Inside the wild rock 'n' roll lifestyle of Australian music's godfather and legendary party animal Michael Gudinski - after autopsy reveals he died with 12 different drugs including cocaine and morphine in his blood

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A week before Michael Gudinski's 60th birthday the legendary music promoter played down his upcoming milestone, claiming he was planning to celebrate quietly.

'My life's been big - I've had the excuse to have a lot of big parties,' he said in August 2012. 'I'd rather do something low-key with some of my family and my key staff… '

What Gudinski actually did to mark the date was throw three parties across five days at his Melbourne mansion with Jimmy Barnes, Diesel and The Rubens performing in the backyard.

It was revealed on Thursday that Gudinski's death in March, aged 68, was not just from a heart attack as initially reported.

Instead, the man behind hit acts including Kylie Minogue died from ingesting a cocktail of drink and drugs that proved too much for his disease-riddled heart.

Michael Gudinski, the so-called godfather of Australian rock music, was almost as well known for his reputation for partying as for guiding the careers of some of the country's biggest stars

Australian music legend Michael Gudinski, seen here with Kylie (left) and Dannii Minogue, died from a fatal rock 'n' roll cocktail of drugs that proved too much for his disease-riddled heart

Gudinski's death was met with deep grief in the Australian music industry and beyond, with tributes coming from stars like Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, and Madonna. Gudinski is pictured with Sheeran

A post-mortem examination revealed 12 drugs including cocaine, oxycodone and morphine in his system, according to a death certificate lodged with the Supreme Court of Victoria.

That certificate revealed Gudinski was also suffering cirrhosis of the liver and ischaemic heart disease, and had recently fractured his spine.

Gudinski's death was met with deep grief in the Australian music industry and beyond, with tributes coming from stars including Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, and Madonna. 

The so-called godfather of Australian rock music was described by his friends as gregarious, coarse, caring, gruff, generous, hyperactive and great company.

He was often dubbed a 'force of nature' and 'larger than life'.

The founder of Mushroom Records and the Frontier Touring Company was almost as well known for his reputation for partying as for guiding the careers of some of the country's biggest stars.

Court documents revealed details of Gudinski's will which carved up a $45.9million fortune - including $30m in real estate and $15.9m in assets - between his widow Sue (pictured here with Gudinski), son Matt, 36, and daughter Kate, 33

Party animals: Jimmy Barnes (left), Molly Meldrum (middle) and Michael Gudinski (right) ARE pictured having fun at the ARIA awards in 2005

At his Toorak home Gudinski hosted lunches for Sting, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Tracy Chapman, and held a Thanksgiving dinner for Madonna. 

But late nights were also part of the job and Gudinski took his job seriously, attending five gigs a night at his peak and carousing until dawn.

In the United States he partied with the legendary wild men from Mötley Crüe and Bon Jovi. 'I worked in an industry where partying was part of it all… I loved my job and worked hard,' he said three years ago. 

Long celebrations followed successes outside music as the part owner of three Melbourne Cup winners - Almandin (2016), Rekindling (2017) and Twilight Payment (2020) and lesser victories for his beloved St Kilda football club. 

While he lived the mythologised rock star lifestyle, the man who never played a musical instrument did not like criticism and carefully protected his public image. 

As an obituary in the Guardian stated, 'Everyone who met Gudinski had a story to tell about him, not all of which are printable.' 

The so-called godfather of Australian rock music Michael Gudinski was described as gregarious, coarse, caring, gruff, generous, hyperactive and great company. He was often dubbed a 'force of nature' and 'larger than life'. Gudinski is pictured with Ed Sheeran

For a man with such a penchant for making merry he could be humourless about stories of his shenanigans being made public. 

Stuart Coupe wrote in his 2015 biography Gudinski that his subject did not want to cooperate with the project.

'The book could easily have been twice the length,' Coupe wrote. 'Easily. So inevitably there were things that had to be left out.

'Then there's the matter of defamation – the laws on which are vey strict in this country. The notes from the lawyer alone could have made up another chapter or two.'

'Everyone has a Gudinski story – some are true, some partially true, and many totally fabricated and clearly having no basis in fact.

'I'd have liked to have included some of the extremely silly, fanciful ones that people swore were gospel – but if I did that I'd have been implying that they might be true.'

