Hüsker Dü Drummer Grant Hart Dies at 56
By Hayden Wright
(RADIO.COM) – Grant Hart, drummer and vocalist for the pioneering rock band Hüsker Dü, has passed away at age 56. Hart was battling cancer at the time of his death.
One of the most influential alt-melodic punk groups, Hüsker Dü, were active from 1979 to 1987 and released six full-length studio albums; Grant wrote or co-wrote many of their songs, including "Never Talking To You Again," "Turn on the News," "Don't Want to Know If You Are Lonely" and "The Girl Who Lives on Heaven Hill."
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"There are no words that describe the huge impact that Grant Hart and [bandmate] Bob Mould's music on Green Day…" Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wrote on Instagram. "We were 16 years old. Hüsker Dü was our favorite band. We became a three-piece because of Hüsker. We went through adolescence listening to this band. I wanted to be a song writer because of Hüsker Dü To put it simply there would be no GD if it wasn't for Hüsker Dü."
Hüsker Dü grew out of the same local rock scene as the Replacements and Soul Asylum. But their relationship was fraught with tension and they broke up in 1987 at the height of their popularity. Variety reports that Hart "declined into a heroin addiction from which he never fully recovered."
After Hüsker Dü disbanded, Grant became involved in the alt-rock trio Nova Mobb, and later focused on solo material. The St. Paul, Minnesota native recorded studio solo albums from 1989 to his final album, The Argument, in 2013.
The official Hüsker Dü Facebook page posted a captionless photo of Hart early this morning.
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