Farewell to Martin Phillipps, founding guitarist of the Chills
“It is with a heavy heart that the family and friends of Martin Phillips wish to announce that Martin has passed away unexpectedly,” the Chills said in a post on social media Sunday morning. “The family requests privacy at this time. Funeral arrangements will be announced in due course.”
The post did not specify a cause of death, but a 2019 documentary called “The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps” addressed the musician’s near-death experience with hepatitis C in the 1990s and subsequent liver failure.
After the breakup of punk rock band The Same – which Phillipps had joined as a teenager – the guitarist formed Chills in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1980.
The group soon signed to Flying Nun, the record label that brought what would become known as the “Dunedin sound” to a worldwide audience. The Chills became one of the major exponents of this subgenre and, along with peers Sneaky Feelings, Stones and Verlaines, their first record release was “Dunedin Double EP” by Flying Nun from 1982. Their debut album “Brave Words” arrives in 1987 and its sequel “Submarine Bells” reaches number one on the New Zealand album charts.
Despite a couple of brief hiatuses, Chils have released a total of seven studio albums, the most recent of which is “Scatterbrain” of 2021. They have also released a handful of compilations and rarities albums, including “Kaleidoscope World” from 1986, which Creation Records released in the UK and Captured Tracks reissued in the US in 2016. Phillipps was the band’s only constant member, active with them for over 40 years.
“Very sad to hear of the passing of Martin Phillipps,” the New Zealand rock legend shared on social media Neil Finn on behalf of his family. “He was a good friend, a wonderful musician and one of New Zealand’s greatest songwriters. A true original, fascinated and devoted to the magic and mystery of music. His later work was as good as anything he ever did. Martin’s songs live on with his spirit. Our condolences go out to his family and loved ones.”
