louis tillett

Singer-songwriter Louis Tillett has died in a Sydney hospital after lengthy health struggles, aged 63. The announcement was made online today, a week after his passing, by partner Rachael Slattery:

I am very sorry to have to pass on the news. One week ago Louis Tillett passed away. Jack and I were with him to the end. We thank Royal Prince Alfred and Concord Hospitals for allowing Jack and I to stay for days and weeks at a time leading up to his passing. 

Please remember him as he was, in the words of Hellen Rose, a Cheeky Druid. He brought joy to our pain, light to our darkness, and a good dose of mischief. I have gone to great lengths to make his Music available everywhere possible. I will leave links in the comments for you to find them. Louis has donated his body to Science. There will be no funeral as such. But please stay tuned for news about his Memorial.

Louis Tillett will be remembered as one of the most talented songwriters of the Australian underground scene of the 1980s and ‘90s. 

Tillett released nine studio albums and a live recording in a career that started in Sydney in 1977 with an experimental version of the Wet Taxis. That band finally coalesced as a more conventional ‘60s punk-influenced outfit in the mid-1980s and supported an Australian tour by Nico. 

1. R.I.P Ron Peno and Louis Tillett
To start on a sad note we lost Two of our greatest vocalist/Front men within days of each other in August last year - Louis Tillett and Ron Peno.

I don't have any of Louis Tillett’s albums apart from The Wet Taxis’ “From The Archives” record, but had seen his live performances lots of times over the years.  Of course, there were his legendary shows with Paris Green during their residency at The Sandringham Hotel in Newtown in the late '80's, and I recall seeing him solo on piano at Bar Broadway in the early '90s.  The last performance I saw him was at The Factory Theatre which I think was one of his last gigs.

This year I honour my dear friend and musical collaborator the late Louis Rohan Tillett (13 March 1959 – 6 August 2023), whose music most readers of this webzine will be familiar with. Louis was a singer, song writer and multi-instrumentalist, who was based in Sydney. Sadly, he passed away in August 2023.

If it wasn’t for Louis’ encouragement and support of my music, I most probably wouldn’t have embarked on the musical path that has consumed my life over the last four decades.

He never sought the limelight but Greg Sawers was one of Sydney rock and roll's greatest unsung servants. His passing last night after a fight with illness has left a vacuum. 

Greg was a longtime manager of Ian Rilen and The Love Addicts, Louis Tillett and X. He worked with ex-Noiseworks member turned solo artist Steve Balbi, and a raft of others. He was pivotal behind the release of the posthumous Ian Rilen and the Love Addicts album, "Family From Cuba".

A concert rigging crew supervisor, Greg had been battling ill-health for much of 2020.

UPDATE: Greg's funeral will be held at 12:15pm on Friday, December 4 at the Palm Chapel, Macquarie Park Crematorium, Macquarie Park. Wake details to be confirmed.