The Clean’s Hamish Kilgour Real Cause of Death Foul Play? Singer Missing Since November

Hamish Kilgour, the drummer, singer, and composer who co-founded the Clean with his brother, guitarist David Kilgour, has passed away, according to band reps.

The musician was last seen on November 27. No cause of death has been disclosed. Hamish Kilgour's age was 65. In a statement released with Pitchfork, the U.S. label for the Clean, Merge Records, stated that it can confirm with deep hearts that Hamish Kilgour has passed away in his native New Zealand.

The statement provides that as a founding member of the Clean alongside his brother David and Robert Scott, Hamish created one of the most influential and enduring bodies of rock music. As a drummer, Hamish possessed a propulsive, instantly recognizable technique and a subdued strength; it was a pleasure to watch him perform.

As a vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter with the group he co-founded with Lisa Siegel, the Mad Scene, and, of course, with the Clean, Hamish was one of the most colorful and inventive musicians we have had the pleasure of working with. Hamish was also a skilled visual artist, and his imaginative paintings cover the sleeves of numerous records. Merge Records added that it is fortunate to have known him.

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Its sympathies are with his family and the New Zealand music community at large. Hamish, please travel with caution. Ben Goldberg, co-founder of Ba Da Bing! Records, which published Kilgour's solo songs, said in an extra statement, "Hamish was inscrutable in his kindness, his love of music, and his politics.

Even at his lowest moments, he never lost sight of his ideals. You can hear his heart in every beat, strum, and syllable he made." In the early days of indie rock and indie music, the Clean, who formed in Dunedin in 1978, were essential figures.

Their first lineup lasted only 18 months, creating a pattern that would continue throughout the band's unconventional career. In 1981, "Tally Ho!," the Clean's debut hit, helped create Flying Nun, a fan-founded New Zealand record company, and ascended the national charts. At this time, the trio comprised of the Kilgour brothers and bassist Robert Scott, who would eventually join the Bats; they all contributed to songwriting.

The band released two EPs, Boodle Boodle Boodle and Great Sounds Great, and a single, "Getting Older," before disbanding permanently in 1982. 

The Clean are a relatively obscure cult band outside of New Zealand, despite the fact that they have chart-topping singles in their home country. However, their influence is unexpectedly far-reaching. They were a fixture of college radio in the 1980s, Pavement's Stephen Malkmus counts them as a big influence, and the band's droney 1980s work is a direct precursor to bands like Yo La Tengo and Camper Van Beethoven.

The Clean continue to produce music, and Flying Nun has now released a compilation of their previously difficult-to-find songs. Over the years, the band's output has been inconsistent due to members' involvement in other projects and Hamish Kilgour's residence in New York. The Bats and The Magick Heads (Scott), Stephen, The Heavy Eights (David Kilgour), and The Mad Scene are among the band's other ventures (Hamish Kilgour).

During their "Bangs and Mash" tour of New Zealand in early 2007, The Clean celebrated Hamish Kilgour's 50th birthday when performing at "The Studio" in Auckland on 17 March 2007. Later that year, the band's most recognizable lineup (Kilgour/Scott/Kilgour) reassembled for a brief East Coast tour.

Four gigs kicked off the tour in Manhattan, New York City: an in-store performance at Other Music and three nights at the Cake Shop in the Lower East Side. Although the tour officially completed with a performance at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia, the band did an additional engagement the following week at Maxwell's in Hoboken, NJ, opening for Yo la Tengo at one of the group's annual Hanukkah concerts.

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