Music legend Glenn Wheatley dies

The music guru behind the rise to fame of John Farnham, Delta Goodrem and Little River Band has died at the age of 74 of complications from Covid-19.

Famed music manager Glenn Wheatley has died of complications from Covid-19 after contracting the virus over the Christmas period.

It’s understood Wheatley, 74, had been in intensive care in a Melbourne hospital over recent weeks before his death.

Wheatley, who is credited as the mastermind behind the rise to fame of John Farnham, Delta Goodrem and Little River Band, leaves behind wife Gaynor Martin and their three children, Tim, 37, Samantha, 35, and Kara, 35.

He started his career in the music industry in 1968 as an artist himself, in the chart-topping band The Masters Apprentices, and played on two of their best-known songs Turn Up Your Radio and Because I Love You.

Wheatley soon turned his attention to producing, and began working with Little River Band.

As their manager, he negotiated a deal with Capitol Records in Los Angeles that made them one of the biggest rock acts in the world in the 1970s.

In the ‘80s he joined forces with John Farnham, who staged a massive comeback and produced his most successful album, the 24-times platinum Whispering Jack, which Wheatley famously mortgaged his house to finance.

It sold 1.7 million copies and sat at the top of the charts for a remarkable 25 weeks.

Wheatley was also instrumental in helping Delta Goodrem launch her massively successful career, working as her manager for the release of her hit 2003 debut album Innocent Eyes, which went on to become one of the highest-selling albums in ARIA chart history.

Wheatley expanded his media empire to include radio stations in 1980 when he co-founded Melbourne rock radio station EON-FM. In recent years, he bought stations on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, and took over Sydney’s 2CH in 2017 before selling it three years later.

Amid all his glittering success, the music guru faced some well-publicised low points over the years.

He was left on the brink of bankruptcy after a failed investment of $12 million in The Ivy nightclub in Melbourne.

Writing about the “disastrous decision” in his 1999 autobiography, Paper Paradise, Wheatley said: “I had a premonition that storm clouds were brewing over my life. What I didn’t know was that it would be a full-force ­cyclone.”

However, his worst moment was yet to come: in 2007, he was handed a 15-month sentence for tax evasion following an investigation by the Australian Taxation Office.

“I’m ashamed of what I have done,” Wheatley told the court at the time. “It was something that I have regretted for a long, long time and I’m ashamed of what I’ve brought on my family, who have had to suffer a lot.”

Veteran entertainment journalist Richard Wilkins was among the first to pay tribute to Wheatley as news of his death was shared.

He tweeted: “Gutted… what a man… what a life… what a beautiful family… R.I.P.”

Originally published as Music legend Glenn Wheatley dies at 74 from Covid-19 complications

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