Conway Savage, a longtime member of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, had passed away. He was 58 and died on Sunday night (September 2).
Savage underwent surgery for a brain tumour last year, and the band's publicist confirmed to Pitchfork that he died as a result of the tumour. The pianist/organist had been absent during the Bad Seeds' live shows.
Savage was a member of the Bad Seeds for nearly 30 years, and a statement from the band calls him "the anarchic thread that ran through the band's live performances." Savage joined the band on the tour behind 1990's The Good Son, and he played on subsequent studio recordings. The Australian musician also released solo albums under his own name.
The statement also says that Savage was "irascible, funny, terrifying, sentimental, warm-hearted, gentle, acerbic, honest, genuine."
Read the full statement below:
Our beloved Conway passed away on Sunday evening. A member of Bad Seeds for nearly thirty years, Conway was the anarchic thread that ran through the band's live performances. He was much loved by everyone, band members and fans alike. Irascible, funny, terrifying, sentimental, warm-hearted, gentle, acerbic, honest, genuine — he was all of these things and quite literally "had the gift of a golden voice," high and sweet and drenched in soul. On a drunken night, at four in the morning, in a hotel bar in Cologne, Conway sat at the piano and sang Streets of Laredo to us, in his sweet, melancholy style and stopped the world for a moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Goodbye Conway, there isn't a dry eye in the house. Love, Nick and the Bad Seeds.
Savage underwent surgery for a brain tumour last year, and the band's publicist confirmed to Pitchfork that he died as a result of the tumour. The pianist/organist had been absent during the Bad Seeds' live shows.
Savage was a member of the Bad Seeds for nearly 30 years, and a statement from the band calls him "the anarchic thread that ran through the band's live performances." Savage joined the band on the tour behind 1990's The Good Son, and he played on subsequent studio recordings. The Australian musician also released solo albums under his own name.
The statement also says that Savage was "irascible, funny, terrifying, sentimental, warm-hearted, gentle, acerbic, honest, genuine."
Read the full statement below:
Our beloved Conway passed away on Sunday evening. A member of Bad Seeds for nearly thirty years, Conway was the anarchic thread that ran through the band's live performances. He was much loved by everyone, band members and fans alike. Irascible, funny, terrifying, sentimental, warm-hearted, gentle, acerbic, honest, genuine — he was all of these things and quite literally "had the gift of a golden voice," high and sweet and drenched in soul. On a drunken night, at four in the morning, in a hotel bar in Cologne, Conway sat at the piano and sang Streets of Laredo to us, in his sweet, melancholy style and stopped the world for a moment. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Goodbye Conway, there isn't a dry eye in the house. Love, Nick and the Bad Seeds.
