Bailey was born in 1957 in Kenya to Irish parents and migrated to Brisbane from Belfast when he was seven.
He co-founded the band with his school friends Ed Kuepper and Ivor Hay in Brisbane in 1973.
Keupper tweeted he was “very sad to confirm the news about Chris Bailey dying on the weekend”.
“Chris and I met when we were about 14 during detention at Oxley High School and became close friends which later developed into what I always thought was an extremely strong artistic partnership,” he wrote.
The Saints formed their own label Fatal Records in 1976, and independently released punk song to radio stations in Australia and Britain before it was picked up and released in the UK.
They were then signed by record label EMI for a three-album contract.
They recorded the in 1977 and achieved chart success in Britain, their release preceding a wave of groundbreaking punk rock debut albums including the Sex Pistols and The Clash.
But The Saints were less successxjmtzywful in Australia at the time.
Police attended the band’s Brisbane shows and arrested audience members and musicians, leading to their bookings evaporating.
The State Library of Queensland added a split 7-inch vinyl single of into its treasured John Oxley collection in 2016, commemorating the 40th anniversary of its release.
