Chris Martin, the lead singer of Coldplay has dedicated an original song to John Farnham during a charity concert dedicated to the Australian music legend’s career.
The tribute concert took place in Melbourne on Sunday night, raising money for head and neck cancer, with international and Australian performers in attendance.
The Coldplay frontman dedicated the song titled A Better Singer Than Me to Farnham, appearing via video.
“I’m really sorry I can’t be with you,” he told a sold-out crowd at the Rod Laver Arena show.
“John, I send you all my love.
“Shane Warne is the person that told me about how great you are.
“And this is a song about that and about you.”
Farnham’s son, James Farnham, said in a social media post that the original song was a “wild” surprise.
“I knew Chris Martin was doing the show, but I had no idea what he was actually doing,” he said.
“This video is me out in the crowd, watching it for the first time.
“I still can’t believe he wrote a song for my dad.”
In the song Martin explained who he was introduced to Farnham’s music during the 2009 bushfires. They performed together during the Sound Relief concert at the SCG in 2009 to raise funds for the affected communities.
“My friend Shane said to me, ‘There’s been a bloody big bushfire. It’s something you should see. I’m going in up to Kinglake to check on how they are and I made us a mix tape, we can listen in the car,'” Martin sang.
“‘And I really do love Coldplay. I love Coldplay, it’s true. But my favourite is John Farnham, he’s a better singer than you.'”
He then joked about how his singer-songwriter Natalie Imbruglia suggested that Farnham would be the better choice to lead a relief show.
“She said, ‘Here’s what you can do. You can call John Farnham, he’s a better singer than you,'” Martin sang.
He also said that Farnham’s songs would keep living once “we’ve all gone”.
Farnham did not attend the charity concert due to his deteriorating health, with his family sharing a statement over the weekend.
Artists including Jessica Mauboy, John Stevens, Jack Jones, Mahalia Barnes, Human Nature and other entertainers performed beloved songs made by Farnham.
Hugh Jackman and Celine Dion also appeared via video, both performing Farnham songs that had inspired them.
The concert comes following Farnham’s own cancer battle where doctors had to remove a tumour from his mouth and reconstruct his jaw. He has since been recovering and spending time with his family.
Image: Instagram
