On Wednesday, March 24, The Project’s Carrie Bickmore delivered a eulogy at the state funeral of music mogul Michael Gudinski.
Recalling him as a “generous” man, Bickmore also revealed that Gudinski — who passed away suddenly on March 2, 2021 —was instrumental in her starting Carrie’s Beanies 4 Brain Cancer Foundation.
“I remember sitting there with a baby on my lap pitching to Michael how I wanted to launch my foundation with a huge concert featuring Ed Sheeran,” Bickmore recalled.
“He had every right to say ‘Great idea, but it’s just not possible to get the biggest pop star in the world to attend your brain cancer charity gig’.”
Five months later, Bickmore, Gudinski and Sheeran were at Margaret Court Arena “kick-starting what would go on to become an $18 million foundation.”
Bickmore then went on to say that she would be forever “grateful” to Gudinski, even after he thought she had secret dreams of becoming a star.
“He later admitted to me he thought I was coming over to ask him to make me the next Kylie Minogue, so he was extremely relieved that wasn’t the case,” she said.
Bickmore and Gudinski had a wonderful friendship that would see them speaking at all hours of the day and that his generosity knew no bounds, supporting “hundreds of thousands” of people through charities including Children’s Cancer Foundation, Beyond Blue, Fred Hollows, The Good Friday Appeal, and Music Cares.
“He embraced and encouraged women of all ages in all areas of the music industry,” she said. “He pushed them to be better than ever they thought they could be. He was a true example of a progressive leader. With his time, with his money, the freedom he gave and the belief he had.”
Flying in for the state funeral, Sheeran — who considered Gudinski a “friend and a mentor”, performed three songs including Castle On The Hill, A Team, and a song he wrote especially for the service, Visiting Hours.
Gudinski passed away suddenly after suffering a heart attack in his sleep. He is survived by wife Sue and children, Kate and Matt.
