The Stems Founder Richard Lane Passes Away

A beloved member of the Perth music community and beyond, guitarist and keyboard player Richard Lane has passed away.

Most-famous for his contributions to influential Perth outfit The Stems, who pioneered Australia's second wave of garage rock, Lane was also a member of The Chevelles, The Painkillers and more.

“With great sadness we have learned that Richard Lane, a foundation member of The Stems, has passed away,” The Stems shared via Facebook.

“Dom, Jules, Dave and John would like to express their condolences to both Richard's family and his legion of friends. We know he will be sorely missed by all who knew him.”

Lane founded The Stems in the early ‘80s with Dom Mariani, John Shuttleworth and Gary Chambers, going on to drop hit track Tears Me In Two in ’85 before releasing their debut LP, At First Sight, Violets Are Blue, in ’87 and disbanding that same year.

The Stems reformed in 2003, with a line-up that included Lane, and released follow-up LP Heads Up in ’07 before disbanding once again. In recent years, they have continued to perform, but with Ashley Naylor and Davey Lane on guitar.