambell was also “aggressively sexual” towards him.
“He would ‘try it on’ and I would say, ‘Darryl, no. Just leave me alone’, or, ‘It’s not going to happen’. I said it often enough that I can see now that this rejection turned his attraction into jealousy, hatred and a desire for control,” Farnham wrote.
The “You’re the Voice” singer went on to explain that his former manager “controlled” what he wore, what he ate, what he sang, where and when he worked and “isolated” him from friends and family, including his wife Jill.
“He drugged me, and he made me believe that all my success, everything I had, was because of him,” he added. “I look back on that time with sorrow. I’m annoyed at myself for being so gullible and trusting. I gave away control of my career, my direction and my life. I was a young bloke and I needed a manager.”
After Farnham moved on from Sambell in the ‘70s, he went on to have a long partnership with manager Glenn Wheatley, who saw his career hit new heights in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Sambell passed away in 2001.
The Voice Inside will be released on Wednesday October 30, and for fans wondering if Farnham will ever perform again, the answer in the book is about as clear as mud.
Farnham’s wife explains that due to treatment for oral cancer in 2022, he physically may never be able to sing on stage again.
“I don’t know if John will sing again. It just depends. Because of the radiation, that whole side of his face is rock hard. The flesh, the muscle, the tendons, none of it is supple. The surgeons need to work out how to loosen it all, so we have to be patient. He’s disappointed, naturally, because he may not be up on a stage again and he loved that,” she wrote.
Farnham goes on to say that he still sings at home, though. “I can barely open my mouth but I still wail in the shower. I love to make noises with my throat,” he said. “I was given a gift and to be able to get out there and affect people in some way was a special thing. I would like to continue doing that. So, though I am not putting all my hopes into it, we’ll see.”
The Voice Inside will be released on Wednesday October 30, by Hachette Australia.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual abuse, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
Lead image: Getty
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