Stevie Wright "Evie Parts 1,2 & 3" Live at Sydney Opera House

One of Australia's best loved rock stars and the lead singer of The Easybeats, Stevie Wright, has died aged 68.

The man singing is Stevie Wright and music journalist Glenn A Baker says his significance cannot be underestimated.

GLENN A BAKER: We'd had the Beatles in Australia but then all of a sudden we now we had our own version of beat music.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: Stevie Wright was born in England in 1947 and migrated to Sydney when he was nine.

He lived near the Villawood Migrant Hostel, which is where he met his future band mates, forming the Easybeats in 1964.

GLENN
A BAKER: He was an immigrant kid who took his place out front of this
immigrant rock and roll band and just turned us on to a style of music
which we'd come to know from the Beatles, but we didn't believe that we
could have ourselves.

MEREDITH GRIFFITHS: Glenn A Baker says a lot of the band's success was down to Stevie Wright's performances.

GLENN
A BAKER: Stevie Wright was the closest thing we had to The Beatles, the
Rolling Stones, all wound into one, he was dynamic, he was quite
explosive, he was one of the greatest live performers we've ever seen.

But he also had an impish quality, he had a cheekiness and a cockiness which just made him absolutely irresistible.