Remembering Bernie Lynch: Co-Founder of Australia’s Eurogliders Passes Away at 72
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Bernie Lynch, the frontman and co-founder of the Australian pop group Eurogliders, has passed away at the age of 72 after a battle with throat cancer. The announcement comes on the heels of his significant contributions to music, particularly during the mid-1980s, when the group achieved notable success with their hit song “Heaven (Must Be There).”
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Grace Knight, who was married to Lynch during the 1980s, shared her sorrow in a heartfelt post: “It’s with a heavy heart I’m posting this to let everyone know that Bernie passed away last Thursday (March 12). I am heartbroken and don’t know how to proceed without him.”
Knight reflected on their enduring partnership, stating, “I don’t know how many shows Eurogliders have done over the years; it must be thousands, and for every single one of them, I’ve had Bernie there, standing beside me. It’s been such a wonderful journey, and I’m so very proud and honored to have shared it with him.”
Lynch founded Eurogliders in Perth, Western Australia, in 1980. The band garnered international attention with their 1984 hit “Heaven,” from the album This Island. The song reached No. 2 on the ARIA Chart and made a significant impact on Billboard, continuing to resonate with audiences over 40 years later.
The track recently featured in a major real estate television campaign in Australia and has been noted by music historian The Professor of Rock as one of the most underrated songs of its time.
Throughout their career, Eurogliders produced a series of domestic hits, including “We Will Together” in 1985 and “Can’t Wait to See You” in 1986, before disbanding at the end of the decade.
The band reunited several times, including during the mid-2000s for an album release, on the Countdown Spectacular nostalgia tour, and most recently in 2023 for the Sunset Sounds beachside festival.
Despite undergoing successful treatment for throat cancer in 2024, Lynch’s health deteriorated when the illness spread to his bones and organs, as Knight explains.
“Bernie was an incredibly kind and caring person and generous to a fault,” Knight remembers. “He’d fuss about making sure the band were happy and had after-show cheese and biscuits and a refreshing beverage. He’d come to stay at my house and turn up with bags of food and take over the kitchen. He was funny, intelligent, and engaging. If you weren’t well, or life had thrown you a curve ball, he’d be the first one on the phone to see how you were going.”
“Without Bernie’s songs, there would be no Eurogliders,” Knight continues. “Songs he wrote as a young man that are still being listened to, songs that 40 years later still get played on the radio, songs that people still sing along to at our shows, songs that have brought so much joy to so many people. What a great legacy and such a fantastic contribution to the cultural landscape of this country.”
