Mental As Anything singer and founding member Andrew “Greedy” Smith has died after suffering a heart attack in his car at the age of 63.
The Australian band confirmed Smith’s passing “with an incredibly heavy heart” in a statement on their Facebook page.
“It is with an incredibly heavy heart to announce that one of the founding members of Mental As Anything, Andrew Greedy Smith passed away last night from a heart attack,” they wrote.
“Greedy, the only remaining member of the group was currently on a national tour. Our grief and confusion at this time are little compared to what Andrew’s family will be feeling – our hearts and prayers go out to them.”
The musician was currently touring with Mental As Anything and the last original member still performing with the band.
Known by their fans as ‘The Mentals’, they became one of Australia’s most popular acts in the 1980s, with hits such as ‘Too Many Times’, ‘If You Leave Me, Can I Come Too?’ and ‘The Nips Are Getting Bigger’.
Their biggest UK hit came in ‘Live It Up’, which featured in the soundtrack to the cult movie ‘Crocodile Dundee’. It reached No 3 in 1985.
Paying tribute, Mentals co-founder Reg Mombassa said the group was in shock at the sudden death of their bandmate.
It is with an incredibly heavy heart to announce that one of the founding members of Mental As Anything, Andrew Greedy…
Posted by Mental As Anything on Monday, December 2, 2019
“We are all totally shocked. He seemed like such a healthy, energetic guy,” he said.
“He wasn’t the kind of guy who partied too hard. He enjoyed a drink when we were younger but he was a very serious performer.”
The group were inducted into the Australian Recording Industry Association Hall of Fame in 2009, while Smith was last month added to the Australian Songwriters Hall of Fame.