Paul Kelly, along with musicians Charlie Owen, Jex Saarelaht and Yuri Pavlinov, serenaded Australian soul great Renée Geyer on her last day on Earth.
Posting to Renée’s social her manager wrote:
Hello friends,
Renée’s Manager, Kathy wants to thank you all for your messages and tributes, and in particular to thank the staff at Geelong Hospital, including Matt, Neil, Toni, Jane for all the incredible care and attention they gave RG….right to the very end.Renée was surrounded by musicians, Yuri Pavlinov, Jex Saarelaht, Charlie Owen and Paul Kelly who played quietly to Renée in ICU and it was magic! Thanks boys ….
unforgettable.
Paul Kelly produced Renée’s 1994 ‘Difficult Woman’ album and wrote most of the songs, including the title track which legend has it was written more about her than for her.
Renée Geyer passed away yesterday (17 January 2023) following complications from surgery.
Joe Camilleri posted, Renée was “truly one of the great soul singers this country ever produced…a singer’s singer…let’s not forget the many who were influenced by Renée…her contribution should never be forgotten.
Soul free in sweet harmony”.
Russell Morris said, “The sad passing of the sometimes irascible, sometimes loveable prodigious talent Rene Geyer. I don’t believe we will ever see another like her— I was greatly honoured to have her sing with me on Sharkmouth”.
Kate Ceberano wrote, “The queen is dead. Awful! Renee the powerful, the diva, the brutal, the original, the temperamental, the stellar, the shapeshifter, the original, the unforgettable, the irreplaceable Renee!
I shall forever be indebted to you for carving the word “WOMAN” into the psyche of the Australian music mentality! You strutted into our hearts and lives with your soul on your sleeve. And we were friends”.
Jimmy Barnes posted, “As a young man I spent so many nights sitting at the mixing desk with Renee’s sound guy shaking my head and wondering where that voice came from. Renee had the power to bring a song to life and a voice full of passion and tenderness. I had the pleasure of working with Renee in the studio and on the stage she never disappointed me. RIP Renee. There is no one like you”.
And this from Bonnie Raitt, “Shocked and so saddened to hear of the sudden passing of another friend and one of the greatest singers I’ve ever known, Australia’s incomparable Renée Geyer. Her husky, powerful and deeply soulful voice and phrasing has blown me away since I first heard her back in 1980 in LA, while making her So Lucky album with producer Rob Fraboni, and the Bump Band, consisting of legendary keys player, Ian ‘Mac’ McLagan, drummer Ricky Fataar, guitarist Johnny Lee Schell and bassist Ray Ohara. I was so knocked out I enlisted Rob and that band to play on my next album, Green Light, in 1981.
“Whether through decades of her own albums and live shows, joining in on records with Sting, Jackson Browne, Hamish Stuart or my own, “Spit of Love,” with her impossibly low growl, unearthly high swoops but mostly, staggeringly great singing, there was no one like her. She was feisty, fiercely independent and faced a lot being a strong woman in this music business. She was also my good friend and will remain an inspiration and in my heart always. My condolences to her family and friends”.
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