John Farnham Has Also Banned Reclaim Australia From Using His Music Because FUCK YES, STRAYA

Today has been a truly magnificent day for Australian dadrock — and please know I say that without a hint of sarcasm or ridicule. First, Jimmy Barnes up and blasted Reclaim Australia for using his music at their anti-Islamic rallies and made a stirring argument for an inclusive and multi-cultural Australia. Now, John Farnham’s gone and done the same.

“John and I seriously oppose the use of John’s song at the rallies,” Farnham’s agent Glenn Wheatley said in a statement to Fairfax and News Corp. “It no way reflects our support in any way. There are other means to conduct protests. Just don’t use our song or Jimmy Barnes’ or Lee Kernaghans’.” (Importantly, Kernaghan is yet to make any comment about his involvement.)

Unlike Barnes, Farnham hasn’t yet posted a personal statement to social media, though he has been extremely vocal about such issues in the past. “We have the chance to turn the pages over,” he’s said. “We can write what we want to write. We gotta make ends meet, before we get much older. We’re all someone’s daughter — we’re all someone’s son.”

“OH-WO-WO-WO, OH-WO-WO-WO.”

But, seriously. That first part is very real.

Farnham’s iconic 1986 anthem ‘You’re the Voice’ has been regularly played during Reclaim Australia rallies over the past few months, as recently as this weekend. On Sunday, Tony Moore from The Age even noted that protestors in Brisbane were belting it out (as well as Barnes’ now off-limits ‘Khe Sahn’ and Men At Work’s ‘Down Under’) before the speakers were even set up. The song was even used in the group’s abhorrent TouTube videos, which featured footage of ISIS decapitations.

As Moore wrote, these songs were chosen by the group because they typified their “Australian ethos”. But, considering that both Farnsey and Barnsey have now totally condemned the group, the logic behind that is pretty shot to shit. With their blue collar roots, ballsy power ballads, and dogged commitment to true blue ockerisms and footy half-time shows, these local legends may well represent a great Australian ethos — but with their explicit contempt for the group, it’s clearly not the same one Reclaim Australia purport to represent.

Also — on an equally valid, though much less important point — Hot Rod showed the world why you should never even think of playing ‘You’re The Voice’ at a protest or rally a full eight years ago. That shit’s just irresponsible.

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You can read more about Reclaim Australia here, and their most recent protest here.

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Feature image via Jimmy Barnes/John Farnham.