The 48-year-old had complained of feeling ill before a party, went for a lie down and passed away in his sleep.
Formed in 1977, the group never sold huge numbers of records, but were lauded by everyone from REM and Nick Cave to Coldplay and Belle & Sebastian.
“His singular contribution to music and his commitment to his craft simply cannot be overstated,” says Lo-Max Records boss Bernard McMahon. “He will be deeply missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his mother, sister, brother, girlfriend Emma, bandmates Adele Pickvance and Glenn Thompson and lifetime musical colleague and friend Robert Forster.”
The Go-Betweens’ last album, That Stripped Sunlight Sound, was released in January 2006 and featured acoustic re-workings of some of their most popular songs.