John Farnham opens up about his ‘sexually aggressive’ manager’s sickening betrayal in The Voice Inside memoir

John Farnham reveals his former manager secretly drugged him for years as a young man struggling to come to terms with newfound fame.  

The Australian singer, 75, made the shocking claim about Darryl Sambell in his new memoir, The Voice Inside.

Farnham claims Sambell slipped substances into his coffee during an early period of his career when he held tight control over nearly every aspect of his life and career.

‘He drugged me for years and I had no f**king idea,’ Farnham writes.

The singer first became alarmed when he found a half-dissolved pill at the bottom of his coffee cup.

When confronted, Sambell allegedly downplayed the situation, telling him: ‘That’s just something to help you stay awake.’ 

Sambell ‘controlled where and when I worked, what I sang, what I wore, what I ate,’ Farnham says.  

‘He isolated me from friends and family, he tried to keep me away from [my wife] Jill, he drugged me, and he made me believe that all my success, everything I had, was because of him.’

He said the manager’s influence was so pervasive he didn’t recognise the manipulation at the time. 

Reflecting on the deceit and its effects, Farnham admits feeling a deep sense of regret and self-blame.

‘I feel so ashamed of myself for not realising what Darryl was up to or speaking up more often to put him back in his place.’

He continued: ‘I didn’t question any of it, I just went along as if nothing was off key. I still don’t know why I didn’t react more. 

‘I put it down to being young, under stress, tired and feeling unsure and insecure about my own instincts.’ 

‘He drugged me for years and I had no f**king idea,’ Farnham writes in his memoir, according to a new excerpts published by The Australian . The discovery came one day when the singer noticed a half-dissolved pill at the bottom of his coffee cup

Farnham also describes how Sambell, who was openly gay during an era when homosexuality was illegal in Australia, made unwanted advances towards him.

‘At the time, in the early years, he was aggressively sexual toward me,’ Farnham writes. 

‘He would “try it on” and I would say, “Darryl, no. Just leave me alone”, or, “It’s not going to happen”. 

‘I said it often enough that I can see now that this rejection turned his attraction into jealousy, hatred and a desire for control.’ 

Farnham finally cut ties with Sambell in 1976, ending a decade-long professional relationship.

Despite this, the emotional scars lingered, and it took years for Farnham to come to terms with what had happened.

Farnham says he feels ‘sorrow’ about the early part of his career

‘Many years have passed since then and, up until now, I’ve found it very hard to unpick what happened to me,’ he shares.

‘But now that I’ve confronted it, I look back on that time with sorrow. I’m annoyed at myself for being so gullible and trusting.’ 

Sambell died in 2001.