Margaret Urlich, the New Zealand-born singer famous for singing ‘The Horses’ with Daryl Braithwaite, has died aged 57.
She had been diagnosed with cancer two and a half years ago, and died at home in NSW on Monday, surrounded by family.
Braithwaite has since shared a statement via Richard Wilkins on the Today show this morning, saying: “My thoughts and love are with Margaret’s family at this time. She was a beautiful singer and had much success with her recordings with Sony and her duet singing on ‘The Horses’ is something very special and magical. Rest in peace Margaret.”
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‘The Horses’, which hit No.1 in the Australian charts and stayed in the top 10 for 12 weeks in 1991, was the biggest Australian hit she was involved in but Urlich was a star in her own right.
She took out the Best Breakthrough Artist ARIA award in 1991 for her debut album Safety in Numbers.
Stuff reported she had solo hits with ‘Escaping’, ‘Number One’ and ‘Burnt Sienna’, before joining female vocal supergroup When the Cat’s Away.
The group went to No.1 across the ditch with ‘Melting Pot’ and were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in December last year.
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“Margaret is a much-loved multi award-winning member of the Australian and New Zealand music industry who captured hearts around the world as a gifted singer/songwriter with a unique voice and sense of style,” a statement released by her management said.
“We thank you for respecting the privacy of her family and loved ones at this sad time.”
Nine entertainment editor Richard Wilkins described Urlich as a “beautiful and talented artist who blazed a trail”.
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https://twitter.com/RichardWilkins/status/1561671409231081472
Urlich in 2016 expressed some regret she chose not to appear in the music video for ‘The Horses’, because she was recording an album in London at the time.
“I could have come back to do the video but I was doing my own thing by that stage,” she told News Corp.
“A lot of people know it’s my singing, but they don’t put two and two together that it’s not me in the video.
“In retrospect it was probably a little bit silly because the song was so huge.
“But at the time I was young and a bit stupid, I did what I thought was right. But it was absolutely no disrespect to Daryl.”
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