John Farnham "deeply touched" by Robbie Williams' tribute
Australian music legend John Farnham has said he was "deeply touched" by Robbie Williams' dedication to the singer, as he continues to battle cancer.
In front of 100,000 AFL fans on Friday's grand final match in Melbourne, Robbie took to the stage to deliver a 20 minute mash-up of his biggest hits as the pre-show entertainment.
During the medley, he shocked the crowd with his own rendition of Farnham's most well-known track You're The Voice.
“The next song is the unofficial national anthem of Australia,” Williams told the crowd. “Let’s all send our love to John and his family.”
The enthusiastic audience joined in, singing their mightiest and knowing every word.
“We were delighted to see Robbie Williams dedicate his performance of You’re The Voice to John,” a statement from Farnham’s wife Jill and sons Rob and James said.
“John was watching from hospital and was deeply touched by that very generous gesture. He thoroughly enjoyed Robbie’s performance too.”
Robbie was joined on stage for his performance by Chong Lim on the keyboards, who has also been John Farnham's touring pianist since 1994.
John Farnham is currently undergoing cancer treatment after a gruelling 11-hour surgery, in which doctors removed a part of his jaw due to a cancerous tumour.
"John's recovery from last month's surgery for mouth cancer is progressing well," John’s family said in a statement.
"His medical team are very pleased with his progress over the past month.
"He was moved from ICU and into a general ward a couple of weeks ago. That in itself was terrific progress.
"Each of these steps means things are moving in the right direction and for that we are enormously thankful.”
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