John Farnham couldn’t be at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, but 13,000 Australians turned up to celebrate the songs and the incredible career of a performer who has been part of the soundtrack to their lives for decades.

The almost three-hour A Living Legend tribute brought together some of Australian music’s biggest names, with proceeds supporting Head and Neck Cancer Australia.

There was extra emotion surrounding the concert after Farnham’s family revealed the 77-year-old was not well enough to attend.

His wife Jill and sons Rob and James said Farnham now requires continuous oxygen, uses a wheelchair and has 24-hour nursing care following his battle with mouth cancer.

It changed the mood of what might otherwise have been a straightforward celebration of one of Australia’s great music careers. With Farnham unable to be there, the night gave fans and fellow performers the chance to tell him, in their own way, what his music has meant to them.

His son Rob performed Love To Shine and told the audience the turnout would “absolutely warm his heart”.

One of the biggest moments came from Celine Dion who performed a special performance of Farnham’s signature anthem, You’re the Voice, via simulcast from a stage in Paris. Dion has herself been largely absent from live performance in recent years after being diagnosed with stiff-person syndrome.

Across 28 songs, the concert revisited a career stretching from Sadie and Little River Band through to the phenomenal success of Whispering Jack and the decades that followed.

Those songs come with memories attached: they were played on road trips and at weddings and parties, blasted from car radios and cassette players, and heard live during the years when Farnham seemed almost permanently on tour.

Rod Laver Arena was an appropriate place to gather again as Farnham performed 94 shows at Melbourne Park during his career, drawing more than one million people through its doors.

The night eventually came back to the song everybody knew it must. As You’re the Voice rang around the arena for the finale, Rob and James Farnham joined the performers on stage and thousands in the audience joined in.

Their father couldn’t be there, but unlike so many tributes to great performers, this one came while Farnham is still here to know just how loudly Australia is cheering for him.