Remembering The Chills’ Martin Phillipps

A collection of reflections.

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Selected Works is a weekly (usually) newsletter by the Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa (Wellington, New Zealand) based freelance music journalist, broadcaster, copywriter and sometimes DJ Martyn Pepperell, aka Yours Truly. Most weeks, Selected Works consists of a recap of what I’ve been doing lately and some of what I’ve been listening to and reading, paired with film photographs I’ve taken + some bonuses. All of that said, sometimes it takes completely different forms.

On the evening of Sunday, July 28th, news began to break on social media about the death of Martin Phillipps, the founder of the celebrated Dunedin indie rock band The Chills, aged 61. Over the last week, as Martin's family, musical collaborators, friends, and colleagues have paid tribute to him, I’ve found myself snatching stolen moments to revisit his extraordinary discography while thinking about the music and the man who devoted everything to it. If you’re interested, you can read a reflection I wrote about Martin and his music for Rolling Stone over here.

Before I got there, however, a whole bunch of other people wrote or spoke about the man. For today’s newsletter, I thought I’d collect some of those reflections below.

R.I.P. Martin Phillipps: A eulogy for Martin Phillipps, leader of The Chills, one of the architects of “The Dunedin Sound.” By Simon Sweetman.

I first heard Martin and The Chills when I joined my very first band. I was 15, and my folks told me it was time to put up or shut up, what with all that noisy clattering of drums in the back room; they told me to answer the ad in the local paper that was calling for a drummer. I rang. I was 10-12 years younger than the others, but they took me on my word. Soon, we were rehearsing after hours in a shop. These 26 and 28 year olds made me a tape of the songs they’d be covering: Mental as Anything and Hoodoo Gurus and Billy Idol and Midnight Oil and Hunters & Collectors. But the song that really blew me away, because I’d heard the others, and I’d never heard this, was Leather Jacket by The Chills. It arrived into my ears around the same time as the band’s big “comeback” tune, Heavenly Pop Hit. So with two great songs — as far as I was immediately concerned — I bought the compilation album with its bonus disc of “ice picks”.

Read here.

Martin Phillipps in day-glo shorts beside his Rover. Circa late ‘80s/early 90s.

The Chills’ Martin Phillipps leaves a legacy of melancholy brilliance: Phillipps, who has died aged 61, led one of New Zealand’s shining musical exports, but the band was dogged by tragedy and his personal struggles. By Andrew Stafford.

It is one of the great opening lines, by anyone: “Each evening the sun sets in five billion places, seen by 10 billion eyes, set in five billion faces.” The words are from Heavenly Pop Hit by the Chills, a band from Dunedin, New Zealand. There’s a good chance you know it, but there’s also a fair chance you don’t – in which case, stay with me.

Read here.

Heavenly pop loss: Russell Brown on the death of Martin Phillipps.

For most purposes, Martin Phillipps was announced to the world in June 1982. Three months earlier, his band The Chills had travelled from Dunedin to Christchurch to make their first real recording, playing some shows…

Read here.

Martin Phillipps Remembered - Brave Words: Audio Culture has collated two pages of memories, tributes and love for Martin Phillipps from members of the New Zealand music community and Martin's friends, and it's just been published. It's a warm and often funny read, but one that will likely cause a tear or three. Read here and here.

ARCHIVAL:

For as Long as it Takes - The Chills (1992): This comprehensive documentary about Flying Nun band The Chills was made in the aftermath of their biggest album Submarine Bells, with founder Martin Phillipps again in search of new band members. The Chills recorded iconic New Zealand pop songs like 'Pink Frost' and 'Heavenly Pop Hit'. They also faced some bitter blows, including the loss of talented drummer Martyn Bull, financial hardship, car accidents and frequent lineup changes. Phillipps addresses the so-called Chills curse, while past members Peter Gutteridge, Justin Hayward and Andrew Todd talk band dynamics and Phillipp's search for pop perfection. Watch here.

From eerie folk lullabies to bouncy b-sides: Ten of the Chills’ best songs: In 2021New The Chills released the Scatterbrain album. To celebrate, Kiran Dass counted down 10 of their top songs for The Guardian. Read here.

The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps (2019): Martin Phillipps came tantalizingly close to conquering the international musical world with his band The Chills, but instead fell into decades of debt and addiction in his hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand. At 54, he’s been given a dire medical prognosis, forcing him to face his demons and realise his musical ambitions before it’s too late. Watch here.

Martin Phillipps of The Chills puts his house in order: Martin Phillipps died unexpectedly over the weekend, aged 61. In one of his final interviews, published two weeks ago, the musician talks about mortality and putting his house in order. For The Press, John Pearson.

Martin Phillipps’ LA Story: 30 Years of The Chills’ ‘Soft Bomb’: On the subject of his influential New Zealand indie outfit, The Chills, and their brief, near-stratospheric ascent in the late ‘80s, frontman and sole mainstay Martin Phillipps is philosophical. For KCRW, Myke Dodge Weiskopf.

FIN.