The Shadows
What organization did John Farrar join in 1973?
John Farrar John Clifford Farrar ( ; born 8 November 1945 ) is an Australian music producer , songwriter , arranger , singer , and guitarist . As a musician , Farrar is a former member of several rock and roll groups including The Mustangs ( 1963–64 ) , The Strangers ( 1964–70 ) , Marvin , Welch & Farrar ( 1970–73 ) , and The Shadows ( 1973–76 ) ; in 1980 he released a solo eponymous album . As a songwriter and producer , he worked with Olivia Newton-John from 1971 through 1989 . He wrote her number-one hit singles : Have You Never Been Mellow ( 1975 ) , Youre the One That I Want ( 1978 duet with John Travolta ) , Hopelessly Devoted to You ( 1978 ) , and Magic ( 1980 ) . He also produced the majority of her recorded material during that time including her number-one albums , If You Love Me , Let Me Know ( 1974 ) , Have You Never Been Mellow ( 1975 ) , and Olivias Greatest Hits Vol . 2 ( 1982 ) . He was a co-producer of ( 1978 ) – the soundtrack for the film Grease . Farrar also produced Newton-Johns first American number-one hit single , I Honestly Love You , which was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1975 . In 1969 , Farrar married the Australian singer , Pat Carroll – formerly Ms . Newton-Johns singing partner . In July 1970 , Farrar and Carroll relocated to the United Kingdom , and starting in late 1975 , they have resided in the United States . They are the parents of Sam Farrar ( a Phantom Planet bassist and Maroon 5 touring member ) and Max Farrar ( a Golden Ghost guitarist and keyboardist ) . Biography . John Clifford Farrar was born on 8 November 1945 , and grew up in Moonee Ponds , a suburb of Melbourne . He has an older brother , Reginald , and the family lived in a large household with aunts and uncles . Farrars mother bought him a country music guitar , which he began playing at twelve years old . In 1961 , he began playing in a band , The Jaguars , with his older brother Reg . When he was fifteen , the family relocated to nearby Niddrie . In 1963 , he joined The Mustangs , alongside Johnny Cooper on vocals , Peter Ramis on bass guitar and Billy on drums . In late January 1964 , he joined The Strangers , replacing the founding guitarist Laurie Arthur , and adding another lead vocalist to the group . Other members were Peter Robinson on the bass guitar and lead vocals , Graeme Thompson on drums , and Fred Weiland on guitar and backing vocals . They had formed as an instrumental band in Glenroy in 1961 , working in the Melbourne dance scene . In June 1964 , the band issued its first vocal single , If You Gotta Make a Fool of Someone , which reached the top 30 on the Melbourne charts in July . They became a popular backing and session band . In August 1964 , The Strangers were hired as the house band for the ATV O pop music program , The Go! ! Show . Both Farrars future wife , Pat Carroll , and their close friend , Olivia Newton-John , appeared on The Go! ! Show as singers backed by The Strangers . Carroll and Newton-John formed a vocal duo , Pat and Olivia , and in 1967 , they first toured the United Kingdom , including a gig at the infamous Raymond Revuebar club in Soho . After returning to Australia from a tour , Carroll was obliged to remain since her work visa had expired , while Newton-John was able to stay on due to her British origins . Farrar dated and married Carroll , and following their wedding in 1970 , Carroll ceased to pursue headliner status . She occasionally reprised the duo with Newton-John , and worked as a session singer on Farrars or Newton-Johns work . During 1968 , The Strangers supported the Australian leg of a tour by the British instrumental group , The Shadows . In June 1970 , The Strangers released their most successful hit , Melanie Makes Me Smile , which peaked at No . 14 on the Go-Set National Top 60 in August . In July 1970 , Farrar left The Strangers , and he and Carroll moved to Britain , where he was invited to become a member of Marvin , Welch & Farrar , a vocal harmony group featuring two former members of The Shadows , Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch . By that time , Newton-John and Welch were engaged , and Farrar and Welch became two of her songwriters and producers . Welch and Farrar co-produced and performed on Newton-Johns cover of Bob Dylans track , If Not for You , and the album of the same title released in November 1971 . Farrar also worked with Cliff Richard as a backing guitarist and vocalist . Marvin , Welch & Farrar put out two albums , an eponymous one in 1971 , and Second Opinion ( in both quadraphonic and stereo formats ) in 1972 . In 1973 , a third album featured just Marvin and Farrar . The Shadows reformed soon after , and Farrar joined as second lead guitarist and vocalist . In 1975 , the group represented the UK in the Eurovision Song Contest with Let Me Be the One . In 1973 , Farrar had appeared at the same contest as a backing guitarist and vocalist for Richards entry , Power to All Our Friends ; the following year he backed and produced Newton-John on her effort , Long Live Love . From 1971 to 1976 , various members of The Shadows were employed as session musicians for Newton-Johns early albums , recorded at Londons Abbey Road Studios . Aside from Farrar and Welch , they included Brian Bennett , Alan Hawkshaw , Alan Tarney , Dave Richmond , and Trevor Spencer ; some other session musicians were the fellow Australians Kevin Peek and Terry Britten – both also worked with Richard – and some other musicians . They worked under co-producers Farrar and Welch until midway through Newton-Johns second album , Olivia . Thereafter , Farrar was her main producer . He produced her number-one albums , If You Love Me , Let Me Know ( 1974 ) , Have You Never Been Mellow ( 1975 ) , and Olivias Greatest Hits Vol . 