Obituary: Rowland S. Howard
Influential Australian guitarist and songwriter Rowland S. Howard has lost his battle with liver cancer, dying at the age of 50 in the Austin Hospital, Melbourne.
Perhaps most famous as a member of The Birthday Party, Howard was involved in numerous musical projects, from his tenure with The Boys Next Door through to a latent solo career. His guitar playing was often at the forefront and an inspiration to many.
As a sixteen year old he penned ‘Shivers’, a song that would later become a hit for The Boys Next Door, the band that became The Birthday Party. Following their dissolution he would be a key player in the early work of Crime & The City Solution (with whom he appeared in Wim Wenders’ cinematic masterpiece Wings Of Desire), lead singer of These Immortal Souls, and a significant collaborator of both Nikki Sudden and Lydia Lunch, among others.
His most recent works were the solo albums, 2000’s Teenage Snuff Film and 2009’s Pop Crimes. Although the latter has been a critical hit in his homeland, it is yet to see a proper worldwide release.
It was probably something of a surprise to many that he made it to this century, let alone the end of this decade, having endured periods of drug abuse and hard living in the past. Howard had however reputedly been encouraged by a renewed creativity and his return to the limelight this year. He was due to play his final gig of the year with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs in Melbourne at their request, on what was to be the night before he died, unfortunately having to cancel for now obvious reasons.
Lifelong friend and frequent collaborator Mick Harvey remarked to Australia’s The Age on hearing of his passing, “Sometimes people are ready to go because they have been sick for a long time, but Rowland really wanted to live. Things were going well for him outside of his health and he wanted to take advantage of that, and he was very disappointed that he wasn’t well enough to do so.”
On a personal note, his passing is terribly sad, not only as a music fan, but as one of the many musicians to have been heavily influenced by him. As a guitarist, he was among the best of his generation, and will continue to shift the perception of those who listen to his records as to what that can mean. It would seem likely that a long-overdue assessment of his not insignificant back-catalogue will come, but it’s a shame (as is so often the case with artists) that he has had to pass away for it to happen. To hear that a talent such as his has gone forever is certainly tragic, especially when he had plenty left to give, and the desire to do so.
Rowland Stuart Howard, influential guitarist and songwriter, born October 24, 1979, died December 30, 2009.
