Crowded House drummer found dead
{{date|March 28, 2005}}

{{w|Paul Hester}}, drummer for the popular 1980s band {{w|Crowded House|"Crowded House"}}, was found dead in a [[Melbourne]] park Saturday.

An ambulance service spokeswoman told the ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald|Sydney Morning Herald]]'' that ambulance officers arrived at {{w|Elsternwick}} Park on Saturday afternoon. They reported Hester had "attempted suicide" and suffered "strangulation". The 46-year-old-father-of-two was last seen walking his two dogs in the popular suburban park near his home on Friday evening.

Hester had a history with bouts of {{w|clinical depression|depression}}, but seemed to be coping well following eight years of {{w|Management of depression|therapy}}. Friends told the ''{{w|The Daily Telegraph (Australia)|The Daily Telegraph}}'', however, that he suffered a recent turmoil in his love life. Firstly, there was the end of his romance with long-time partner and mother of his two daughters, and then a parting last December with [[New Zealand]] singer Kashan, whom he planned to wed in May. There appeared to be no indication he was distressed when he left the house to walk his dogs.

Hester, from Melbourne, [[Australia]], was a founding member of the internationally popular group Crowded House. Previously, he was in the band {{w|Split Enz|"Split Enz"}} with Crowded House leader {{w|Neil Finn}} during the early 1980s. He quit Crowded House in 1994, two years before the band broke up, and became a television personality in Australia with his own prime-time show, then working mostly as a freelance drummer [e.g. for Tarmac Adam]. He had his own music chat show, ''Hessie's Shed'', on {{w|List of Australian television channels|Australian TV}} in the late 1990s, and also had a recurring role as Paul the Cook on the children's program ''{{w|The Wiggles}}.'' He also hosted the successful Australian {{w|cable television|cable}} music channel ''{{w|Max (Australian TV channel)|MAX}}'''s ''{{w|The MAX Sessions|Sessions}}'' series.

{{haveyoursay}}
==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.undercover.com.au/news/2005/mar05/20050326_paulhester.html
|title=R.I.P. Paul Hester
|author=Paul Cashmere
|pub=Undercover
|date=March 26, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/obit_crowded_house_drummer
|title=Crowded House Drummer Hester Found Dead
|author=|pub=AP|date=March 27, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2005/03/28/1111862285896.html|title=Wave of sadness after Hester hangs himself
|author=|pub=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=March 28, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1258&storyid=2879894
|title=Star's last hours
|author=Kathy McCabe and Nui Te Koha
|pub=The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
|date=March 29, 2005}}

==External links==
* [http://www.music-wiki.org/Paul_Hester Music-Wiki/Paul Hester]
* [http://www.maxtv.com.au/page.asp?partid=31 MAX Sessions]

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[[Category:Oceania]]
[[Category:Australia]]
[[Category:Victoria, Australia]]
[[Category:Melbourne]]
[[Category:Culture and entertainment]]
Crowded House|"Crowded House", was found dead in a Melbourne park Saturday.

An ambulance service spokeswoman told the Sydney Morning Herald that ambulance officers arrived at  Park on Saturday afternoon. They reported Hester had "attempted suicide" and suffered "strangulation". The 46-year-old-father-of-two was last seen walking his two dogs in the popular suburban park near his home on Friday evening.

Hester had a history with bouts of depression, but seemed to be coping well following eight years of therapy. Friends told the The Daily Telegraph, however, that he suffered a recent turmoil in his love life. Firstly, there was the end of his romance with long-time partner and mother of his two daughters, and then a parting last December with New Zealand singer Kashan, whom he planned to wed in May. There appeared to be no indication he was distressed when he left the house to walk his dogs.

Hester, from Melbourne, Australia, was a founding member of the internationally popular group Crowded House. Previously, he was in the band "Split Enz" with Crowded House leader List of Australian television channels|Australian TV in the late 1990s, and also had a recurring role as Paul the Cook on the children's program cable television|cable music channel MAX's Sessions series.
Oceania Australia Victoria, Australia Melbourne Culture and entertainment