John Farnham - Whispering Jack In Concert (1987) Bootleg

(Australian 1967 - Present)

The success of John Farnham's album 'Whispering Jack' caught everyone off guard. A pub and concert hall tour soon after the record's release in 1986 was clearly not enough to satisfy demand. In June 1987, David Sneddon started working on the 'Jack's Back Tour' at the request of Farnham's manager, Glenn Wheatley.

"We sat down and worked out what we thought was a very feasible concert run", explains Glenn. "We'd started by booking four dates in Melbourne, two in Sydney, two in Perth and two in Brisbane. It far exceeded what we imagined - never in our wildest dreams did we think the tour would so the sort of business that it did. We later added five shows in Melbourne and three in Sydney and shifted to a bigger venue in Brisbane. We were tearing our hair out to fit in extra dates. Everyone sat back and said , 'Something's happening out there'. We knew the album had gone through the roof, but no one had expected that sort of demand for a live ticket, and at that time we were up against artists such as Michael Jackson and Billy Joel".

Farnham & Wheatley

The 'Jack's Back Tour' finally finished on Jan 2, 1988 and Farnham and his band commenced working on their follow up album 'Age Of Reason'. [Extract from 'Whispering Jack, The John Farnham Story' by Clark Forbes, Hutchinson Australia, p137]

In March 1987, John Farnham delivered one of the most defining performances in Australian music history at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre (also known as the "Glasshouse"). Riding the wave of his Whispering Jack album, Farnham’s powerhouse vocals on “You’re The Voice” turned the concert into a national moment of unity. The anthem’s call for empowerment and change resonated deeply, with the crowd singing every chorus back in thunderous harmony. Broadcast nationally, this performance cemented Farnham as Australia’s ultimate live performer and gave “You’re The Voice” its place as a generational anthem.

This legendary performance immortalized his highly successful Jack's Back tour, capturing the energy of his record-breaking, multi-platinum album 'Whispering Jack'. The historic concert was also professionally filmed and released on home video, later becoming a staple live concert DVD. Backed by the accomplished John Farnham Band, the show featured massive hits from the Whispering Jack era alongside fan favorites and tracks from his Little River Band years.

Key tracks included:"Pressure Down", "Touch of Paradise", "Going, Going, Gone", "Playing to Win" and "You're the Voice". The instrumental prowess behind Farnham’s vocals during this tour solidified the band as one of the tightest units in Australian music history.

This post consists of MP3's (320) [ripped from DVD I suspect] and includes full album artwork.  I was lucky enough to attend one of the Melbourne 'Jack's Back' Concerts, held on Dec 22, 1987 at the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Centre [see my ticket stub below]. 

To this day, I believe it to be one of the best concerts I've ever attended.  I can still remember Farnham taunting and teasing the audience over his first hit from the 60's "Sadie The Cleaning Lady" and eventually delivering the goods towards the end of the show, singing the 'ditti' alongside a lady with a mop and bucket, much to the delight of the audience. Farnham's 'Whispering Jack' personna was a force to be reckoned with and both he and the band literally tore the place apart and Farnham had the audience in the palm of his hand all night. Yes folks, Farnham was Back !

Concert Track List:

01 Pressure Down

02 One Step Away

03 Going Going Gone

04 Let Me Out

05 Touch Of Paradise

06 When The War Is Over

07 Amazing Grace

08 Reasons

09 No One Comes Close

10 Love To Shine

11 One

12 Playing To Win

13 Help

14 You're The Voice

The lineup included:

John Farnham (Vocals, Gags)

David Hirschfelder (Keyboards)

Brett Garsed (Lead Guitar)

Wayne Burt (Guitar)

Steve Macainsh (Bass)

Angus Burchill (Drums)

Lindsay Field (Backing Vocals)

Venetta Fields (Backing Vocals)

Lisa Edwards (Backing Vocals)

Whispering Jack In Concert Link (137Mb)