Longtime John Farnham Musical Director Chong Lim reveals the only unreleased recording left in the archive and outlines the vision behind the upcoming We Are The Voice event honouring John Farnham.
by Paul Cashmere
For more than three decades, Chong Lim has been the quiet architect behind some of the most powerful moments in Australian pop. As Musical Director for John Farnham since 1994, Lim has stood at the centre of the band, shaping arrangements, steering live productions and preserving the integrity of one of the country’s most celebrated catalogues.
Now, as the Farnham camp prepares for the ambitious We Are The Voice singalong event, Lim has revealed that the vault of unheard Farnham material is far smaller than fans might imagine.
“We were embarking on a new album just before John was diagnosed with cancer,” Chong Lim tells Noise11. “We had attempted about half a song, and that is the only piece I have left.”
For an artist whose recording career stretches back to the 1960s and whose landmark album Whispering Jack remains one of the biggest-selling Australian albums of all time, the idea of a near-empty archive may surprise some. But Lim explains that Farnham was never inclined to leave loose ends.
“John usually used every single song he recorded for an album,” he says. “Ross Fraser might have some discarded songs in his archives, but John wasn’t someone who stockpiled material.”
That unfinished fragment stands as the only known remnant of what might have been Farnham’s next studio chapter before his 2022 cancer diagnosis. For now, it remains just that, half formed and untouched.
Instead, the focus turns to celebration rather than speculation.
The upcoming We Are The Voice event aims to set a national record for the largest number of people singing a John Farnham song simultaneously, specifically You’re The Voice. The initiative is being documented by the Australian Book of Records and is as much a tribute as it is an attempt at a milestone.
“This concert is officially about the record,” Lim says. “But really, it’s about the band and the fans honouring John and thanking him for the years of enjoyment he’s given us. It’s an excuse to get everyone together.”
The logistics of turning an audience into a mass choir are significant, but Lim is confident. “The fans know the songs, they know the lyrics and the melodies,” he says. “To help us out, we have Jonathan Welch supervising the mass choir. He’s bringing his Play It Forward choir and the Choir of Hard Knocks to boost the volume.”
The evening will also see the return of key members of the Farnham touring family, including Lindsay Field, Lisa Edwards, Susie Ahern and Rod Davies. For Lim, it marks the first time the John Farnham Band has reconvened since 2020.
“We are designing the show so the audience leaves feeling the love, energy and excitement of a real John Farnham concert, even though John sadly won’t be there,” Lim says. “We aren’t piping in his voice. We have video intervals and archival footage to remind everyone of what John achieved. We’re staying faithful to the original arrangements.”
Lim’s association with Farnham began in unlikely fashion at the ARIA Awards at Dreamworld on the Gold Coast. Invited to perform Talk Of The Town, he believed it was a one-off engagement. Only later did he realise he was effectively auditioning for the touring band.
Within days, he was on board, stepping into a role previously occupied by David Hirschfelder. “Huge shoes to fill,” Lim recalls. “David had the composition skills, the technical chops and the tech-savviness. I tried to pay homage to his work while putting my own stamp on it.”
Over the years, Lim’s contributions have extended beyond Farnham’s tours. He composed music for the Sydney 2000 Olympics “Nature” segment, produced Dare To Dream for Farnham and Olivia Newton-John, and Heroes Live Forever for Vanessa Amorosi. He also collaborated with Kylie Minogue on the Intimate And Live tour, an experience he describes as a total pleasure.
Yet it is the Farnham repertoire that remains closest to his core. As Musical Director, Lim’s role was less about micromanaging elite players and more about shaping the broader architecture of a show.
“With a band full of heavy hitters, there isn’t much directing to do,” he says. “They are masters. My job was about the big picture, persuading the band on a concept or shifting an arrangement.”
We Are The Voice, then, is an extension of that philosophy, bringing together musicians and audience in a shared arrangement that belongs to the public as much as to the performer.
For fans hoping for a hidden trove of unheard Farnham recordings, Lim’s revelation may temper expectations. But the enduring strength of the catalogue, and the communal power of You’re The Voice in particular, suggests the legacy does not depend on what remains unreleased.
As Chong sees it, the upcoming event is less about setting a benchmark and more about reaffirming a bond.
“It’s about honouring John,” he says. “And giving something back.”
We Are The Voice is 13 March 2026 in Melbourne.
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