![]() The couple is known to keep their personal life out of the public eye. He is survived by his wife, Laura Leigh Usher and their four children. Earlier this year, he was appointed to the Order of Canada for his work with First Nations people. The tour culminated in a final show in Kingston, Ontario, the band’s hometown, that was broadcast live across the country. Shortly after Downie announced his cancer diagnosis last year, the band went on a sold-out nationwide summer tour, which helped raise C$1m ($800,000 £600,000) for brain cancer research. Gord had been diagnosed with an incurable glioblastoma in May 2016. In the final year of his life, he released a solo album and graphic novel titled The Secret Path, inspired by the true story of an indigenous boy who died while trying to escape a residential school. Their first studio album, Up to Here, arrived in 1989. weren’t as popular.ĭownie was a founding member of the Tragically Hip, which he formed in 1984 with Gord Sinclair and Rob Baker. Aside from his work with the band, Gord also released several solo albums.īorn, Gordon Edgar Downie on Februthe Ontario native and his band became giants in the Canadian music industry though in the U.S. _Īssociated Press writer Rob Gillies reported this story in Kingston and AP writer Charmaine Noronha reported from Toronto.Downie, best known as the lead singer of legendary Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip, was also a writer and occasional actor. I’m 49 and the Hip has been a part of my life since I was a teenager.”ĭownie is survived by his wife and four children. There are so many memories listening to Hip songs,” Nesbitt said. 20, 2016, to watch a public screening of the band’s sold-out final concert - a collection of flowers and candles surrounded a commemorative stone for the band. In the square - where thousands gathered on Aug. ![]() In Kingston, where he grew up, fans left flowers and lined up to sign a book condolences while his music played in the town square in front of city hall.įan Ted Nesbitt, who lives north of Toronto, said he wanted to be in Kingston to pay tribute to him and say thank you. The band’s 2012 album, “Now for Plan A,” was lyrically influenced by Downie’s wife and her successful battle with breast cancer.ĭownie also produced three solo albums since 2001, as well as a collaboration with fellow Canadian indie darlings The Sadies. ![]() They have received numerous Canadian music awards, including 14 Juno awards, the equivalent of the Grammy in Canada. Since then they have released 14 studio albums, two live albums, one EP and 54 singles. ![]() Their first self-titled EP was released in 1987 and their breakthrough debut full-length album, “Up to Here,” was released in 1989. While at university, he met Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Johnny Fray, and they formed The Tragically Hip, which started out as a cover band. He said his “Secret Path” project was aimed at Canada’s decades-long government policy of requiring aboriginal children to attend residential schools, where physical and sexual abuse was often rampant.īorn in Amherstview, Ontario, Downie said he “always had a keen ear for music” and while all the other kids were spending their allowance on baseball trading cards, he was buying records “from the fathers of rock ‘n’ roll.” on the lips,” the Downie family said in a statement.ĭuring his final show, Downie called out to Trudeau, who attended the concert, to help fix problems in Canada’s aboriginal communities.Ī few months after that concert, Downie released a solo album with an accompanying graphic novel and animated film inspired by the tragedy of state-funded church schools that Canadian aboriginal children were forced to attend from the 19th century until the 1970s. “Gord knew this day was coming - his response was to spend his precious time as he always had - making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss. But through it all, Downie remained the consummate showman, rocking out on stage in distinctive leather suits. Millions tuned in.ĭownie later said that he needed six teleprompters during the concert series so he would not forget lyrics. Tickets for the 2016 summer tour sold out almost immediately, culminating in a national broadcast of the band’s final tour stop at Kingston, Ontario. That same day, the band said it would mount a Canadian tour despite Downie’s cancer. When the band made the news public the following May, expressions of sorrow poured in from across the country. Downie was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable brain cancer, in December 2015.
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