John Farnham admitted to hospital for surgery after cancer diagnosis

Veteran Australian pop-rock singer John Farnham has been diagnosed with cancer and was admitted to hospital on Tuesday to undergo surgery.

“We have recently discovered that John has a cancerous growth,” his family, including wife Jill, said in a statement.

“He has been admitted to hospital this morning for surgery and ongoing treatment.”

The 73-year-old singer said that a cancer diagnosis was something many people face each day “and countless others have walked this path before me”.

“The one thing I know for sure is that we have the very best specialist healthcare professionals in Victoria and we can all be grateful for that. I know I am.”

The family has requested privacy.

Jill, James, Rob and John Farnham, pictured here in 2018. Photograph: Supplied

Farnham sang his way into Australian hearts as a fresh-faced teenager in the 1960s but had faded into near obscurity before his 12th studio album Whispering Jack shot him back to the top some 20 years later.

The 1986 album, which remains the highest-selling Australian album of all time, produced one of the nation’s most well-known anthems, You’re the Voice, and propelled Farnham to national treasure status.

Farnham followed up Whispering Jack with his chart-topping albums Age of Reason (1988) and Chain Reaction (1990).

Farnham was born in 1949 in Dagenham, England, and aged 10 emigrated to Australia with his family, who settled in Melbourne.