17/03/2026
Vale Bernie Lynch 💜
Australia has lost a true legend and a beautiful soul. Bernie Lynch was a kid from Perth's pub scene who pulled a band name out of a hat and somehow wrote songs the world is still singing forty years later. The Australian music industry is immeasurably richer for having had him in it, and Eurogliders fans everywhere will be absolutely heartbroken by his passing. He most likely touched more lives than he ever knew.
VALE BERNIE LYNCH
It’s with the heaviest heart I’m posting this to let everyone know that Bernie passed away last Thursday evening in palliative care in Perth. Some of you will be aware that Bernie was diagnosed with throat cancer in early 2024 and underwent treatment. The throat cancer treatment was deemed successful, and he was able to resume working. Late last year, cancers started appearing throughout his body, in his bones and organs, and he started to deteriorate rapidly. Initially, it was thought chemotherapy could extend his life expectancy, but ultimately, he became too ill to continue with treatment.
I am heartbroken and don’t know how to proceed without him. 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.
Bernie was an incredibly kind and caring person and generous to a fault. 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 curve ball, he’d be the first one on the phone to see how you were going. He was a people person and loved a chat.
And, of course, there’s the songs. Without Bernie’s songs there would be no Eurogliders. 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 bought so much joy to so many people. What a great legacy and such a fantastic contribution to the cultural landscape of this country.
My dear friend. We soared high, we grappled in the mud. 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.
