(CelebrityAccess) — The influential Australian punk band The Saints revealed that the band’s frontman and principal songwriter, Chris Bailey, has died. He was 65.
In a joint statement posted to their social media, the band wrote: It is with great pain in our hearts that we have to inform you about the passing of Chris Bailey, singer and songwriter of The Saints, on April the 9th 2022.
Chris lived a life of poetry and music and stranded on a Saturday night.
Bailey formed The Saints with high school friends Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay in 1973 and quickly found chart success with their debut punk single “(I’m) Stranded.”
Following their initial success, the group doubled down on their edgy, punk sound and relocated to the UK before eventually going on hiatus in 1990 due to creative differences.
The following year, Bailey formed the Chris Bailey Combo which included Paul Hester, Nick Seymour and Dror Erez, along with a rotating cast of guest players but the group failed to gain much mainstream traction.
In 1996, Bailey revived the Saints brand with a new lineup and continued to record and perform under the name.
Bailey, Kuepper and Hay reunited several times, including at the Queensland Music Festival in 2007, the All Tomorrows Parties in 2009, and a month-long series of concerts in Brisbane, Sydney & Melbourne in 2010.
Bailey was the only member to remain with the band for its entire run.
Guns N Roses’s Duff McKagan hinted at the widespread influence of the Saints on Monday when he tweeted lyrics from their song Know Your Product.
“Rest In Peace Chris Bailey. 21 years is a long, long time-to be in this prison when there ain’t no crime. Saints forever!,” McKagan wrote via social media.
