Glenn Wheatley, music manager who backed John Farnham, dies of Covid aged 74

The renowned Australian music manager Glenn Wheatley has died at the age of 74, after being hospitalised with Covid-19.

Wheatley, who managed high-profile entertainers including John Farnham and Delta Goodrem, died in Melbourne on Tuesday. He had reportedly been seriously ill for weeks.

The Queensland-born Wheatley was bassist for the Masters Apprentices in the 1960s, playing on the hits Turn Up Your Radio and Because I Love You. He established the Wheatley Organisation in 1975 and became manager of Little River Band.

Wheatley mortgaged his house to bankroll Farnham’s 1986 comeback album Whispering Jack, which topped the charts for 25 weeks and went on to become one of the biggest-selling albums in Australia.

Farnham was among those to pay tribute on Wednesday, calling it “devastating news”.

“There are no words, our hearts are broken,” he wrote on Twitter. “Our love and thoughts to all who loved Glenn, especially his family … he was one of a kind, special to so many.”

In a group statement, the Masters Apprentices said they were “deeply saddened” by Wheatley’s death.

“We will miss him greatly. He has left his mark forever on Australian music,” they added.

“My condolences to his wife Gaynor, and all of his family, during this ever so sad time,” singer Marcia Hines wrote. “May he Rest In Peace.”

Wheatley was Farnham’s manager until his death. Whispering Jack, the LP Wheatley gambled his house on, revitalised Farnham’s career. The last song to be added to it – You’re the Voice – became an Australian pop anthem.

After mixing the initial version of the song, Wheatley was left flat so Farnham jumped back in the recording booth. “He sang the livin’ bejesus out of it,” Wheatley said in an oral history published in 2014.

Entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins spoke emotionally about Wheatley on radio on Wednesday, calling him “one of the founding fathers” of the Australian music industry and a “gun, ace manager”.

“Glenn was such a beautiful guy, lovely, he was always so positive, he would always have a deal going,” he said on Sydney’s 2GB. “Everyone spent the night ringing each other in the business last night. No one can believe he’s gone … it’s very sad. I’m so sorry to have lost such a dear friend to so many lovely people.”

Wheatley helped Goodrem launch her 2003 debut Innocent Eyes, which also became one of Australia’s bestselling albums.

In 2007, Wheatley pleaded guilty to tax evasion after an investigation by the Australian Taxation Office, and was sentenced to 15 months prison. He spent 10 months in jail and the remainder of his sentence in home detention.

“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.”

Wheatley is survived by his wife Gaynor Martin and their three children.