Martin Phillips, the singer and creative force behind New Zealand jungle-pop band The Chills, has died at the age of 61.
The Chills' official social media accounts announced Phillips' death in a statement on Sunday, “It is with broken hearts that the family and friend of Martin Phillips would like to inform us that Martin has passed away unexpectedly. The family requests privacy at this time.” While a cause of death has not been provided, RNZ reports that Phillips had been battling liver disease for several years.
Formed by Phillips in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1980 and signed to the venerable Flying Nun Records, the band achieved first regional fame – and a decade later, international fame – on the back of acclaimed albums such as 1987's courageous words and the nineties of the twentieth century submarine bellswhich topped the album charts in their home country.
“Heavenly Pop Hit” from the latter album became, fittingly, the group's biggest single in America, with the Chills developing a cult following over the following decades:
The Chills sporadically broke up throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, with Phillips—as the group's lead singer, songwriter, and sole permanent member—returning to the project with renewed lineups. After a 19-year gap between albums, The Chills released silver bullets In 2015, which was followed three years later by snowbound.
Although Phillips has struggled with health issues in recent years—at one point, hepatitis C caused by past drug use left him hospitalized and on the verge of death—the band has remained active, releasing its album Distracted In 2021 and organizing a rare US tour the following year.
“Even though I’m free of hepatitis C, only 20 per cent of my liver is still working,” Phillips told RNZ in 2019.
“So, we're taking everything carefully, booking tours carefully. It's not about taking it one day at a time, but I think there's no plans to take over the world anymore, but at the same time we're on such a good wave that we're just riding the wave and seeing what happens.”
