Why late singer Margaret Urlich was replaced by a lip-syncing model in music video for The Horses

She was best known for featuring on Daryl Braithwaite’s 1990 hit The Horses.

But despite Margaret Urlich appearing on the track, the New Zealand singer was in fact replaced by a model for the song’s iconic music video.

The Auckland-born performer sadly passed away on Monday following a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer. She was 57.

Her powerful vocals helped make The Horses an unofficial national anthem for millions of Aussies, but some fans may not have been aware of her contribution because she did not appear alongside Braithwaite in the accompanying film clip.

The woman who did feature in the video was model Gillian Bailey, who mimed 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 couldn’t make the shoot on NSW’s mid-north coast.

In 2016, she admitted she regretted not taking part, telling News Corp: ‘I could have come back to do the video but I was doing my own thing by that stage.’

The woman who did feature in the video was model Gillian Bailey (pictured) who mimed Urlich’s vocals as she danced on a beach

‘A lot of people know it’s my singing, but they don’t put two and two together that it’s not me in the video,’ she added.

‘In retrospect it was probably a little bit silly because the song was so huge.

‘But at the time I was young and a bit stupid; I did what I thought was right. But it was absolutely no disrespect to Daryl.’

The Horses, which was originally penned by Rickie Lee Jones and Walter Becker, spent 12 weeks in the top 10 and 23 weeks inside the Australian top 50.

‘A lot of people know it’s my singing, but they don’t put two and two together that it’s not me in the video,’ Urlich said in a 2016 interview. (Pictured: Gillian Bailey in the film clip)

The reason for Urlich’s absence was that she was recording an album in London at the time and couldn’t make the shoot on NSW’s mid-north coast. (Pictured in Bondi on July 14, 1993)

It has since become something of a cult classic and features on several TV adverts.

In another 2016 interview to commemorate 25 years since The Horses went to No .1, Braithwaite, 73, claimed Urlich dropped out at the last minute.

‘Margaret Ulrich declined to do it at the last minute because she had something on,’ he told the Herald Sun.

The music video for The Horses was filmed at Sandbar on NSW’s mid-north coast in January 1991. 

In a 2016 interview to commemorate 25 years since The Horses went to No .1, Braithwaite, 73, claimed Urlich dropped 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,”‘ Braithwaite added 

‘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,”‘ Braithwaite added.

‘The clip looked really good except for the jumper tucked into the pants. We were sunburnt and wind-burnt.’

Urlich spent the last two decades of her life working as a high school music teacher in New South Wales.

In an interview with The Star in 2017, Urlich spoke proudly of her decision to turn her back on fame at the height of her career, insisting: ‘I quite like being normal.’

The music video for The Horses was filmed at Sandbar on NSW’s mid-north coast in early 1991

‘I don’t need to have a high profile to be happy. In fact, I think the opposite is true for me,’ she added.  

Urlich died peacefully on Monday surrounded by family at her home in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

She began her career as the vocalist 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 solo female artist to land a No. 1 hit in the official New Zealand Music Charts.

Late New Zealand singer Margaret Urlich (pictured) revealed in a resurfaced interview why she ditched fame at the height of her career and became a high school music teacher. She died on Monday following a two-and-a-half-year battle with cancer

The singer had a string of hits from her debut album Safety in Numbers in 1989, 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 mega-hit The Horses in 1991 that would immortalise her in Australian music history.

Braithwaite has since shared a statement via Richard Wilkins on the Today show on Tuesday morning, saying: ‘My thoughts and love are with Margaret’s family at this time.

‘She was a beautiful singer and had much 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)