Midnight Oil & The Swingers' Member Bones Hillman Passes Away, Age 62

Wayne Stevens, aka Bones Hillman, has passed away at his home in Milwaukee, age 62 following a battle with cancer. 

The much-loved bass player joined Midnight Oil in 1987 and remained a member until his passing. The band paying tribute to him in a statement on social media saying, "We’re grieving the loss of our brother Bones Hillman, who has passed away at his home in Milwaukee today after a cancer battle."

"He was the bassist with the beautiful voice, the band member with the wicked sense of humour, and our brilliant musical comrade..."

"We will deeply miss our dear friend and companion and we send our sincerest sympathies to Denise, who has been a tower of strength for him." 

See the full post here. 

Prior to joining Midnight Oil, Hillman was a member in a number of groups in his home country New Zealand, including the Masochists, Suburban Reptiles and the Rednecks. 

Most notably though was The Swingers, alongside ex-Split Enz member Phil Judd and Mark Hough (aka Buster Stiggs). The group found breakout success with their track Counting The Beat, which landed at #1 in both Australia and New Zealand. 

They disbanded in 1983 with Hillman joining Midnight Oil as Peter Gifford's replacement four years later. He appeared on some of the band's most notable and successful albums, including Blue Sky Mining which won six awards at the 1991 ARIAs, including Album Of The Year. 

Just last month, Midnight Oil released their first album featuring new material since 2002, named The Makarrata Project. The album debuted at #1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.