Australian music industry legend Glenn Wheatley dies of Covid-19 at age 74 

Legendary Australian music producer Glenn Wheatley has died of complications with Covid-19 at the age of 74. 

The man who masterminded the rise of John Farnham to huge success and other Australian success stories from Little River Band to Delta Goodrem died in Melbourne on Tuesday.

It is understood he had contracted Covid over the Christmas period and had been in intensive care over recent weeks. 

He leaves behind wife Gaynor Martin, and their three children, Tim, 37, Samantha, 35, and Kara, 35. 

Wheatley began as musician himself, playing in The Masters Apprentices who became a chart-topping band with hits such as Turn Up Your Radio and Because I Love You. 

However it was as a producer where he made his biggest mark, beginning with Little River Band, who in the 1970s became one of the world’s biggest rock bands. 

His management skills extended to John Farnham, who under Wheatley’s guidance made a comeback in the 1980s, leading to his biggest hit album, the 1986 release, Whispering Jack. 

 Wheatley and his protege John Farnham produced the hit album Whispering Jack which was a phenomenal worldwide hit.

The album went 24-times platinum, selling 1.7 million copies and topping the charts for an astonishing 25 weeks.

The phenomenal success of that album had set up Wheatley for life, but some failed investments saw the producer lose almost all his money and even serve a term in jail.

In 2007, he was sentenced to a 15-month sentence for tax evasion, after an Australian Taxation Office investigation into Swiss trust accounts. 

He scored further success as a manager for singer Delta Goodrem, and helmed her smash hit 2003 debut Innocent Eyes. 

It became one of the highest-selling ­albums in ARIA chart history, however the pair split under acrimonious circumstances in 2003.