John Farnham in rare public outing for wife Jillian’s 70th birthday in Melbourne

Australian music icon John Farnham has joined family and friends to celebrate his wife Jillian’s 70th birthday in Melbourne.

Loved ones, including the ARIA Hall of Famer, gathered at Italian restaurant Florentino on Tuesday evening.

Seated besides his wife of 51 years, Farnham smiled and appeared happy during the gathering, which included live performances and a photo montage.

Accordion star Hans even got a smile out of him when he joked that he would play one of Farnham’s own hit songs.

An image shared by their son, Robert, had the caption: “Happy birthday 70th to mum, Love you.”

It comes after Farnham, 75, was given the “all clear” in his well-publicised cancer battle.

“He’s doing great, he’s doing really well, walking around, kicking goals .... annoying mum,” son James told Sunrise in February.

The entertainer underwent a gruelling surgery to remove a tumour from his mouth and reconstruct his jaw in August 2022.

Jillian previously revealed it was her who pushed Farnham to see a doctor before his diagnosis.

“He had a big white mass on the inside of his cheek and you could physically see it,” Jill wrote in the memoir, The Voice Inside.

“For several months I was saying to him, ‘Let’s go see about that thing in your mouth,’ and he’d say, ‘No, it’s alright, it’s alright, it’s alright.’

“He kept putting it off and putting it off. I pleaded with him to go see a doctor and finally he did.”

‘He’s doing great’

Farnham is also about to become a grandfather, with James and his partner Tessa expecting a baby boy.

James said he could not wait for the moment he could take his newborn to hang with his “Pa”.

“We’re all really excited, another little Farnham on the way,” James said.

“I can’t wait to take him up to the farm and get dad to teach him everything he taught me.”