Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns broke his silence last week on ABC’s decision to withdraw the first part of his Australian Stories documentary A Silver Lining.
The two-part series, which premiered September 18, tells the story of Silverchair’s meteoric rise to fame and features an interview with drummer Ben Gillies and bassist Chris Joannou.
Gillies and Joannou are also in public relations for their upcoming memoir, Love & Pain.
Johns, who has been estranged from Gilles and Joannou since their band split in 2011, did not take part in the documentary.
Fans were surprised on Tuesday after Australian Story announced on social media that ABC had removed the first part of A Silver Lining from its streaming platform iView.
Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, 44, (pictured) broke his silence last week over ABC’s decision to withdraw the first part of his Australian Story documentary A Silver Lining
At the time, The Daily Telegraph reported that Johns and his brother and manager Heath had not given ABC the rights to release Silverchair’s music on iView.
On Sunday, Johns finally set the record straight by posting a lengthy essay on Instagram explaining why he didn’t give ABC permission to re-release his songs.
“I would have preferred not to say anything, but here are the facts,” he wrote.
The two-part series, which premiered September 18, tells the story of Silverchair’s meteoric rise to fame and includes an interview with drummer Ben Gillies (left) and bassist Chris Joannou (right). All pictures in 2007
Fans were surprised on Tuesday after Australian Story announced on social media that ABC had removed the first part of A Silver Lining from its streaming platform iView
“Australian Story reached out to me through my team on August 11 “as a courtesy” to say they were writing a story about [Gillies] And [Joannou]. “I have been and continue to be incredibly supportive of her telling her story,” he continued.
“At the end of filming I was asked to be interviewed about their contribution to the band and although I wished them well, I respectfully declined for one reason.”
The reason for this was that Johns had nothing to do with Gillies and Joannou’s memoirs and he said he was uncomfortable “promoting” the book without knowing what they had written about him.
Gillies and Joannou are also in public relations for their upcoming memoir, Love & Pain
On Sunday, Johns finally set the record straight by posting a lengthy essay on Instagram explaining why he didn’t give ABC permission to re-release his songs
Johns claimed he repeatedly asked Gillies and Joannou for a copy of Love & Pain as a condition of approving the ABC’s request to use his music in their documentary, but his requests were rejected.
“I was not involved in the book, nor do I know its contents.” “I was often asked to read the book but was not sent a copy, so I was uncomfortable being interviewed to help promote the book to help out,” he said.
“I was asked later [ABC] via the Silverchair label [Sony Music Australia] “To create 7 songs for iView (most of which were composed solely by me) to score a two-episode series.”
Johns claimed he repeatedly asked Gillies and Joannou for a copy of Love & Pain as a condition of approving the ABC’s request to use his music in their documentary, but his requests were rejected
According to the singer, ABC asked to use his track “Ana’s Song (Open Fire),” which Johns wrote about his battle with anorexia nervosa.
“I told Sony and ABC that I would be willing to approve any songs provided I received a copy of the book to ensure that my songs would not be used to promote something where I had no visibility,” he said .
“I was told again that Ben & Chris would not give me a copy to read. For this reason iView use was refused.”
Johns claimed that ABC released the documentary on iView despite not having the license to publish his songs.
According to the singer, ABC asked to use his track “Ana’s Song (Open Fire),” which Johns wrote about his battle with anorexia nervosa
He also accused the state-funded broadcaster of waiting “three days” after being contacted by his record label Sony before finally dropping the episode.
John claimed that in the past he was forced to “re-record” his own versions of Silverchair songs for projects because another former bandmate had also denied him the rights to use their music.
Johns ended the post on a more positive note, writing: “As always, I wish Ben and Chris nothing but success and happiness.” I never tried to block their book, I simply asked to receive a copy in advance in order to read it to be able to check the facts.”
He also accused the state-funded broadcaster of waiting “three days” after being contacted by his record label Sony before finally dropping the episode. Pictured in 2007
“I was afraid that my personal health information could be discussed. I don’t think that’s inappropriate.”
Johns concluded: “Everyone is marked. If I misunderstood something, please provide the evidence or please stop the unhelpful speculation.”
Chron Australia has contacted Australian Story, Gillies and Joannou in relation to this story.
Johns ended the post on a more positive note, writing: “As always, I wish Ben and Chris nothing but success and happiness.” I never tried to block their book, I simply asked to receive a copy in advance in order to read it to be able to fact check.” Joannou is pictured during his interview on Australian Story
It came after Johns attacked Gillies and Joannou during an appearance on The Project in September 2022, where he described his estranged friends as “bitter, jealous, angry.”
He singled out Gillies, saying that the drummer had a “real problem” with his fame and claimed that his two former bandmates would “never visit him”.
Neither Gillies nor Joannou responded at the time, but it appears the pair will speak out when their volume Love & Pain hits shelves on Wednesday, September 27th.
It came after Johns attacked Gillies and Joannou during an appearance on The Project in September 2022, where he described his estranged friends as “bitter, jealous, angry.” Gillies is pictured during his interview on Australian Story
The upcoming memoir is sure to reignite the bitter feud between the former bandmates, who took the world by storm as 15-year-olds with their debut album Frogstomp before splitting up in 2011.
The book release follows a series of derogatory comments Johns made about his former bandmates last year in Who Is Daniel Johns? Podcast and YouTube series Inside The Mind Of Daniel Johns.
Part 2 of The Australian Story with Gillies and Joannou airs on Monday at 8pm on ABC.
Part 2 of The Australian Story with Gillies and Joannou airs on Monday at 8pm on ABC