NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEED pianist Conway Savage has died.
The news was confirmed on the group’s Facebook page earlier today, with Cave and Savage’s bandmates paying tribute to to the 58 year old.
A statement reads: “Our beloved Conway passed away on Sunday evening. A member of Bad Seeds for nearly 30 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 joined Cave in 1990 after previously playing in bands including HAPPY OPRHANS, SCRAP MUSEUM and THE FERAL DINOSAURS.
He played on the albums ‘Henry’s Dream’, ‘Let Love In’, ‘Murder Ballads’, ‘The Boatman’s Call’, ‘No More Shall We Part’, ‘Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus’ and ‘Push The Sky Away’.
He also released the solo albums ‘Nothing Broken’ and ‘Wrong Man’s Hands’, along with EPs and live cuts.
In 2017, Savage was forced to take a step back from playing live with the band after undergoing brain surgery, with Pitchfork reporting that he passed away as a result of a brain tumour.