ohhh fucking hell......another one gone......
Crowded House drummer found dead
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Paul Hester, the drummer from popular 1980s Australian rock band Crowded House, hanged himself in a park in southern Australia, an emergency services spokeswoman said Monday.
Hester, 46, had failed to return home after taking his two dogs for a walk on Friday night. The drummer's body was later found in a park near his home in the southern city of Melbourne.
Ambulance officers arrived on the scene shortly after midday Saturday and tried to resuscitate him, but "he was dead when they arrived," Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokeswoman Liraje Memishi said.
Memishi said he had "attempted suicide" and then suffered strangulation. She declined to confirm where Hester's body was found. Reports have said he was discovered hanging from a tree.
Hester played in several small bands before joining the New Zealand group Split Enz in 1983. He and Split Enz singer Neil Finn formed Crowded House in 1985 with bass player Nick Seymour.
Crowded House was one of Australia's most successful bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with international hits such as "Don't Dream it's Over" and "Weather with You."
Peter Green, a longtime friend of Hester, reportedly contacted Finn and Seymour after learning of the drummer's death.
Green said Hester had experienced "some dark moments," but dismissed media reports that he was struggling with depression or illness at the time of his death.
"Paul never said anything about that and I never, ever, heard he was suffering from any illness," he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper for its Monday edition. "Then, after today, I wonder if anybody really knew anything."
Seymour also expressed surprise at the news, telling the paper he had seen Hester in Ireland two weeks ago.
"It was all good," Seymour told the paper from Dublin. "The last words Paul told me were: 'I love you, mate. See you in town (Melbourne) in a month.'"
Finn, currently touring in London, said he was deeply saddened at the loss of his friend.
"I am devastated," he told the paper. "I have lost one of my best mates."
Hester quit Crowded House in 1994, citing the pressures of touring and declining motivation for the group.
He is survived by his girlfriend Mardi Sommerfield and their two daughters aged 8 and 10.
================================================================
I had the pleasure of seeing the band quite a few times, of all places, right in my hometown of London, Ontario, Canada!.......Such great guys, such great tunes, and I've always had a soft spot for Hester, cuz he was the comic relief within the band.......so.....it fucking guts me to hear that he felt the need to hang himself from a tree.......
again, much like my mourning for Elliott Smith, it appears there were demons/internal strife/whatever that were not of this world, or well above professional help, and Hester just had that need to end the pain, and whatever form that pain took in his life.
R.I.P. Paul Hester.
A fantastic musician, a beautiful man from all accounts, here's hoping you've found the peace you've been searching for.
SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Paul Hester, the drummer from popular 1980s Australian rock band Crowded House, hanged himself in a park in southern Australia, an emergency services spokeswoman said Monday.
Hester, 46, had failed to return home after taking his two dogs for a walk on Friday night. The drummer's body was later found in a park near his home in the southern city of Melbourne.
Ambulance officers arrived on the scene shortly after midday Saturday and tried to resuscitate him, but "he was dead when they arrived," Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokeswoman Liraje Memishi said.
Memishi said he had "attempted suicide" and then suffered strangulation. She declined to confirm where Hester's body was found. Reports have said he was discovered hanging from a tree.
Hester played in several small bands before joining the New Zealand group Split Enz in 1983. He and Split Enz singer Neil Finn formed Crowded House in 1985 with bass player Nick Seymour.
Crowded House was one of Australia's most successful bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with international hits such as "Don't Dream it's Over" and "Weather with You."
Peter Green, a longtime friend of Hester, reportedly contacted Finn and Seymour after learning of the drummer's death.
Green said Hester had experienced "some dark moments," but dismissed media reports that he was struggling with depression or illness at the time of his death.
"Paul never said anything about that and I never, ever, heard he was suffering from any illness," he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper for its Monday edition. "Then, after today, I wonder if anybody really knew anything."
Seymour also expressed surprise at the news, telling the paper he had seen Hester in Ireland two weeks ago.
"It was all good," Seymour told the paper from Dublin. "The last words Paul told me were: 'I love you, mate. See you in town (Melbourne) in a month.'"
Finn, currently touring in London, said he was deeply saddened at the loss of his friend.
"I am devastated," he told the paper. "I have lost one of my best mates."
Hester quit Crowded House in 1994, citing the pressures of touring and declining motivation for the group.
He is survived by his girlfriend Mardi Sommerfield and their two daughters aged 8 and 10.
================================================================
I had the pleasure of seeing the band quite a few times, of all places, right in my hometown of London, Ontario, Canada!.......Such great guys, such great tunes, and I've always had a soft spot for Hester, cuz he was the comic relief within the band.......so.....it fucking guts me to hear that he felt the need to hang himself from a tree.......
again, much like my mourning for Elliott Smith, it appears there were demons/internal strife/whatever that were not of this world, or well above professional help, and Hester just had that need to end the pain, and whatever form that pain took in his life.
R.I.P. Paul Hester.
A fantastic musician, a beautiful man from all accounts, here's hoping you've found the peace you've been searching for.
posted by Chris Prowse at 3:14 AM
1 Comments:
as an aussie and faithful Crowded House fan, I was also gutted at the news. like you said, he was an awesome musician and a bloody great guy. He will be sadly missed. Cheers, and its great to see some recognition of a good Aussie from so far overseas..
Post a Comment
<< Home