Change.org petition started to get John Farnham to play at the uber-cool Meredith Music Festival

HE’S known as ‘The Voice’ of Australia — now a petition has started to get Aussie icon John Farnham to play at an uber-cool festival for hipsters.

Farnsey’s surprising gig call-out

A PETITION has started to get John Farnham to play at the uber-cool Meredith Festival in Victoria.

A Change.org petition, started by Piers Smart, is seeking 500 signatures to secure ‘The Voice’ to play at sunset at the festival which runs from December 11-13.

“Simply put, it would be without a doubt the most iconic performance of his stellar career,” Smart said. “He’s actively performing at the moment, there’s no reason why we can’t make this happen.”

So far the petition is just under half its target of 500 signatures.

The idea has been greeted by both rapture and claims it is “irony gone too far.”

2015 has seen Farnham ramp up his live performances. Inspired by a well-received joint tour with Olivia Newton-John (which has now spawned a chart topping live album) Farnham has locked in a string of outdoor shows.

MORE: Why don’t Australian festivals have older acts headlining them?

With no new album to promote, the 61 year old singer told News Ltd last month he is enjoying choosing gigs “just because they’ll be fun.”

He will play the sold out One Electric Day event in Werribee on November 29 and also five A Day on the Green shows nationally through November and December.

Farnham’s booking agents have also put the star forward for key corporate events between mid November and mid December.

Farnham has already been linked to playing at the Falls Festivals over the New Years’ period, which may be more likely than Meredith, which falls between his A Day on the Green commitments.

“People have been asking about me playing certain festivals, something like that (The Falls) would be great fun, a different crowd,” Farnham said last month.

Logistically, Farnham is playing A Day on the Green in Perth on December 12, meaning he’d have to travel from Perth to regional Victoria either side of that commitment.

As far as the irony level goes, Meredith’s sister event Golden Plains hosted the Village People this year.

Meredith or The Falls would see Farnham play with a very different array of artists — most of his mini-festival appearances this year are with Daryl Braithwaite, the Black Sorrows and Ross Wilson.

The singer admitted he still suffers major nerves even after decades of performing.

“I’m apoplexic before I go on. Honestly apoplexic. I pace, I have to take a big breath before I go on and then for some reason I calm down in front of the audience, but before that, major stage fright.”

And as we pointed out in January, if Farnsey played The Falls, predominantly to people under 25, it’d be the first concert he’s played in ages where precisely nobody even knows what Sadie the Cleaning Lady is, let alone shouting out to request it.

Originally published as Change.org petition started to get John Farnham to play at the uber-cool Meredith Music Festival