The music world has paid tribute after reports that Husker Du drummer and co-founder Grant Hart has passed away.
Hart’s Husker Du bandmate Bob Mould described Hart as “a gifted visual artist, a wonderful story teller, and a frighteningly talented musician” in a Facebook post.
Green Day frontman Billy Joel Armstrong said that “there are no words that describe the huge impact that Grant Hart and Bob Moulds music on Green Day.” Writing on Instagram, he continued, “I wanted to be a song writer because of Hüsker Dü To put it simply there would be no GD if it wasn’t for Hüsker Dü.”
Ryan Adams took to Twitter to write, “Your music saved my life. It was with me the day I left home. It’s with me now.”
“Wonderful show in Vancouver, but gutted to get offstage and hear that Grant Hart has died,” Frank Turner wrote on Twitter. “I fucking adore Hüsker Dü. Sad news.”
Belly’s Tanya Donelly said: “Incredibly sad waking up to this news of Grant Hart — RIP amazing musician/songwriter.” See the messages below.
It was the Fall of 1978. I was attending Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. One block from my dormitory was a…
Posted by Bob Mould on Thursday, September 14, 2017
RIP Grant Hart
Your music saved my life.
It was with me the day I left home.
It's with me now.
Travel safely to the summerlands. pic.twitter.com/B8JfIdp57H— Ryan Adams (@TheRyanAdams) September 14, 2017
Wonderful show in Vancouver, but gutted to get offstage and hear that Grant Hart has died. I fucking adore Hüsker Dü. Sad news.
— Frank Turner (@frankturner) September 14, 2017
Incredibly sad waking up to this news of Grant Hart — RIP amazing musician/songwriter ?Turn On The News – Hüsker Dü https://t.co/Ell5ZLhXHf
— Tanya Donelly (@TanyaDonelly) September 14, 2017
Hart was 56 and had been battling cancer. Husker Du shared a photo of Hart on their Facebook page earlier today, which you can see below.
Posted by Hüsker Dü on Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Husker Du are due to release ‘Savage Young Dü’ on November 10 – an extensive box set collecting the hardcore band’s earliest recordings and performances.
It will feature tracks from session masters, demos and live tapes for 69 recordings total – 47 of which have never been released. The set will be available digitally or on four LPs or three CDs with a giant book of photos and liner notes.