Died On This Date (November 4, 2010) James Freud / Lead Singer of The Models

James Freud (Born Colin McGlinchey)
June 29, 1959 – November 4, 2010

James Freud is best remembered as the lead singer and bassist for ’80s Australian new wave rock band, the Models. Formed in Melbourne (originally without Freud) in 1979, musically the Models had much in common with fellow countrymen, INXS, including  a handsome and charismatic front man in Freud.  Over the next ten years, the group scored a handful of moderate hits, both in Australia and the U.S., but they never quite broke out of cult status.   Freud was just 16 when he formed his first band, and after hearing the Sex Pistols a year later, he realized rock ‘n roll was his true calling.  By the end of the ’70s, James Freud & the Radio Stars were causing a local stir and were quickly signed to Australia’s storied Mushroom Records.  Their first single “Modern Girl” was successful enough to land them on a Gary Numan tour.  Freud then joined the Models in 1982, and went on to write a some of their biggest hits.  Records like “Barbados” and “Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight” helped them become one of Australia’s post-punk bands.  After they broke up in 1988, Freud embarked on a solo career which included Mushroom’s most expensive album to date, Step Into The Heat.  He also wrote two autobiographies, I Am The Voice Left From Drinking and I Am The Voice Left From Rehab, in which he chronicled his career in music and his struggles with substance abuse.   On November 4, 2010, 51-year-old James Freud was found dead from what was reported to be a suicide.  Just several days earlier, he and the Models were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.

Thanks to Anne Bentley for the assist.

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