Martin Phillips death: ‘Genius’ frontman of New Zealand band The Chills dies aged 61

Musician founded the jangle-pop band the Chills in 1980 when he was 17

Martin Philips (The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps/YouTube)

Martin Phillips, the founding guitarist of the New Zealand jangle-pop band The Chills, has died aged 61.

His death was announced on Sunday on the band’s social media.

“It is with broken hearts the family and friends of Martin Phillipps wish to advise Martin has died unexpectedly,” the statement read. 

“The family asks for privacy at this time. Funeral arrangements will be advised in due course.”

While the statement provided no cause of death, a documentary from 2019 titled, The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps, showed that the musician endured liver failure after a bout of hepatitis C in the 1990s. RNZ reported that Phillipps suffered from liver disease for several years after this.

Phillips, who was the guitarist and lead singer, found the Chills in 1980 at the age of 17 in Dunedin, New Zealand. As the main songwriter, Phillips was also a crucial reason behind the group’s success.

His sister Rachel Phillipps joined him on the keyboards, with Jane Dodd on bass, guitarist Peter Gutteridge, and Alan Haig on drums, though the band went through several lineup changes over the years.

The Chills’ popularity was restricted to New Zealand at first, but with the release of albums like 1987’s Brave Words and 1990’s Submarine Bells, they gained hordes of international fans.

“Heavenly Pop Hit,” which is the group’s biggest song to date, became their breakout hit, and songs like “Pink Frost,” “I Love My Leather Jacket,” and “Kaleidoscope World” also enjoyed considerable popularity.

Through the ‘90s, the band’s popularity faded and it was around this time that Phillips struggled with drug addiction, alcoholism, and had his near-death experience with hepatitis C.

“It was after that, retreating to Dunedin, tail between my legs, everyone saying, ‘Oh you gave it a good go, time to get a real job,’ all sorts of things conspired, but there was some sort of breakdown, mental breakdown involved there,” he told RNZ in 2019.

The musician toldThe Guardian in 2014 that having hepatitis C meant he had to have a closer relationship to mortality. “I’m on the list for some of the new trial drugs, but in the meantime I’m up to stage four of the disease. Stage five is cancer. So it’s already cirrhosis of the liver, and that means I really don’t know how long I’ve got,” he said.

“So even though I’m clear of hepatitis C, I’ve only got like 20 per cent of my liver still working.

“So, we take everything carefully, book the tours carefully. It’s not quite taking a day at a time, but I guess there are no plans for world domination anymore, but at the same time we’re on such a good wave that we ride the sound and see what happens.”

The Chills released Silver Bullets in 2015 after a 19-year hiatus, and followed with their sixth studio album Snow Bound in 2018, and their last studio album Scatterbrain in 2021.

“It is a relief to have created something that the whole band is very proud of which is also receiving such positive reviews and to know that we have updated the legacy of The Chills, so that we are no longer just a band that did special work back in the '80s and '90s,” Phillips said, speaking to The Independent in 2015, after the release of Silver Bullets.

Tributes poured in from contemporaries after news of his death broke.

“RIP Martin Phillipps, his music meant so much to me. I don’t often use the term musical genius, but he was one,” The Reds, Pinks & Purples posted on X.

“I have so much to say about his music, but instead of rambling, I wanted to add, I am glad he got a massive 2nd wind starting with Silver Bullets. It will take a long time for the world to catch up to his late period, but we should all strive to be as adventurous and productive.”

“So sorry to hear of the passing of the wildly and beautifully talented  Martin Phillipps. An absolute diamond. Deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Thank you for the heavenly pop,” posted Nada Surf’s Matthew Caws.

David Lance Callahan of the Wolfhounds shared the music video of the Chills’ song “Kaleidoscope World” and wrote: “I had the honour of playing with The Chills a few times and meeting and hanging out with Martin on occasion. Pink Frost is one of the best recordings from any era, but I love the wide-eyed wonder of this bedroom psych gem. In memoriam.”