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Bernie Lynch – guitarist, songwriter and vocalist with the Australian band Eurogliders – has died in Perth after a battle with throat cancer. He was 65.
Lynch, who wrote the group’s biggest hit Heaven (Must Be There) – which reached No. 2 in Australia in 1984 while also cracking the charts in the US and Canada – was remembered by fellow band member Grace Knight in an emotional Facebook post.
“I am heartbroken and don’t know how to proceed without him,” Knight wrote.
“I arrived in Australia as a 21-year-old in 1977 and met Bernie not too long after; we’ve been in each other’s lives ever since. I can’t imagine what our lives would have looked like had we not crossed paths with each other. 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, wonderful journey and I’m so very proud and honoured to have shared it with him.”
Lynch also wrote the Eurogliders’ 1985 hit We Will Together, which reached No. 7 in Australia.
“Without Bernie’s songs there would be no Eurogliders,” Knight said.
“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.”
Lynch was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 and underwent treatment, which had been deemed successful and allowed him to resume working. But late last year, he discovered the cancer had metastasised. While he hoped that chemotherapy might extend his life expectancy, he became too unwell to continue the treatment. Lynch died on March 12 in palliative care in Perth.
“Bernie was an incredibly kind and caring person and generous to a fault,” Knight said.
“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 and intelligent and engaging. If you weren’t well, or life had thrown you a curveball, he’d be the first one on the phone to see how you were going. He was a people person and loved a chat.”
Eurogliders, a new wave pop band formed in Perth, released their debut album Pink Suit Blue Day in 1982, which was nominated in the best new album category at the Countdown Music Awards.
In 1983, as the band’s line-up evolved, they signed to major label CBS and recorded their second album, This Island, which peaked at No. 4 in Australia, No. 65 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 21 on its Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.
The group released two more albums in the 1980s, Absolutely and Groove, before disbanding. They re-formed briefly in the mid-2000s and again in 2013. They have released seven studio albums and 16 singles in total.
In 2017, Knight told this masthead that she and Lynch were together for six years before marrying in 1985. Although the marriage lasted one year, their friendship endured.
“My dear friend: we soared high, we grappled in the mud,” Knight said.
“What an incredible life we shared. I feel immense gratitude. I can’t let you go; I won’t let you go. My heartfelt condolences go to his family, loved ones and musical family ... we’ll all miss him very much,” Knight said in her tribute.
