Angus died for 2 mins, now he's playing bagpipes on The Voice for his kids

Wearing a kilt (in the traditional way) and carrying bagpipes under his arm, Angus Richardson is doing something "different from anything" he has ever done.

His rousing rendition of Message in a Bottle by The Police on the Monday, August 25, episode of The Voice Australia is a first for the talent quest show too.

In its 14 years on TV in Australia, The Voice has never seen the bagpipes played live to the audience.

Mr Richardson is no stranger to live performances and even televised concerts.

But he says the experience of facing star coaches Spice Girl Melanie C, Richard Marx, Kate Miller-Heidke and Ronan Keating is something he will never forget.

"It was a lot of fun. I used to do quite a bit of TV back in the day when we were on tour in America, but it had been a long time, so it was fun to be back," he said.

Mr Richardson's extensive career began when he and his brothers moved from the NSW Central West to Sydney, and then on to Los Angeles.

There, decades ago, they began a Celtic rock band called Brother.

Since then, Brother has carved out a trailblazing independent path, self-releasing 15 albums and selling more CDs in the US than any other Australian indie act.

They played with The Eagles' Joe Walsh and The Who's John Entwistle, as well as Linkin Park and Alicia Keys, and have toured all over the globe.

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But it was while on tour that Mr Richardson had a near-death experience.

This experience is what spurred him to audition for The Voice Australia.

While at a Celtic festival in Pennsylvania, he began to feel unwell.

"Lucky it was a big festival, because they had an ambulance there, so the crew called the ambulance over, and as soon as the ambulance saw me, they said 'we've got to get you to hospital', and that's the last thing I remember," he said.

An hour after he arrived at the hospital, Mr Richardson was in the intensive care unit.

Then, he suffered a cardiac arrest, where he was pronounced clinically dead for two minutes.

He remained in a critical condition for around a week, during which time he suffered a series of mini strokes caused by a blood infection.

"They didn't think I would survive the night, so I was intubated," Mr Richardson said.

In a moment of desperation, the hospital staff pleaded with Mr Richardson's brother.

"You've gotta try to bring him back," they said.

What happened next was nothing short of incredible.

"They held up a recording of my children talking to me ... and as soon as I heard their voices, I started struggling and trying to pull out the tubes, and they knew I was going to be okay," Mr Richardson said.

Because of his children, he decided to audition for The Voice.

"Their voices brought me back, so I want to use my voice out there to sing for them," he said.

It was something he had been contemplating for a while, but the timing was never right.

"I was recovering from dying and coming back to life, and I didn't even think I would play the bagpipes again, and I was in no position," he said.

"I got stronger, and got back to as good as new the following year, and my kids said, 'You should audition, Dad,' and so, I did it."

With his children, mother, brother and sister watching on at the side of The Voice stage, Mr Richardson said the blind audition was something he will never forget.

Now, he hopes that audiences will feel the same.

"It's something a bit different, so I hope people get a kick out of it," he said.

The Voice Australia screens on Seven from 7.30pm on Monday, August 25.