"It is with great pain that we must inform you that Chris, singer and songwriter of The Saints," passed away on April 9.
Chris lived a life of poetry and music and ran aground on a Saturday night ", the band writes on their Facebook page.
Chris Bailey was born in 1957. The Saints were formed in Brisbane, Australia by Chris Bailey, drummer Ivor Hay and guitarist Ed Kuepper.
They broke through in the late 1970s with their debut album "(I'm) Stranded" and achieved great success in the UK, where the whole band moved.
But the record label EMI wanted to market them as a punk band, with punk dress codes, something The Saints opposed.
In 1983, Chris Bailey released his first solo album.
He recorded his fourth album in Malmö in 1994, "54 days ... at sea", with the Bolivian folk music group Mundo Folk.
Stayed in England
While several of the band's original members moved home to Australia, Bailey remained in England and continued to release music under the band name The Saints in various constellations.
He guest sang in Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song "Bring it on" in 2003 and performed with the band during a tour, including on David Letterman's talk show.