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Frightened Rabbit’s Scott Hutchison Dead at 36

Scott Hutchison, frontman and songwriter of Scottish indie-folk band Frightened Rabbit, has died at age 36, Edinburgh Police confirmed in a statement to NPR. His body was found at Port Edgar, a marina in South Queensferry in Edinburgh, at 8:30 pm on Thursday.

“Depression is a horrendous illness that does not give you any alert or indication as to when it will take hold of you,” a statement from Hutchison’s family reads. “Scott battled bravely with his own issues for many years and we are immensely proud of him for being so open with his struggles. His willigness to discuss these matters in the public domain undoubtedly raised awareness of mental health issues and gave others confidence and belief to discuss their own issues.”

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Hutchison was first reported missing early on Wednesday (May 9), when bandmates including brother Grant Hutchison turned to the public for help.

Hutchison founded Frightened Rabbit as a solo act in 2003. With the addition of his brother and others, the band went on to release five albums, including 2008’s critically acclaimed The Midnight Organ Fight. The name Frightened Rabbit was a nickname Hutchison’s mother gave him as a child because of his extreme shyness, as he told Spin in 2010. “When I started performing after being coerced by various flatmates to get my songs out of my bedroom and into a public arena, I started feeling really comfortable,” he said in 2013. “I feel more comfortable with a microphone addressing 3,000 people than at a party trying to make small talk with someone I don’t know. That still terrifies me.”

Hutchison also released a solo album under the name Owl John in 2014, and just last month, the Hutchison brothers collaborated with members of the bands Editors and Minor Victories for an album under the name Mastersystem. Revisit Spin’s 2013 interview with Scott Hutchison here.