Indie fans in both the U.S. and New Zealand were stunned to learn over the weekend that Kiwi legend Chris Knox suffered a stroke. The 57-year-old musician/songwriter/cartoonist is recovering at Auckland City Hospital.

"We'd just like to say that Chris' partner Barbara Ward and his children John and Leisha are grateful for the support and love they've received, and at the moment everyone's focus is just on Chris and his recovery, and we just ask that people be respectful of that," a spokesman for the family said in the Sunday Star Times.

Knox's late '70s bands the Enemy and Toy Love were the pioneering artists of the New Zealand scene, which rose to prominence in the U.S. during the late '80s via Flying Nun Records and such bands as the Chills, the Bats, the Clean and, of course, Tall Dwarfs, Knox's lo-fi weird-pop duo with Alec Bathgate. Tall Dwarfs influenced everyone from Pavement, Portastatic and Olivia Tremor Control to Jay Reatard, Crystal Stilts and just about anybody playing post-punk music in New Zealand.

The Tall Dwarfs song 'Not Given Lightly' later became an improbable hit, popular at weddings even though it was written specifically for Ward ("This is a love song/to John and Leisha's mother," is one lyric). It's been covered by Frente and J Church, and provides the title of Morr Music's new double CD 'Not Given Lightly: A Tribute to the Giant Golden Book of New Zealand's Indie Scene.'

The average American, however, probably knows Knox best for his 2000 solo song 'It's Love,' which was featured in this 2008 Heineken commercial, directed by the ever-rock 'n' roll savvy filmmaker Todd Haynes:



Knox's family and friends launched a website to keep fans informed.