Glenn Wheatley’s wife Gaynor speaks out on John Farnham’s cancer diagnosis

The wife of Glenn Wheatley says the late artist manager would’ve used this surprising tactic to inspire his best friend John Farnham’s road to recovery.

Gaynor Wheatley says her late husband, legendary manager Glenn Wheatley, would have tried to inspire his best friend John Farnham’s road to recovery by booking a comeback concert at the MCG.

Farnham is recovering from cancer surgery in an ICU at a Melbourne. He had a cancerous tumour removed from his mouth during a 12 hour surgery last Tuesday.

The Whispering Jack star had part of his jaw removed in the procedure, sparking fears the beloved performer might not be able to sing again.

Asked if speculation about Farnham’s condition was helping or hurting his recovery, Gaynor replied: “All we can do now is speculate. I certainly don’t blame the media or anyone for projecting their experiences. The truth is we don’t know.”

She added: “But if Glenn was here, he would have a date at the MCG pencilled in.”

Glenn Wheatley managed and was a longtime friend of John Farnham.

Scheduling shows for his often reticent friend was a classic Glenn Wheatley move. Build the itinerary, and Farnham would come — eventually.

“He inspires my need to go on,” Farnham told the Herald Sun in 2013. “I like the way Wheatley weans me around. Suddenly, I’m out there. He is my work ethic.”

Sadly, Glenn Wheatley, 74, died from Covid complications in February.

Gaynor paid tribute to Farnham’s wife, Jill, for making her husband get a mouth ulcer checked, which led to the cancer diagnosis. She also praised Jill’s strength.

“Jill has, and will, continue to be pivotal in keeping the family strong and together they will enable his recovery,” Gaynor said.

In a Facebook post, Farnham’s son, Rob, said his father is “strong” and will “smash” his road to recovery.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks,” Rob Farnham, a singer-songwriter and frontman of rock band Rival Fire, said.

“We are very proud of Dad, he is strong and will smash this.”

“Thank you to everyone who has shown support to Dad, (his brother) James, Mum and I,” Rob Farnham said.

“Dad and the family are feeling the love from everyone.

“The support from friends, family, Australia and OS has been massive.

“Huge shout-out to the hospital staff for being so amazing, we couldn’t do this without your honesty and support.”

Rob’s comments came as former Countdown star Gavin Wood also said John Farnham was “sitting up and getting stronger” in post-op recovery.

“We can all get back to breathing normally now. John is sitting up and getting stronger,” Wood said on ­social media.