Ranking Roger, the beloved vocalist and toaster for 2 Tone-era ska legends The Beat and spin-off group General Public, died on Monday, just two months after he publicly revealed he’d been diagnosed with two brain tumors and lung cancer. He was 56. Read more about his life and music.
Sara Romweber, the powerhouse drummer who held the beat in the first lineup of jangle-pop heroes Let’s Active and who went on to play in Snatches of Pink and, later, with her brother Dexter Romweber, has died of cancer, according to music journalist David Menconi. She was 55.
Drummer Andy Anderson, who played in The Glove with Robert Smith and the Banshees’ Steven Severin then joined The Cure and played on that band’s 1984 album The Top, died Tuesday, just nine days after informing fans that he had a terminal Stage-4 cancer diagnosis.
Mark Hollis, the co-founder, lead singer and chief songwriter for Talk Talk, a British group that made its mark with early ’80s synthpop hits before morphing into something altogether artier, has died following a short illness, his former manager confirmed Tuesday. He was 64.
Lorna Doom, the bassist for legendary early Los Angeles punk outfit Germs and a striking figure described by her own family as “a woman of mystery,” succumbed to cancer this week, dying after a year-long illness in Thousand Oaks, Calif., at the age of 61. Former bandmate Don Bolles announced her death.
Pete Shelley, the co-founder, guitarist and brilliant songwriter behind genre-shaping U.K. punk act Buzzcocks, as well as an accomplished solo artist in his own right, has died, the band announced Thursday via its social media accounts. The BBC reports that Shelley died of a suspected heart attack in Estonia, where he was living.
John Wicks, the lead singer and songwriter for The Records, the late-’70s/early-’80s U.K. power-pop combo best known for their cult-favorite single “Starry Eyes,” has died following a years-long struggle with cancer, according to friends and a former bandmate. The band released three albums on Virgin Records.
Conway Savage, the Australian musician who played piano and organ, and provided backing vocals, for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds for more than a quarter-century, died Sunday night, about 10 months after the band revealed he was being treated for a brain tumor. He was 58.
Nick Knox, who joined the legendary punk/psychobilly outfit The Cramps in 1977 and played on the group’s first four albums before leaving following 1990’s Stay Sick! and its minor commercial breakthrough “Bikini Girls with Machine Guns,” died this week at the age of 65.
Just a week into his The The comeback tour, bandleader Matt Johnson was hit with devastating news today as he learned that his 86-year-old father, Edward Charles Johnson, had died, according to a statement posted to the band’s official Facebook page. Read the full statement here.
It was no secret that Mark E. Smith, the late frontman of post-punk icons The Fall, was in ill health leading up to his death last month at the age of 60. But his family today released a statement revealing what ultimately killed him: terminal lung and kidney cancer. Read the full statement here.
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