A post-mortem examination revealed 12 drugs including cocaine, oxycodone and morphine were found in Gudinski's blood at the time of his death last March at the age of 68

Gudinski confirmed his attitude to talking about rock 'n' roll excess in an interview with The Independent Echo after the book's publication.

'The book you mention is unauthorised; people who are waiting to hear the great stories of Gudinski on the road - the legends - will be sorely disappointed to hear I've had my lawyers go through it with a fine-tooth comb,' he said at the time.

'I believe what goes on the road stays on the road.'

In the same interview Gudinski, then 62, explained how he had survived 40 years of partying with some of the best in the world.

'The partying has obviously slowed down an immense amount. I had a very big health scare and the doctors were fortunately very wrong. It was a shake-up for everyone.'

'Like it or not, in the '80s and '90s, partying was part of the business - especially going to America.

'The partying worked in our favour. When people come to Australia they're usually a long way from home, so if you look after them they don't forget it.'

Author David Leser helped explain some of Gudinski's reluctance to tell potentially unflattering stories about himself in his 1999 anthology of profiles The Whites of Their Eyes.

Kylie Minogue posted an emotional Twitter tribute to the late promoter after his death saying: 'My heart is broken and I can't believe he's gone. Irreplaceable and unforgettable, I'll always love you'

'He is enormously image-conscious,' Melbourne rock writer David Pepperell told Leser. 'He has dreamed up this image of himself as the godfather of Australia rock and he can't understand why you wold want to say anything bad about him.

'He gets enormously upset if you do… His public persona is everything to him. There is nothing more important than that.'

Leser recounted one story about a 1985 welcome home party held for his major Australian signing Skyhooks, which Gudinski denied.

Gudinski had hired a train stocked with French champagne to bring journalists and music industry heavyweights for the 40 minute trip from Melbourne to Dandenong and a gathering at the Baron of Beef restaurant.

'By the time we got there, we were all pretty drunk,' rock writer Dave Dawson told Leser. 'Then, when we got to our table, there was a bag of dope on it. There were bags of dope on all the tables.'

Rock promoter Brian de Courcy remembered the party the same way but Gudinski told Leser: 'I love the story. It sounds great, but it's an absolute myth.'

The staggering mix of drugs found in Gudinski's system upon his death included illegal substances, prescription medication, and over-the-counter painkillers.

The death certificate lists them as cocaine, ethanol, codeine, morphine, oxycodone, tramadol, diazepam, nordiazepam, temazepam, oxazepam, metoclopramide, and paracetamol.

Gudinski's family issued a statement on Thursday night revealing he was receiving treatment and on medication for injuries to his back at the time of his death.

'Michael Gudinski's passing was devastating to his family, Mushroom Group and the entertainment industry,' the family said. 

'He will always be remembered for his incredible achievements and his passion for life. 

'Shortly prior to Michael's passing he had a fall that resulted in serious vertebrae injuries for which he was prescribed various pain medications. 

'The Gudinski family do not feel it's appropriate to make any further comment about what is a private personal matter.'

Court documents revealed details of Gudinski's will which carved up a $45.9million fortune - including $30million in real estate and $15.9m in assets - between his widow Sue, 69, son Matt, 36, and daughter Kate, 33.

His wife will receive 51 per cent of the estate, with the remainder shared equally between his children through a series of trusts.

Including in the music promoter's estate is the family's sprawling $30million mansion at Toorak where his joint 60th birthday bashes with Sue were held.

Parties for different sets guests – Gudinski had close contacts on all levels of Melbourne society - were staged over three nights with a rest night between each event.

'When I was a kid you'd go to parties and there'd be a band playing in the backyard so we set up a stage,' Gudinksi told the Herald Sun at the time.

Jimmy Barnes and Diesel played one night - 'it was loud, let me tell you, it was rocking' - and when The Rubens took the stage next to the bar they cracked champagne glasses.

'The police turned up a couple of times and we stopped the music at a reasonable hour,' Gudinski told the newspaper. 'But on the Monday, Stonnington Council rang and said "How many more parties are there to come?"

'I swear I could hear the guy's relief over the phone when I said: "Tonight is the last one".'