Crispin Dye
Born
Crispin Wilson Dye

1951 or 1952
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died (aged 41)
St George Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Cause of deathHomicide
NationalityAustralian
Other namesChris Kemp, Cris Kemp
Occupation(s)Musician, band manager
Years active1980–1993
Notable workFly on the Wall (contributor)

Crispin Wilson Dye (1951 or 1952 – 25 December 1993) who used the stage name Chris Kemp or Cris Kemp, was an Australian musician and the former manager of hard rock bands AC/DC and Rose Tattoo. His killing in December 1993 remained unsolved and continued to be investigated in 2023.

Life

Dye was born in Sydney to mother Jean Dye[1] and father Ian Wilson Dye (died 1983)[2] in 1951 or 1952[3] and lived in both Cairns[4] and Willoughby.[1] He had attended Newington College, where in 1970 he helped provide a musical adaptation of The Tempest.[5]

In the early 1980s, Dye worked for Albert Music supporting rock band AC/DC[6] before taking over as the band's manager from Ian Jeffrey.[7][8] During his ten years managing the band, Dye won a gold record for his role in the production of the album Fly on the Wall (1985).[9]

Dye also managed the rock band Rose Tattoo[4] and worked with the Easybeats.[1] He was also a pop rock musician;[10] he used the stage name Cris Kemp for solo musical works.[4][11] In 1993, on lead vocals and acoustic guitar, he released his first and only solo album A Heart Like Mine, which was produced by Alex Smith via Larrikin Records.[1][12] All eleven tracks were written by Dye including one, "We Are not in Love", co-written with Simon Gallaher.[13]

Death

Dye was attacked by three men in Darlinghurst, Sydney on 23 December 1993.[14] During the previous evening he had been celebrating the release of his album.[3] Dye was intoxicated at the time of the attack, which occurred at around 4:30 a.m. on Campbell Street,[14] near Taylor Square, Sydney.[15] His attackers stole his wallet.[14] He was found unconscious near the Kinselas Hotel[4] and taken to St Vincent's Hospital.[9] He died in St George Hospital on 25 December.[1]

Aftermath

Police investigated Dye's killing in 1993. An inquest also took place from 1994 to 1995.[4] The results of the inquest were inconclusive,[3] but linked his death to a statement made by a prisoner who said that he had "knocked off" Dye.[10] In 2013, Dye's killing appeared in a Fairfax Media production about unsolved murders.[1] In 2014, police offered a $100,000 reward for information on his killing.[4]

In 2023, his death continued to be investigated by police.[16] Dye's sexuality was ambiguous to some of his friends, who believed he was possibly gay or bisexual.[4] In 2014, Dye's mother told The Sydney Morning Herald that he spoke of his many girlfriends and quoted Crispin saying "People say I'm gay, Mum, but I don't know what I am."[1] The 2023 police investigation considered that his death may be linked to his sexual identity.[16] Earlier investigations had primarily considered robbery as the motive due to the location of the attack being commonly associated with street robberies.[4]

The 2023 investigation also noted that prior police work did not include forensic analysis of the blood-soaked clothing that Dye was found in after his attack.[3] 2023 DNA analysis identified a new person of interest, associated with DNA found at an unrelated 2002 burglary.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Feneley, Rick; Levy, Megan (12 August 2014). "$100,000 reward to find killers of AC/DC manager Crispin Dye". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  2. ↑ "In the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Probate Division. Notice of intended distribution of estate. Any..." Government Gazette Of The State Of New South Wales. No. 44. 23 March 1984. p. 1727. Retrieved 30 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Person of interest found in AC/DC manager's 1993 murder after DNA breakthrough". The Guardian. Australian Associated Press. 2023-08-22. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Parkes-Hupton, Heath (2023-06-20). "Bloody clothes left untested by police for 30 years could solve mystery of who killed AC/DC manager". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  5. ↑ Roberts, David (30 May 2017). "'It was fifty years ago today…'". Black & White. Archived from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 30 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ Sippel, John (12 December 1981), "U.S Issue of AC/DC Film Sparks Litigation". Billboard, pp. 3, 60.
  7. ↑ Sutcliffe, Phil (2010). AC/DC: High-Voltage Rock 'n' Roll: The Ultimate Illustrated History. United States: Voyageur Press. p. 129.
  8. ↑ Wall, Mick (2012). AC/DC: Hell Ain't a Bad Place to Be. United Kingdom: Orion.
  9. 1 2 "Cold case murder investigation into AC/DC manager Crispin Dye's 1993 death offers $100,000 reward". Daily Telegraph. 13 Aug 2014. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  10. 1 2 Feneley, Rick. "The Gay-Hate Decades: 30 unsolved deaths". SBS News. Archived from the original on 2023-05-16. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  11. ↑ Levy, Megan (13 August 2014). "Find killers of AC/DC manager". braininjurycentre.com.au. Archived from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ↑ "Larrikin Catalogue List" (PDF). warrenfahey.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 March 2010. Retrieved 30 November 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ↑ "Song Catalogue Search Results for 'We Are not in Love'". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association, Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 1 December 2023. n.b. For additional information click on 'Search and filter' and enter track title.
  14. 1 2 3 "Death of Crispin Dye". New South Wales Police Force. 13 August 2014. Archived from the original on 31 March 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  15. ↑ Hollinsworth, Harry (28 December 2017). "In the Herald". Sydney Morning Herald. p. 29. ProQuest 1981897631.
  16. 1 2 "Crispin Dye: New person of interest identified in AC/DC manager death". BBC News. 2023-08-22. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
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