Farnham and Byrne

1 9 8 0 (Australia)
7 x 50 minute episodes

This weekly musical variety show from the Australian ABC starred former pop idols Johnny Farnham and Debbie Byrne.

Filmed at the ABC Gore Hill studios in Sydney, Farnham and Byrne debuted on Tuesday 19 August 1980.

Production values were high and no expense was spared on lavish sets and costumes (although John often looked like he’d just come from his job at a bank).

Johnny and Debbie sang and danced their way through ballads, solos and big production numbers, interspersed with comic touches such as Farnham’s spoof of Bryan Ferry in a version of Let’s Stick Together. Debbie Byrne demonstrated natural comic timing in the comedy skits.

Guests included Christie Allen, Darryl Cotton, Kim Hart, Colleen Hewett, Ricky May, Doug Parkinson, Normie Rowe and Shirley Strachan of Skyhooks.

Farnham went on to join Aussie supergroup Little River Band before achieving solo success on an international level. Byrne became a prominent star of television and theatre after struggling with and beating heroin addiction in the mid-80s. She co-starred with Matt Dillon in the 1985 film Rebel.

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