Artist News

Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie dies

By | Published on Thursday 19 October 2017

The Tragically Hip

The Tragically Hip vocalist and Canada’s “unofficial poet laureate” Gord Downie has died, it was announced yesterday. He was 53.

Downie was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2015, revealing the diagnosis in May last year. The band set out on a farewell tour shortly afterwards, finishing with a finale show in Downie’s hometown of Kingston in Canada. The three hour concert was broadcast nationwide, with so many Canadians planning to watch it people began proclaiming the country to be “closed” during the performance.

In a statement on Facebook yesterday, his family said: “Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. Gord knew this day was coming. His response was to spend this precious time as he always had – making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss… on the lips”.

“Gord said he had lived many lives”, the statement continued. “As a musician, he lived ‘the life’ for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. No one”.

Following the announcement of Downie’s death, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement saying: “For almost five decades, Gord Downie uncovered and told the stories of Canada. He was the frontman of one of Canada’s most iconic bands, a rock star, artist, and poet whose evocative lyrics came to define a country. The Tragically Hip’s music invited us to explore places we had never been – from Mistaken Point to Churchill – and helped us understand each other, while capturing the complexity and vastness of the place we call home”.

Trudeau also delivered a brief speech to reporters, breaking down in tears as he said that “we lost one of the very best of us this morning”.

“Gord was my friend”, he said. “But Gord was everyone’s friend. It’s who we were, our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had. And not just loved it in a nebulous, ‘Oh, I love Canada’ way. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life. He wanted to make it better. He knew, as great as we were, we needed to be better than we are”.

“We are less of a country without Gord Downie in it”, he added. “We all knew it was coming, but we hoped it wasn’t, and… I thought I was going to make it through this [without crying], but I’m not. It hurts”.

Downie completed a solo album, ‘Introduce Yerself’, in January this year, which is due for release on 27 Oct.



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