02/08/2026
It was very sad to hear that my old colleague, Glenn A. Baker, passed away on Friday.
I first met Glenn while I was promoting a tour of regional New South Wales with Skyhooks. OL'55 was the support act on the tour, and Glenn was the band's manager. Following the Skyhooks tour, Glenn and I worked together to promote OL'55 on a 10-concert regional NSW tour. At the conclusion of that tour, Glenn asked me to join his management team as Tour Manager for the band.
I learnt a tremendous amount from Glenn. We spent countless hours travelling together in his old brown Datsun. We visited radio stations, newspapers and television stations throughout Australia's capital cities. Glenn introduced me to many of the key people in the entertainment industry, and the knowledge I gained as his wingman over those years has stayed with me throughout my careers.
Glenn had a journalist's mind and understood exactly how the media worked. He often said journalists were busy—and sometimes a little lazy—so he would hand them well-written, ready-to-publish press releases that made their job easy while ensuring the story he wanted told was the one that appeared. It was a simple but brilliant strategy that I have never forgotten. I also learnt the value of a free lunch as a business tool!
On a personal level, Glenn was a deeply spiritual man, devoted to his family, and incredibly passionate and driven. In my opinion, OL'55 would never have existed without him. He discovered the band—then known as "Fanis from Sydney's Sutherland district"—found and selected their frontman, Frank J. Holden (F.J. Holden), and then set about creating the phenomenon that became OL'55. Publicity, publicity and more publicity was always Glenn's mantra.
Of course, great publicity only works if the product delivers, and OL'55 certainly did. I toured with many artists during those years, and as a live act, OL'55 were among the very best. They were an absolute cracker of a band on stage and a joy to watch perform night after night.
Glenn also believed everyone needed a memorable stage name. Every member of OL'55 was given one. Even Glenn's own nickname, "Bakes", evolved into Glenn A. Baker. He insisted on including the middle initial because it made the name distinctive—and it certainly worked. Today, mention "Glenn A. Baker" almost anywhere in Australia and people immediately know who you're talking about.
His knowledge of rock music was simply extraordinary. He seemed to know the history behind almost every artist, recording and event from around the world. That encyclopedic knowledge became his trademark and made him one of Australia's most respected music historians.
One aspect of Glenn that many people may not know about was his business prior to the OL'55 days, importing obscure American vinyl records. He had an incredible ear for music and introduced many Australian artists to songs that otherwise may never have been heard here. He supplied OL'55 with a number of these such songs, and I know he also helped many other artists discover material and record songs that deserved a much wider audience.
Thank you, Glenn, for your guidance and the opportunities you gave a young bloke from the bush finding his way in the music industry. The lessons you taught me have lasted a lifetime. "Looking back now, I probably didn't realise at the time just how fortunate I was. As a young bloke from the bush, I was being mentored by one of the sharpest minds in the Australian music industry."
Rest in peace, mate.
The ticket below is from the OL'55 tour mentioned above in 1975. See less
