You're The Voice - JOHN FARNHAM (1986) - Pop Archives - Sources of Australian Pop Records from the 50s, 60s and 70s

JOHN FARNHAM
You're The Voice
(Keith Reid - Andy Qunta - Maggie Ryder - Chris Thompson)
Australia 1986
#1 Sydney #1 Melbourne #1 Brisbane #2 Adelaide #1 Perth #13 NZ #6 UK #82 USA #4 South Africa #3 Switzerland #1 West Germany

Original version

On the album Whispering Jack. Chart positions for other countries are just a sample. Charted in Australia October 1986, NZ December 1986, others 1987 except USA 1990.

John Farnham had already been a late 60s pop idol, a star on the musical stage, and front man for Little River Band when his superbly produced album of contemporary songs Whispering Jack boosted his career all over again and became the biggest-selling Australian album of all time.

You're The Voice has become an Australian anthem, performed by John Farnham at such events as the 1988 Bicentennial commemoration and the opening of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

The writers are:

Keith Reid, lyricist, a member of Procol Harum, also lyricist for their 1960s classic A Whiter Shade Of Pale.

Maggie Ryder, British vocalist and instrumentalist who has provided studio and stage backing for many major artists, notably The Eurythmics.

Andy Qunta, British keyboardist, vocalist and occasional guitarist who worked with a number of notable UK bands before joining Australian band Icehouse in 1982.

Chris Thompson, vocalist with Manfred Mann's Earth Band who in 1982 met Andy Qunta on tour in New Zealand and suggested they write together. At the time, a song by Andy Qunta, Tribal Statistics, was a track on the current album by Manfred Mann's Earth Band. To fully appreciate the scope of Chris Thompson's work, visit ChrisThompson-central.com.

Andy Qunta, at his website, recalls that You're The Voice was written in December 1985 inspired by the Christmas vibe of harmony among people.

In Andy Qunta's Story, at Manfred Mann fansite Platform End, he tells about starting the song with Chris Thompson in Thompson's studio. They later called in Maggie Ryder, who collaborated mainly with Thompson in further working up the song. Chris Thompson later "ran into" Procol Harum lyricist Keith Reid, who also agreed to contribute. [More details at Platform-End.co.uk.]

Thanks to Terry Stacey for suggestion and initial research. Further research from Dave Overett.
Further reading: Milesago's John Farnham page. The official site is at JohnFarnham.com.au.

PETER CUPPLES
You're The Voice
(Keith Reid - Andy Qunta - Maggie Ryder - Chris Thompson)
Australia 2001

On album Home Grown by Australian singer, guitarist and keyboardist, active in music since the 60s, who was in Stylus from the mid-70s, led the Peter Cupples Band in the 80s, and has worked in a range of entertainment media since then.

Such a brief summary sells him short: read the full and intriguing story at Peter's comprehensive website, PeterCupples.com.

KATE MILLER-HEIDKE
You're The Voice
(Keith Reid - Andy Qunta - Maggie Ryder - Chris Thompson)
Australia 2008
Parody

Unconventional rearrangement and performance, popular with audiences of the Brisbane singer and her band since 2007.

A live video of You're The Voice appears on the 2008 CD-DVD edition of Kate Miller-Heidke's 2007 album Little Eve [store].