Such sad news about the far too premature death of musician and actor Glen Hansard in a motorcycle crash in his hometown of Dublin.

A supremely talented and versatile musician, he rose from leaving school at 13 and busking on the streets of Dublin to winning an Oscar for this song, a duet with his partner Markéta Irglová.

There was far more to him than that though, and far more to his stellar career, which spanned film and music, including a prominent role in The Commitments and two acclaimed bands, The Frames and The Swell Season.

In both bands and his subsequent solo career he displayed his literate, intelligent and passionate songwriting and warm, intimate vocal style on songs that might be described as indie-folk.

Hansard went solo in 2012, with an eclectic repertoire that ranged from classic Seventies singer-songwriter to vintage soul, subtle folk, and noisy indie rock.

Hansard left school at 13 to begin busking on the streets of Dublin, while writing his first songs. He once said of his musical influences: “In my house, when I was a kid, there was the holy trinity, which was Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison and Bob Dylan – with Bob sitting centre.” 

Five years later, in his late teens, his parents helped finance a demo of his songs. One of the 50 copies he made reached a producer and talent scout called Denny Cordell, who helped get him a deal with Island Records – at which point he needed to form a backing band.

Recruiting some of his fellow buskers and struggling musicians, while supplementing his meagre busker’s earnings by repairing bicycles, he named his band after the multiple frames he kept in his back yard.

The Frames’ rise to prominence had to be put on hold when Hansard became a minor celebrity for his movie role as Outspan in the hit film The Commitments, forcing a delay to their debut album.

They went on to make six albums and he also hosted a live music show on Irish TV, Other Voices, before putting The Frames on ice to form The Swell Season, a duo with his Czech-Icelandic partner Irglová, whom he had first met when he was 13 and she was 31.

Around the same time, both of them were cast as the leads in the film Once, written and directed by former Frames member John Carney, about an Irish busker who falls in love with an Eastern European immigrant and fellow musician.

In a case of art imitating life, it became a surprise success on its release in 2007, and one of the songs they wrote and performed in the film – Falling Slowly – won the Oscar for Best Original Song.

In another twist, The Swell Season’s music took on a second life in 2011, by which time Hansard and Irglová had parted amicably, when the film was adapted as an off-Broadway musical which became a big enough hit to move to Broadway – and later to the UK, Canada, Australia, and South Korea.

Hansard’s solo career continued apace, including an album (Rhythm And Repose) about the end of his relationship with Irglova and his relocation to New York City.

One of his songs, Take The Heartland, was used in the movie The Hunger Games and he later teamed up with Eddie Vedder to record a Springsteen cover (Drive All Night) for a charity single, reuniting with the Pearl Jam singer and Cat Power for the soundtrack to a Sean Penn movie.

Hansard, by now married to Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa – they had their first child in 2022 – also helped with the recording of songs for Joe Wright’s 2021 film Cyrano, singing two numbers written by The National’s Dessner brothers Aaron and Bryce.

At the time of his death, aged 56, he was working on a new live show, Transmissions East and West, inspired by the communal spirit and raw energy that defined his remarkable musical journey.