EeHH.CO.UK

Renee Geyer dead: Soul singer dies aged 69 after suffering complications from hip surgery

Australian jazz and soul icon Renée Geyer, known for songs including It's A Man's Man's World and Say I Love You, has died at the age of 69. The singer was in hospital for hip surgery but while there was also diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer, her record label, The Mushroom Group, said in a statement.

Renee Geyer dead: Soul singer dies aged 69© GETTY

Renee was a Melbourne born singer who shot to fame in the 1970s and became known for her Husky vocals.

In a statement Renee's family said: "While in hospital, it was discovered that Renee also had inoperable lung cancer."

"She was in no pain and died peacefully amongst family and friends.

"Naturally we are all utterly devastated."

"Just last month, Renée sang to a full house and was looking forward to another busy year ahead doing what she loved most - performing for her loyal fans around the country," the statement said.

"Renée lived her life as she performed - on her own terms and to the fullest. Beloved and respected, she was a force of nature and a national treasure, and her passing leaves a giant void in the Australian music industry."

In a tribute on Twitter, singer Marcia Hines described her as "a gamechanger. A soul diva. My sister in song," who "possessed one of the greatest voices I have ever heard". 

Renee Geyer dead: Tributes have poured in for the beloved soul singer© Getty

Renee started her career as a teenager in Sydney in the 1970s.

Her career would go on to span five decades, and include collaborations and performances with international artists including Sting, Chaka Khan, Neil Diamond and Bonnie Rait.

"It happened really quickly," she said of her music career in a 1973 interview with the ABC.

"I don't think [I'm confident]. I'm actually quite paranoid.

She released an autobiography, Confessions of a Difficult Woman, in 2000, and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.

In 2010, she crashed her car through the window of an optometrist's store in the inner-Melbourne suburb of Elwood.

She had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year earlier and, in 2013, told the Sydney Morning Herald that she had been affected by medication she had been prescribed as part of her treatment at the time of the crash.

In 2022, Renee said she felt lucky looking back at her career.

"I'm getting paid to do what I really like to do, and have been for over 50 years, so how lucky am I?" she said.