Former US president Barack Obama has led tributes to Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning Irish musician who died this week at the age of 56. The frontman of The Frames was killed in a motorcycle crash in Dublin on Wednesday, prompting an outpouring of grief from across the entertainment world.
Obama, 64, shared his annual summer playlist on Instagram on Thursday, featuring Hansard's track 'Song Of Good Hope'. He wrote: 'It starts with a song Michelle and I love by Glen Hansard, a great musician who passed tragically this week. Our hearts go out to his family.'
Many other artists paid tribute, including Billie Eilish, who wrote that she 'wouldn't be who I am today without Glen', and Bruce Springsteen, who praised him as 'a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man'. U2's Bono recalled Hansard as an 'angelic presence' who 'really was who you thought he was', highlighting his fundraising work for the homeless.
Irish figures including President Catherine Connolly, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and deputy premier Simon Harris also paid their respects. Comedian Chris O'Dowd said Hansard's 'energising melodies and soulful, searching voice made the tough times more manageable', while his wife Dawn O'Porter called him 'the loveliest man'.
Hansard is survived by his wife, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, and their three-year-old son Christy.
