’80s Rock Star Dies of ‘Major Heart Attack’: GoFundMe Launched for Ian Lees’ Family

Australian bassist Ian Lees died of a sudden heart attack on Sunday.

The rocker, who was in his 60s, was best known for being a member of the iconic Australian rock band Moving Pictures.

The band’s 1987 album Days of Innocence was a #1 album in Australia. The band later became popular in the U.S., too, as the single “What About Me” cracked Billboard’s top 30 later on after becoming known as “an anthem” for the entire country of Australia. The band’s single “Never” also appeared in the soundtrack to the iconic 1984 musical drama Footloose starring Kevin Bacon.

Lees’ solo work continued to appear in various movies, like the 2007 comedy Hot Rod starring Andy Samberg.

His death was confirmed on social media by Alex Smith, the frontman of the Moving Pictures.

“Forever and ever my friend, and just quietly the world’s greatest bass player. I love you mate,” he wrote on Facebook.

His longtime collaborator and Australian country music star also shared several Facebook posts mourning his death.

“I am in absolute shock that we have lost one of the most beautiful humans on the planet,” she wrote. “Ian Lees was in my band for over 20 years, he was the most gorgeous, funny, talented, empathetic, wise man. We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve managed difficult situations together (and there are many challenging ones on the road) and he always carried himself with grace and the most disarming sense of humour, which always lightened the mood. Sooo many laughs, so many memories.”

She then shared a video of their last recording session together, noting that his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer just two months ago, and there was a GoFundMe set up to help his wife and his family after his tragic passing. You can donate to that here.