2 ( 1982 ) . Farrar also produced Newton-Johns first American number-one hit single , I Honestly Love You , which was awarded the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1975 . His last production for Newton-John was her album , Warm and Tender in 1989 . In 1974 , Farrar used the vocoder SFX unit on an instrumental track , No , No , Nina , well before Peter Framptons 1975 single , Show Me the Way , which featured the same device for its talk box effect . However , Farrars track was held back from release by EMI until 1997 , when it appeared on the CD album , The Shadows at Abbey Road , containing mostly unreleased material . A vocal version of No , No , Nina appeared on the Specs Appeal album as a Eurovision contender track , but it was voted sixth out of six initial entries . Aside from instrumentation and vocals , Farrar worked as an arranger on The Shadows albums : Rockin with Curly Leads , Specs Appeal , Tasty and Live at the Paris Olympia . Farrars work with Newton-John embraced a wide range of styles , from Youre the One That I Want ( duet with John Travolta ) to Physical . Farrars biggest success with Newton-John as a writer-producer came with the film version of the musical , Grease . In 1977 , during filming , its producers were replacing some of Jim Jacobs and Warren Caseys pieces from the original score and wanted some more commercial songs , including a solo number for Newton-John , so Farrar wrote and submitted two originals , Hopelessly Devoted To You and Youre the One That I Want . Both were accepted ( despite strong reservations from director Randal Kleiser , who believed that the songs didnt fit the style ) , and became two of the soundtracks most successful singles , being international number-one hits during 1978 . In June 2004 , Farrar recalled writing the two songs : Youre the One That I Want : The weird thing was it was the fastest song I ever wrote . It came so fast , the actual melody and the feel of it . Hopelessly Devoted To You : I spent the longest period writing the lyrics of any song Ive ever written . Every thesaurus and every rhyming dictionary I had , just trying to really make it work properly . Other number-one hits for Newton-John that were written and produced by Farrar are Have You Never Been Mellow ( 1975 ) , Dont Stop Believin ( an easy-listening chart-topper from 1976 , not the Journey song of the same name ) , and Magic ( 1980 ) . Farrar produced one side of the Xanadu soundtrack for the 1980 film of the same name . The other side featured tracks by Electric Light Orchestra and was produced by their guitarist-vocalist , Jeff Lynne . In March 1981 , Farrar was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song for the song Suspended in Time from Xanadu . In 1995 , Farrar collaborated with Newton-John and lyricist Tim Rice for the musical score of Cliff Richards musical , Heathcliff based on the Emily Brontë novel Wuthering Heights . Farrar also co-wrote songs for a musical based on the 1959 film , Gidget , which , , was indefinitely postponed . Farrar runs the Moonee Ponds Studio at Sweetwater Road in Malibu . Personal life . Farrar and Carroll are the parents of Sam Farrar ( born 29 June 1978 , Phantom Planet bass guitarist ) and Max Farrar ( Golden Ghost guitarist and keyboardist ) . , Farrar and Carroll reside in Malibu , California . Instruments . According to AllMusic John Farrar has been credited with : vocals ( lead , backing ) , guitars ( lead , rhythm , bass guitar , acoustic , slide guitar , acoustic slide , electric slide ) , piano ( electric ) , keyboards , mellotron , synthesizer , vocoder , synclavier , mandolin , and horn . Discography . - As a performer - Solo - John Farrar – LP/CD – CBS/See4Miles ( November 1980 ) - With Rainine on My Mind - AUS #90 - John and Mary - Reckless – duet with Olivia Newton-John ( 2009 ) . - The Strangers - Marvin , Welch & Farrar - The Shadows - As a songwriter and/or producer - With Olivia Newton-John - 1971 If Not for You ( co-produced with Bruce Welch ) - 1972 Olivia ( co-produced with Welch ) - 1973 Maybe Then Ill Think Of You ( co-produced with Welch ) - 1973 Let Me Be There ( co-produced with Welch ) - 1974 Long Live Love ( co-produced with Welch ) - 1974 If You Love Me , Let Me Know - 1975 Have You Never Been Mellow - 1975 Clearly Love - 1976 Come on Over - 1976 Dont Stop Believin - 1977 Making a Good Thing Better - 1978 A Little More Love - 1978 Hopelessly Devoted To You - 1978 Youre The One That I Want - 1978 Look At Me , Im Sandra Dee ( Reprise ) - 1978 Totally Hot - 1980 Magic - 1980 Suddenly - 1980 Dancin - 1980 Suspended in Time - 1980 Whenever Youre Away from Me - 1981 Physical - 1981 Love Performance - 1982 Heart Attack - 1982 Tied Up - 1985 Soul Kiss - 1989 Warm and Tender - 1992 Not Gonna Be the One - 1995 Be With Me Always - 1998 Closer to Me - 1998 Under My Skin - 2008 Reckless - 2012 Weightless - 2012 I Think You Might Like It - Other production credits - Neil Sedaka – Workin on a Groovy Thing ( 1969 ) ( arranger ) - John Travolta – Sandy ( 1978 ) - The Moirs – State of Shock ( 1978 ) - Cher – I Paralyze ( 1982 ) ( co-produced with David Wolpert ) - Irene Cara – Carasmatic ( 1987 ) - Jack Wagner – Dont Give Up Your Day Job ( 1987 ) Eurovision Song Contest appearances . - 1973 Power to all Our Friends ( backing Cliff Richard ) . - 1974 Long Live Love ( producer to Olivia Newton-John ) - 1975 Let Me Be the One ( member of The Shadows ) . References . - General - Note : Archived [ on-line ] copy has limited functionality . - Specific External links . - John Farrar interview on 88.3 Southern FM - Photographs of The Strangers : - Farrar , second from right , 1965 State Library Victoria , accessed 23 March 2015 - Farrar at right , 1966 State Library Victoria , accessed 23 March 2015 - Farrar at left , 1967 State Library Victoria , accessed 23 March 2015 - Farrar , second from left , 1969 State Library Victoria , accessed 23 March 2015