New York [US], August 1: Irish musician Glen Hansard died in a motorcycle crash at the age of 56 early on Wednesday, his management company said.
Hansard won a Best Original Song Oscar in 2008 for the indie film "Once" and was lead singer for rock group The Frames.
Bruce Springsteen, whom Hansard shared a stage with, said he and his band were heartbroken at the death of a "great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man." Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin described him as an artist "who made a significant contribution to Ireland's cultural landscape."
The singer-songwriter began busking on the streets of his native Dublin at the age of 13 after dropping out of school, and formed The ⁠Frames in 1990.
The band's popularity at home helped make their lead singer a fixture on the Irish music scene for the next four decades.
U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to Hansard in a post on X, describing him as "a smiling rascal if you needed him to be . this most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun."
Bono said Hansard "could never walk by a person living rough without checking they were OK," and praised his work to help reduce homelessness.
"Voice of the streets. A choir of angels in one man," Bono said.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation