John Farnham Tribute Concert Returns to Cinemas Following 23,000-Strong Live Broadcast
The star-studded John Farnham tribute concert is returning to Australian cinemas for an encore season after more than 23,000 fans watched the original live broadcast on the big screen.
The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert will return to HOYTS cinemas from October 22, this time in a newly re-edited version created specifically for cinema audiences.
The original concert took place before a sold-out crowd at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on September 20 and was simultaneously broadcast live into HOYTS cinemas around Australia.
More than 23,000 people attended the cinema screenings, prompting HOYTS, Cochrane Entertainment and TEG Dainty to bring the concert back for an encore season.
The concert featured an all-star line-up of Australian artists celebrating Farnham and a catalogue that has become part of the fabric of Australian popular music.
HOYTS General Manager of Programming and Content Michelle Gater said the response to the original broadcast had demonstrated the appetite for experiencing the concert communally on the big screen.
“Following the remarkable success of this Australian-first live cinema broadcast, the encore season will offer moviegoers the opportunity to relive the magic of the event or experience it for the first time,” Gater said.
“We’re delighted to continue sharing this celebration with audiences across Australia, honouring John and the enduring legacy of his music.”
HOYTS will also make a donation to Head and Neck Cancer Australia, alongside funds being donated by the concert organisers.
Cochrane Entertainment’s Thea Jeanes-Cochrane said the response to the September broadcast had been “deeply gratifying”.
“The partnership with HOYTS enabled tens of thousands of fans to unite that night for a live celebration of an absolute Australian icon,” Jeanes-Cochrane said.
“Due to enormous demand, we are thrilled that this mega once-in-a-generation concert event can return to cinemas Australia wide, giving even more fans the opportunity to come together and celebrate John and his music on the big screen.”
TEG Dainty’s Paul Dainty said the demand reflected Farnham’s unique position in Australian music.
“John Farnham holds an irreplaceable place in Australian music history, and working alongside HOYTS allowed us to capture the electric energy of an arena show and stream it seamlessly into local communities nationwide,” Dainty said.
Rather than simply replaying the original live broadcast, producers have returned to the footage to create a new version specifically for the encore screenings.
Hello Jerry Films co-executive producers David Wilson and Chris Oliver-Taylor said the additional edit allowed the filmmakers to bring audiences closer to both the performances and atmosphere inside Rod Laver Arena.
“Broadcasting the concert live into HOYTS was an extraordinary experience, but that was only the beginning of the film’s life,” they said.
“We’ve gone back into the edit to build a new version for the big screen, bringing audiences closer to the performances, the atmosphere in Rod Laver Arena and the affection everyone in the room has for John.”
The September concert brought together some of Australian music’s biggest names to perform songs from across Farnham’s career, celebrating a body of work stretching from his early pop success through to the extraordinary commercial and cultural impact of Whispering Jack and beyond.
The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert returns to HOYTS cinemas from October 22, with tickets on sale from October 8 at standard cinema pricing.