Little River Band Bassist Roger McLachlan Passed Away At 71

Roger McLachlan, the original bassist for the Little River Band, has passed away at age 71 after battling pancreatic cancer. His death was confirmed by Michael Oliphant, the lead singer of McLachlan’s more recent band, Late for Breakfast.

“Roger didn’t wish his struggle to be widely known and so chose to keep it just between family and a handful of friends,” Oliphant shared. “Roger was a wonderful friend, collaborator, musical powerhouse, absolute monster bass player and all-round naughty boy. Life will never be the same.”

From One Band Audition to the Global Stage

Born in New Zealand in 1954, McLachlan grew up surrounded by music and started playing ukulele as a child. He moved to Australia in 1974 to perform in a touring production of Godspell. That’s when fate stepped in. Through a chance conversation with a talent agent, McLachlan was invited to audition for a new band that would later become the Little River Band.

“I arrived for auditions and [early vocalist and songwriter] Graeham Goble said we’ve got this song called ‘It’s a Long Way There’… They start playing and singing this and I am pinching myself, because I can’t believe how good these guys are,” McLachlan recalled to Riveting Riffs. “They played the groove and I start playing the groove. The rest is history.”

The Birth of the Little River Band

In the early days, the group—still known as Mississippi—traveled to gigs crammed in a van. But everything changed when they passed a road sign during a drive to Geelong, Australia.

“It was a real band thing,” McLachlan told Stuff. “Glenn [Shorrock] looked up and saw this sign, Little River turnoff, and he just said, ‘Gee, wouldn’t it be funny to call the band Little River Band.’ Bit of a play on words, to go from Mississippi to the smallest river in the world.”

That name stuck, and not long after, the band released their breakthrough hit “It’s a Long Way There” in 1975.

A Lasting Musical Legacy

After leaving the band in 1976, McLachlan returned in the late ’90s, joining guitarist Stephen Housden’s version of the Little River Band. He reunited on stage with original guitarist Ric Formosa and played fretless bass on John Farnham’s chart-topping Whispering Jack, which featured the global hit “You’re the Voice.”

Beyond that, he found success with Australian rockers Stars, performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Pyramid, and played on Merril Bainbridge’s U.S. Top 5 hit “Mouth.” He released his first solo album, Roger This Roger That at 57, and in 2009, he was inducted into New Zealand’s Southland Musicians Club Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame.

Roger McLachlan left behind a career full of music, memories, and unmatched groove.