Martin Phillipps

Martin John James Phillipps (2 July 1963 – 28 July 2024) was a New Zealand singer-songwriter and musician. He was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for The Chills. As part of the Dunedin sound, Phillipps and the Chills helped lay the groundwork for modern indie rock, and the band's innovative approach to alternative rock and lo-fi formed his legacy. After he died suddenly in 2024, Split Enz and Crowded House frontman Neil Finn said Phillipps was a "true original, fascinated by and devoted to the magic and mystery of music".

Early life Phillipps was born in Wellington on 2 July 1963, to parents the Reverend Donald Phillipps and Barbara (née Laurenson). Before the end of the decade the family had moved to Dunedin for the elder Phillipps' career as the chaplain of the University of Otago. Initially on guitar, he became its lead singer shortly after. His early musical influences included Nick Drake, Randy Newman, The Beach Boys, and other aspects of psychedelic music.

Career

With his first band The Same, Phillipps began to play regular gigs as a teenager, beginning with the school ball at Logan Park. He then began supporting Chris Knox's band Toy Love, but mostly played covers before forming The Chills in 1980, aged 17, with high school friend Jane Dodd (also of The Verlaines).

Health issues and death Phillipps's health and career was affected for much of his later life by hepatitis-C, which he likely caught as a result of a needlestick injury. He made successful efforts to quit drugs, and in the late 2010s he was cured of hepatitis. His health was permanently impaired, however. A feature-length documentary about Martin's health struggles and his music, The Chills: The Triumph and Tragedy of Martin Phillipps was directed by Julia Parnell and Rob Curry and released in 2019.

Phillipps was found dead at his home in Tainui, South Dunedin, on 28 July 2024. His funeral at Dunedin Town Hall was attended by hundreds of friends, fans, and family members, with the service led by former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson. His body was cremated after the service.