I’m a little late on this but I wanted to post a song by The Chills after the sad death of their main man Martin Phillipps at the age of only 61.

Leading lights of New Zealand’s early-Eighties music scene – the so-called Dunedin Sound – their songs were characterised by an airy melodic style built around jangling guitars.

There’s a sprightly feel to them that makes you feel warm and happy, and a keen wit at work in the songwriting, placing them in the same musical field as The Go-Betweens across the water in Brisbane.

Those songs came courtesy of Phillipps, who had joined his first band at the age of only 15 before forming The Chills two years later in 1980, as lead singer and lead guitarist.

Sadly, the lingering effects of addiction to drink and drugs left Phillipps with hepatitis C in the Nineties, and he continued to suffer from cirrhosis until his death.

Although never entering the mainstream, they built a loyal and fervent audience in Europe and the UK, and will be remembered for several signature songs: I Love My Leather Jacket, Kaleidoscope Love, Wet Blanket, Heavenly Pop Hit.

And this one: a gothic tale of a man accidentally killing his partner in his (and her) sleep, recorded back in 1982, making it one of their first studio recordings with Phillipps on guitar and vocals, Terry Moore on bass and Martyn Bull on drums.

Poignantly, it was not released until shortly after Bull’s death from leukaemia in 1983, with all proceeds from the sale going to Cancer Research.