bummer

from CNN
link

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Crowded House drummer found dead

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- Paul Hester, the drummer from popular 1980s Australian rock band Crowded House, hanged himself in a park in southern Australia, an emergency services spokeswoman said Monday.

Hester, 46, had failed to return home after taking his two dogs for a walk on Friday night. The drummer's body was later found in a park near his home in the southern city of Melbourne.

Ambulance officers arrived on the scene shortly after midday Saturday and tried to resuscitate him, but "he was dead when they arrived," Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokeswoman Liraje Memishi said.

Memishi said he had "attempted suicide" and then suffered strangulation. She declined to confirm where Hester's body was found. Reports have said he was discovered hanging from a tree.

Hester played in several small bands before joining the New Zealand group Split Enz in 1983. He and Split Enz singer Neil Finn formed Crowded House in 1985 with bass player Nick Seymour.

Crowded House was one of Australia's most successful bands in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with international hits such as "Don't Dream it's Over" and "Weather with You."

Peter Green, a longtime friend of Hester, reportedly contacted Finn and Seymour after learning of the drummer's death.

Green said Hester had experienced "some dark moments," but dismissed media reports that he was struggling with depression or illness at the time of his death.

"Paul never said anything about that and I never, ever, heard he was suffering from any illness," he told The Daily Telegraph newspaper for its Monday edition. "Then, after today, I wonder if anybody really knew anything."

Seymour also expressed surprise at the news, telling the paper he had seen Hester in Ireland two weeks ago.

"It was all good," Seymour told the paper from Dublin. "The last words Paul told me were: 'I love you, mate. See you in town (Melbourne) in a month.'"

Finn, currently touring in London, said he was deeply saddened at the loss of his friend.

"I am devastated," he told the paper. "I have lost one of my best mates."

Hester quit Crowded House in 1994, citing the pressures of touring and declining motivation for the group.

He is survived by his girlfriend Mardi Sommerfield and their two daughters aged 8 and 10.

sad

Sad news indeed.

What is it with Australian rock stars and suicide?

Damn shame.

That sucks RIP

One thing that makes this really sad is that I grew up with Paul in Crowded House, and my kids took joy in him as Paul the Cook in The Wiggles. RIP .. you will be missed.

What does that mean?

It sounds like he may have attempted to take his life in another manner prior to hanging.

I would assume it means he attempted to kill himself using another method, failed, then hanged himself. Maybe he tried to slit his wrists or something.

Really, that is the saddest part, for me.

Yeah seriously.
I was watching VH1 classic the other day and the video for "I Send a Message" by INXS was on and I thought to myself "why on earth did Michael Hutchens kill himself?!?!." It sucks too, I'd have paid to see all of the members of INXS in concert; probably Crowded House and or Split Enz too. Oh well hopefully his friends and family will be able to come to terms with this.

What a crying shame. Crowded House is one of the best bands of their era. It's always sad to see someone come to this in their life - pray for the family.

If memory serves, this is the difference between, essentially, a successful hanging and a botched one. The goal of hanging isn't to choke you to death or deprive your brain of bloodflow slowly, but rather to break your neck and sever your spinal cord. I think they're pointing at the difference between a quick break and death versus a much slower one.

But I could be off on this -- this is based on several years old memories from a term paper in college.

That's was I was thinking it sounded like too. I know that back when they had gallows they used to be concerned with the length of the rope and amount of stretch for this reason.

Damn - I knew that guy looked familiar... wow; I won't tell the kids that the "Fruit Salad, Yummy Yummy" guy killed himself... bummer.