S11: Farnham's managers threaten to sue

Wednesday, August 30, 2000 - 11:00

Farnham's managers threaten to sue S11

BY ARUN PRADHAN

MELBOURNE — John Farnham's managers have admitted they doesn't know who to sue to prevent the adoption of the singer's "You're the Voice" as the official anthem of September 11 protests here against the World Economic Forum (WEF).

A short competition on the S11 web site (<http://www.s11.org>) resulted in victory for Farnham's early 1990s ballad, which beat Cyndi Lauper's "Money Changes Everything" and Public Enemy's "Party for Your Right to Fight". The site now hosts extensive lyrics of "You're the Voice" and other Farnham songs, as well as links to download the song.

Farnham's manager told Channel 9's Today show, "We've asked them to cease and desist, but we know that's like hitting them over the face with a feather".

Activists have stood by the choice as an ironic anthem of the oppressed ("We're not going to live in silence, we're not going to live with fear"), but the S11 web administrators have stated that they will remove the song if requested by John Farnham himself.

For some people planning to protest against the WEF, the thought of 10,000 people singing any of Farnham's songs is more alarming than the threat of police violence. Nevertheless, the choice has helped whip up a media frenzy which has made the S11 protests the biggest news story in the country.

From GLW issue 418