"The passing of Australian rock musician Billy Thorpe yesterday comes as a great shock" Ms vamvakinou said.
"He was still relatively young, and the news of his death is very sad."
"For decades, Billy Thorpe gave so much pleasure to countless music fans across Australia and overseas, and he still had so much to offer."
"He was an important pioneer of Australia’s music scene. His enormous talent and passion received the world wide acclaim that it so justly deserved."
"Some of Billy Thorpe’s most famous concerts took place 35 years ago at the Sunbury Music Festival, where he performed with the Aztecs."
"Their performance at Sunbury has become legendary, a part of the folk history of Australian rock and roll" Ms vamvakinou said.
"Home to the Ashes and home to what was once Australia’s greatest music festival, Sunbury has an extraordinary history, one that more Australians should know about" Ms Vamvakinou said.
"My condolences go to Billy Thorpe’s family and to the loved ones he has left behind."
In 1972, the Aztecs album "Live at Sunbury" went gold, and in 2005, Billy Thorpe re-formed the "Sunbury" Aztecs for a tsunami fund-raisng concert.
Contact: Alex Kouttab 0417 541 465
