Australian music legend Renee Geyer dead at 69

Renee Geyer has passed away at age of 69. Photo / Supplied

Australian music legend Renee Geyer has passed away at the age of 69, it’s been confirmed.

The soul singer – who shot to fame in the 1970s with her iconic husky vocals and songs such as Say I Love You – died from complications following hip surgery.

Geyer’s family confirmed her death in a statement, which was released by The Mushroom Group.

“It is with immense sadness that we announce that Renée Geyer has passed away from complications following hip surgery. While in hospital, it was discovered that Renée also had inoperable lung cancer. She was in no pain and died peacefully among family and friends. Naturally, we are all utterly devastated,” the statement read.

Her family added Geyer was “looking forward” to another busy year of performing.

“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.

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.”

Geyer performed with jazz-rock group Sun in the 1970s and recorded the album Sun 1972 before launching a solo career in 1973.

Her highest-charting single, Heading in the Right Direction, was released two years later, in 1975.

Geyer was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005, and in 2013 she became the first woman to be inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.

In 2018, she received the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award at the Australian Women in Music Awards.

In her 2000 autobiography, Geyer detailed struggles with drug addiction, where she revealed she suffered three near-fatal drug overdoses.

“I’ve died three times,” she wrote in the book. “Overdosed ... heart stopped beating ... blue in the face for 20 minutes ... had to be revived. That kind of dead.”

She also opened up about having six abortions and a lengthy battle with depression.