Martin Phillipps, Founder of New Zealand indie act the Chills, Passes Away
The Chills were one of the most influential NZ bands of the 80s.
Image via @thechills (Facebook)
Martin Phillipps, the founder of New Zealand jangle-pop act the Chills, sadly passed away yesterday (July 28) at the age of 61. The news of Phillipps’ death was confirmed on the Chills’ official social media accounts, with the band releasing this statement:
“It is with broken hearts the family and friend of Martin Phillipps wish to advise Martin has died unexpectedly. The family ask for privacy at this time.”
While no cause of death has been revealed, RNZ reports Phillips had been battling liver disease for several years.
Emerging from Dunedin's rising punk scene, Phillipps formed the Chills in 1980 with his sister and keyboardist Rachel Phillipps, bassist Jane Dodd, guitarist Peter Gutteridge and drummer Alan Haig.
Signing to Flying Nun Records, the Chills quickly found fame in their home country with the release of their debut album, 1987’s Brave Words. The follow-up, 1990’s Submarine Bells, reached the #1 spot on the Recorded Music NZ Charts and saw the band gain a cult following in America and the UK.
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Best known for the singles ‘Pink Frost’, ‘I Love My Leather Jacket’, and ‘Heavenly Pop Hit’, which peaked at #17 on Billboard’s Alternate Airplay Chart in 1990, the band went through several breakups, reunions and lineup changes throughout the 80s and 90s. Phillipps also battled addiction issues during the late 90s and found himself in hospital after a hepatitis C infection linked to his drug use almost killed him
As Phillipps recovered, he released his first solo album in 1999, Sketch Book: Volume One, before getting the Chills back together in the early 00s. Phillipps and his rotating band of musicians released their fourth album, Silver Bullets, in 2015, almost two decades on from the Chills’ last studio album. The band continued to tour and record throughout the late 00s, releasing Snow Bound in 2018 and Scatterbrain in 2021.
Tributes for Phillipps have poured in from across the globe, with Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws, Crowded House, Matt Joe Gow, and Cloud Nothings among those to share their condolences. Flying Nun Records also put out a lengthy statement about the impact Phillipps had that you can read below.
