A music industry figurehead in his own right, Glenn Wheatley died on Tuesday night, reportedly from COVID-19.
Wheatley was a staple in the Aussie music scene, as the former bass player for Masters Apprentices and of course famously managing some of Australia’s most iconic talents.
It seems like Wheatley contracted COVID over the Christmas period and spent the last few weeks of his life in intensive care.
In 1986 Wheatley mortgaged his own home to pay for the recording of John Farnham’s Whispering Jack, an album that turned a teen idol into the face of all things Aussie.
The album was the second best selling album in Aus music history and included what should probably be our national anthem, You’re the Voice so it’s safe to say Wheatley made his money back.
John Farnham wasn’t the only legendary musician Wheatley plucked out of a crowd. He was actually the first person to discover and manage our very own Delta Goodrem.
His management was short-lived but it’s safe to say she wouldn’t have been on every other free-to-air TV show around the country without him.
Musicians and TV personalities are already flooding Twitter with condolences.
Just give singing anything from Whispering Jack at your bullshit “freedom” rallies a fkn rest for a day, hey cookers? Like scratch up a skerrick of respect for an afternoon: https://t.co/vAjD45E30D
— Geraldine Quinn (@geraldinequinn) February 1, 2022
