HUM MUSIC Newtown owner Peter Thiele dies

The owner of an iconic ARIA award-winning music store has died, as family and friends pay tribute to the father who “loved making people happy”.

The owner of an iconic ARIA award-winning inner west music store has died, as tributes flow for the father-of-two who “loved making people happy”.

HUM MUSIC founder Peter Thiele died on November 9 after taking his own life, aged 64.

HUM co-founder and ex-wife Kyliejo Thiele, 53, said Peter would be “truly missed” by his two children Felix, 21, and Ava, 17, and the Newtown community which supported his fiercely independent King St record store.

“Peter’s music knowledge was unbelievable, and he really cared about the customers and what they wanted,” Ms Thiele said.

“He wanted HUM to represent the Newtown community … and he loved making them happy.

“He loved music and that’s why he’s only ever done that as a job. He lived for it.”

Peter Thiele died aged 64.

“He was warm and probably a little bit shy (and) he will be truly missed. I know that he used to love the customers coming in and he’d just be chatting with them.”

Ms Thiele encouraged anyone who was suffering to “please talk to someone and ask for help” and spoke of the importance of men’s mental health.

Ms Thiele said she wanted Peter to be remembered for his generosity and character, as she shared how loyal customers had posted their fondest memories of Peter to social media in the wake of his passing.

One tribute included a story from a customer who camped out the front of the store for six hours in the rain for a record release before Peter saved them the last copy.

“As soon as he opened the doors he found me and handed me the very last copy. Kindness from strangers goes a long way … and I only scored a copy because of Peter,” the post read.

Peter was the “master of understanding what the customer wanted” at his King St store in Newtown.

Peter ran the popular HUM store for 24 years after first opening its doors in 2000, and received an ARIA award for ‘Best Independent Music Store’ after building up an eclectic catalogue of local and imported records, CDs, DVDs, and unique gigs.

A statement released by the HUM MUSIC team on Wednesday morning was dedicated to “our leader, Peter”.

“As you can imagine this is an extremely stressful and painful time for his family and his HUM family,” the statement read.

“We will endeavour and try our very best to keep HUM going in honour of Peter, so please be patient as we work through this difficult time.”