FAREWELL MARGARET
Tributes are flowing for beloved Kiwi musician Margaret Urlich, who has died at the age of 57. “It is with incredible sadness that we inform you that Margaret passed away peacefully on 22 August at her home in the Southern Highlands of NSW, surrounded by her family after a courageous two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer,” a family statement said.
One of our most successful artists, Margaret began her career as part of Peking Man, before moving on to iconic group When The Cat’s Away, whose hit Melting Pot dominated the Kiwi charts.
After moving to Australia and launching a solo career, she had enormous success with hits such as Escaping and Boy in the Moon, selling more than 400,000 albums over the course of her career.
Her extraordinary achievements were recognised when she was inducted into the NZ Music Hall of Fame in 2020.
Musicians on both sides of the Tasman are mourning her loss. Jimmy Barnes tweeted, “RIP Margaret Urlich. Such a beautiful singer. My heart goes out to George and her family. You left us way too soon.”
Dave Dobbyn, who enlisted the star to sing guest vocals for his 1988 hit Love You Like I Should, said, “She was a strong and accomplished singer, and I was blessed to share a stage with her touring Australia, which had adopted her as a star performer.”
Her cousin, musician Peter Urlich, remembered her as, “beautiful inside and out. She was blessed with a great voice. She sang so effortlessly and with such soul and sass. She had her own sound, instantly recognisable.”