Margaret Urlich (Te Popoto o Ngāpuhi ki Kaipara, Te Rarawa) of When The Cat's Away fame has died after a two-year struggle with cancer.
The 57-year-old award-winning singer died at her New South Wales home surrounded by family on Monday.
She began her singing career with Peking Man, which also featured her brother, Pat, reaching number 1 in the NZ Charts with Room That Echoes in 1985.
Urlich then joined the all-girl Kiwi band, When The Cat's Away, with Annie Crummer, Debbie Harwood, Kim Willoughby and Dianne Swann. Their cover of Melting Pot peaked at No. 1 on the charts here in 1988, and was certified gold. They were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame in 2021.
Start NZ On Screen - Escaping Size: 585 by 410
Margaret Urlich's Escaping reached number 1 in Aotearoa in 1989. Source: NZ On Screen
As a solo artist, Urlich had a No. 1 in Aotearoa with her debut single, Escaping, which enjoyed three weeks at the top in 1989 and won single of the year at that year's Music Awards. Her debut album, Safety in Numbers, went platinum in Aotearoa, and 3x platinum in Australia. It also won album of the year and album cover of the year at the 1989 NZ Music Awards and the ARIA breakthrough artist - album award in Australia in 1991. Two further albums also went platinum.
Urlich, whose cousin Peter is also an accomplished musician, is one of the most successful singers ever in Aotearoa, selling more than 400,000 albums across New Zealand and Australia and winning the female vocalist of the year award in New Zealand on four occasions.
She moved permanently to Australia in 1998, where she set up a recording studio at her Southern Highlands home with her husband and manager George Gorga.
