Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie reveals he has terminal brain cancer

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      One of the giants of the Canadian music scene has disclosed that he has a fatal disease.

      The Tragically Hip's energetic and frenetic singer, Gord Downie, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in December, according to a statement posted on the band's website.

      A news conference is scheduled for later this morning to provide more details.

      Downie, 52, has four children and is married to Laura Leigh Usher, who had breast cancer several years ago.

      The band still plans to go on tour this summer after the release of its next album, Man Machine Poem.

      In a review of the Tragically Hip's February 2015 show in Vancouver, Straight music writer Steve Newton declared that he had seen the band on many occasions over the years, but had never witnessed Downie "being quite so wonderfully nutzoid".

      The Tragically Hip has won 14 Junos with music that appeals to a broad range of fans.

      "When I'm in front of a crowd, I don't think 'Oh, there's some hard-core metalheads and some alternative fringe types, so we should be okay.' When we finish a track in the studio, we might say, 'That was great; that gave me a good feeling,' but it's not like [he switches to a radio announcer's voice] 'This will appeal to the under-16-female-white-audience.' " Downie told the Straight's Steve Newton way back in 1989. "I mean, you leave that to the deejays and the people who write bios."

      Downie has also recorded three solo albums and toured with the Sadies in 2014.

      "I mean, I do feel more like a sideman in this group," he told the Straight's Alexander Varty in 2014. "My ultimate goal is to be in my housecoat at 4 p.m. with an empty martini glass, saying, ‘Which way to the microphone?’ And I’m sort of achieving that here."

      Update: Downie plans on touring with the Tragically Hip this summer.

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