Dear Carolynn

Author: Mark Bolton. Subbing: DeepSeek. Pics: From The Last Time Tour crew.

Dear Carolynn

As you know, I was one of the crew who worked for John Farnham and the late Glenn Wheatley on the 2002–2003 “Last Time Tour,“ and I want to address a recent article by Lachlan Goold, (senior lecturer in contemporary music, University of the Sunshine Coast) in The Conversation and republished by The New Daily) that shamelessly twists John’s legacy. The piece written about Ozzy Osbourne’s life and death, lazily and incorrectly compared John’s tour to Ozzy Osbourne’s history of broken “retirement” promises. As an eyewitness to The Last Time Tour, I’m here to try and bury this myth about John once and for all.

What Really Happened on the “Last Time Tour”

Three months after the tour began playing in the capital cities, I joined the crew at the beginning of the tent leg in Kalgoorlie, which became a gruelling five months around Australia–the venue a massive travelling circus tent that hosted around 40 shows in almost 30 regional towns most huge artists skip. From Kalgoorlie to Broken Hill, Whyalla to Bathurst, Toowoomba to Cairns and so many towns in-between; it’s Australia–beautiful and challenging from one day to the next. There were two groups, Unique Attractions (the circus people) and John Farnham’s entourage, for which I was a part. This was a mammoth and expensive operation that could just as easily have cost John and Glenn an enormous amount of money–and reputation–if it went belly-up.

• The Conditions Were Brutal:
  Stifling heat in the outback, blasting winds on the coasts, freezing nights in the high country, and torrential rain that, until arrival were drought areas that forced the brains trust of the crew to use ramps to get the audience across waterlogged fields in Coffs Harbour. Not to forget the last-minute venue relocation in Lismore, where a temporary access road was built to be able to put on the show. There were no problems, only solutions. and these guys were the best.
• John Never Promised to Retire:
  In late 2002, I heard John Farnham say it clearly myself, during a radio 4KQ interview in Brisbane a few weeks before the tour had begun: John Farnham made it clear he was not retiring from music or performing. And he kept his word. Playing wineries, festivals, or one-off events isn’t “touring.” It’s showing up to perform, exactly as he said he would. No different than an electrician who will hang up his tool belt but do the odd contract job just to keep his/her idle hands busy.

Why the Ozzy Comparison Is False

Lachlan Goold’s article implied: on the road, Osbourne put the John Farnham’s last tour trope to shame.”

Let’s be clear:

• Ozzy announced multiple “final tours” (1992, 1995, 2018).
• John announced one farewell to large-scale touring—and honoured it.

To conflate John’s integrity with Ozzy’s recycled retirements isn’t just lazy—it’s a slap in the face to John, Glenn, the band, the crew and the fans who are constantly being gaslit to believe they were conned.

I was front of house, running the on-the-road ticket sales and seating. I had a lot to do with the late Glenn Wheatley. He and I had many discussions, and I can assure everyone, profit was not their goal. Breaking even and putting on great shows was the only motive for The Last Time Tour. Whatever profit was made was cream on the top, and Glenn told me that at least twice.

In Toowoomba, Glenn said something to me that I thought was just an off-the-cuff remark, and it was only after watching the 2023 John Farnham documentary that I realised what that remark meant–which I won’t repeat publicly because it was a personal compliment he offered me. (For those overseas readers who don’t know about John Farnham, the trailer for the aforementioned documentary is below, alongside the incredible song, “You’re The Voice”).

The Decency of John Farnham and Glenn Wheatley

Although I didn’t know it until late 2003, I became sick a few days into the tour with a faltering thyroid condition, but I kept working. Why? Because John and Glenn were icons, and the kind of leaders you’d walk through fire for. Apart from that, you never give up a front row seat to this amazing experience.

They treated their crew like family. Glenn Wheatley wasn’t just a promotor and manager—he was John’s best friend and a man of unwavering integrity despite the ridiculous tax fraud example the Australian Government made of him.

When I finally returned home, after five months running on adrenalin, pistachios and Boags beer (it was also a fantastic five month party), I was bedridden for three months while undergoing tests to find out what was leaving me ill and so drained of energy. Physically and mentally exhausted the whole tour–but I’d do it all again. That’s how much these men inspired loyalty.

The Bigger Picture

John Farnham is an Australian icon who fought back from obscurity with Whispering Jack—an album that gave us “You’re the Voice,” now an Aussie anthem. Australians rally behind him because we deep down believe in his resilience and heart from his early pop days in the 60’s and 70’s. John has always been loved.

To see his and the late Glenn’s legacy tarnished by an often cheap and lazy line such as what appeared in The Conversation piece, and part of the headline in The New Daily reprint—especially exploiting Ozzy Osbourne’s passing—is disgraceful. John Farnham did not lie. He did not break a promise. He gave everything of himself for his fans, and so did his band and the crew. And even after an accident halfway through the tour, which left him performing using a walking stick for a time, John still put his audience first and his discomfort second. That’s what honourable people do.

When performing in Bendigo, there seemed to be as many people sitting around the tent as inside. Coming out of his motorhome (that acted as his venue office and change room), people cheered him. There were no hysterics about freeloaders, instead, John spent about 20 seconds acknowledging them, and as he turned to walk on stage before he missed his cue, he said to me, “I love my life.“

Final Word

This isn’t just about correcting a false narrative. It’s also about honouring two extraordinary men—John and Glenn—who represented the best of the music industry: hard work, humility, and respect for the people around them, the people who pay to listen and see John perform–and, hopefully if he can and wants to, hear and see him again as he recovers from jaw cancer, which meant his jaw had to be reconstructed. If anyone can make it back from that, it will be John.

To The Conversation, The New Daily, and Lachlan Goold: Do better. Check your facts especially because you are a Uni Lecturer passing on misinformation to those who will consider you a fountain of knowledge.

If it reads as though I’m taking this personally, well you are damn right. I don’t have the right to speak for the Farnham’s, Wheatley’s, the musicians, the crews and the fans, but I bet most, if not all will agree with me. These cheap shots at John piss me off, and to be brought up in a story written about the death of another music legend is tacky, and that’s being kind.