She was best known for her performance on Daryl Braithwaite’s 1990 hit The Horses.
But despite Margaret Urlich appearing on the song, the New Zealand singer was in fact replaced by a model for the song’s iconic music video.
The Auckland-born artist sadly passed away on Monday after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. She was 57.
Despite appearing on Daryl Braithwaite’s 1990 hit The Horses, New Zealand singer Margaret Urlich was in fact replaced by a model for the song’s iconic music video.
Her powerful vocals helped make The Horses an unofficial anthem for millions of Aussies, but some fans may not have been aware of her contribution because she didn’t appear alongside Braithwaite in the accompanying movie clip.
The woman featured in the video was model Gillian Bailey, who mimicked Urlich’s vocals as she danced on a beach.
The reason for Urlich’s absence was that she was recording an album in London at the time and was unable to record on the Mid-North Coast of NSW.
In 2016, she admitted she regretted not participating News Corp: ‘I could have come back to make the video, but at the time I was doing my own thing.’
The woman featured in the video was model Gillian Bailey who mimicked Urlich’s vocals as she danced on a beach
“A lot of people know it’s my singing, but they don’t add two and two together that it’s not me in the video,” she added.
“In retrospect, it might have been a little crazy because the song was so big.
‘But then I was young and a little stupid; I did what I thought was right. But there was absolutely no disrespect for Daryl.”
Originally written by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker, The Horses spent 12 weeks in the Top 10 and 23 weeks in the Australian Top 50.
“A lot of people know it’s my singing, but they don’t add two and two together that it’s not me in the video,” Urlich said in an interview in 2016. (Pictured: Gillian Bailey in the movie clip)
The reason for Urlich’s absence was that she was recording an album in London at the time and was unable to record on the Mid-North Coast of NSW. (Pictured in Bondi on July 14, 1993)
Since then it has become something of a cult classic and is featured in several TV ads.
In another interview in 2016, commemorating 25 years since The Horses went to number .1, Braithwaite, 73, claimed that Urlich pulled out at the last minute.
“Margaret Ulrich refused to do it at the last minute because she was wearing something,” he told the Herald Sun.
The music video for The Horses was shot in Sandbar on the north coast of NSW in January 1991.
In a 2016 interview commemorating 25 years since The Horses went to number .1, Braithwaite, 73, claimed that Urlich pulled out at the last minute.
“Gillian Mather, the model, I only met for five minutes. It was a lot of fun, when I saw it back I thought, ‘Oh God, that looks really good,’ added Braithwaite.
“Gillian Mather, the model, I only met for five minutes. It was a lot of fun, when I saw it back I thought, ‘Oh God, that looks really good,’ added Braithwaite.
“The clip looked really good, except for the jersey tucked into the pants. We were burned by the sun and burned by the wind.’
Urlich spent the last two decades of her life as a high school music teacher in New South Wales.
In a 2017 interview with The Star, Urlich spoke proudly of her decision to turn her back on fame at the height of her career, stressing, “I think it’s pretty normal to be normal.”
The music video for The Horses was shot in Sandbar on the north coast of NSW in early 1991
“I don’t have to be a high profile to be happy. In fact, I think the opposite is true for me,” she added.
Urlich passed away peacefully on Monday surrounded by family at her home in the Southern Highlands of NSW.
She started her career as a singer for Peking Man before joining an all-girl pop group in New Zealand called When the Cat’s Away.
She made history as the first female solo artist to achieve a number 1 hit on the official New Zealand charts.
The late New Zealand singer Margaret Urlich (pictured) revealed in a resurfaced interview why she lost fame at the peak of her career and became a high school music teacher. She died Monday after a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer
The singer had a string of hits from her 1989 debut album Safety in Numbers, including Escaping and Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night).
She followed it up with 1992’s Chameleon Dreams, which spawned the hits Boy in the Moon and Burnt Sienna.
But it was her guest vocals on Braithwaite’s 1991 mega-hit The Horses that would immortalize her in Australian music history.
Braithwaite has since shared a statement via Richard Wilkins on Tuesday morning’s Today show, saying: “My thoughts and love are with Margaret’s family at this time.
“She was a wonderful singer and had great success with her recordings with Sony and her duet singing on The Horses is something very special and magical. Rest in peace, Margaret.’
In 1991 Margaret won an ARIA Award for ‘Best Breakthrough Artist’. (Pictured: Christine Nottoli and Margaret Urlich in Sydney in May 1993)