Martin Phillipps, Founder Of New Zealand Band The Chills, Passes Away
Crowded House wrote in tribute to the Chills legend, "Martin’s songs live on with his spirit."
The Chills (Source: Supplied)
Martin Phillipps, the founder, longtime singer-songwriter, and guitarist of New Zealand band The Chills, has passed away. He was 61 years old.
The band shared the news last night (28 July). A statement from The Chills reads:
It is with broken hearts the family and friends of Martin Phillipps wish to advise Martin has died unexpectedly.
The family ask for privacy at this time.
Funeral arrangements will be advised in due course.
Phillipps rose to prominence in the ‘80s with The Chills for hits such as Pink Frost, Heavenly Pop Hit, and I Love My Leather Jacket. He became a pioneer of the renowned “Dunedin sound”.
After a hiatus in the ‘90s due to health problems, the band reunited and ushered in a fresh generation of fans in the new millennium.
In 2015, The Chills returned with their first album in nearly 20 years, Silver Bullets. They followed it up with Snow Bound (2018) and Scatterbrain (2021).
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In a recent interview with the New Zealand publication The Press, Phillipps revealed that The Chills were working on a new album called Springboard: Early Unrecorded Songs.
Tributes Pour For Martin Phillipps
Flying Nun Records, which released the band’s 1987 debut album, Brave Words, and 1996’s Sunburnt, issued a statement following the news of Phillipps’ passing.
Calling Phillipps and The Chills an “integral” part of the ‘80s Dunedin scene and the Flying Nun Records family, the label’s statement continued:
Martin was a single-minded talent who took all components of a musical career seriously: song writing, performance and in the studio. Demanding of perfection in others and himself, songs such as ‘Rolling Moon’, ‘Pink Frost’, ‘I Love My Leather Jacket’ and ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’ were increasingly commercially successful and helped define the best of New Zealand music in the 1980s.
This last song and its album, Submarine Bells, almost broke the band internationally. After a pause, he then pulled himself up to reinvigorate the Chills and his career in the mid 2010s. With a stable unchanging band line up Martin once again was producing fine new albums and undertaking extensive New Zealand and international tours. Gone too soon, he will be greatly missed.
Crowded House also paid tribute to Phillipps, writing on social media: “Very sad to hear of Martin Phillipps’ death. He was a good friend, wonderful musician and one of NZ’s greatest songwriters. A true original, fascinated by and devoted to the magic and mystery of music. His recent work was as good as anything he’s done. Martin’s songs live on with his spirit.
“Our sympathies go out to his family and loved ones.
“The Finn Family”.
Dunedin country singer-songwriter Matt Joe Gow also spoke of Phillipps’ impact on music, describing the artist’s “genuine soul” that touched his life and the lives of many across the globe. Gow wrote that he was “heartbroken” by Phillipps’ passing.
“As a young musician, I was deeply inspired by his artistry and independent spirit, as The Chills, a Dunedin band, went on to have a Number 1 album and dominate the airwaves,” Gow continued. “Thanks to bands like Martin's and the foundation they laid, I was able to easily gig around town, and ultimately grew up with the notion that being a professional musician was achievable.”
Gow experienced a “full-circle moment” with Phillipps when he started seeing the Chills icon at his own shows. “Afterwards, we’d laugh at how ridiculously cold the weather was, in summer or winter, chat about touring, and I’d thank him for coming along, thank him for being an inspiration, he’d brush it off - ever humble,” Gow wrote.
“Martin helped show me what it means to be dedicated to your craft and to support others along the way. Brother, I'll miss you... Rest in peace.”
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