Denise Johnson, the Manchester-born singer whose soulful voice lifted the music of Primal Scream — most memorably on Screamadelica — A Certain Ratio, New Order and more has died at the age of 56, according to U.K. press reports and musicians she’d worked with. No cause of death has been announced.
Florian Schneider, co-founder of the pioneering German act Kraftwerk and a pioneering force who helped shape decades of electronic music, pop and hip-hop, died last month of cancer, his former bandmates confirmed on Wednesday. He was 73. Read more right here.
Dave Greenfield, whose keyboard playing help give The Stranglers their unique sound amid the squall of late-’70s U.K. punk, died on Sunday night of complications from the COVID-19 respiratory disease, the band announced. He was 71. Read more from this bandmates and friends.
Matthew Seligman, the highly inventive bassist for The Soft Boys who went on to record with Thomas Dolby, Thompson Twins, The Waterboys, Peter Murphy, Morrissey and more, and who played with David Bowie at Live Aid, died Friday after being in a coma for two weeks with COVID-19, his longtime friend Dolby announced,
Bill Rieflin, the thunderous drummer who made his name in Chicago’s late-’80s/early-’90s industrial scene pounding out beats for Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Pigface and more before manning the kit for R.E.M. over the last eight years of that band’s career, died on Tuesday of cancer, according to former bandmates. He was 59.
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, the British musician, poet, performance artist, occultist and avant garde avatar who co-founded pioneering industrial act Throbbing Gristle as well as Psychic TV, died Saturday after battling leukemia for 2½ years, the Dais Records label announced. P-Orridge was 70 years old.
David Roback, who helped create the neo-psychedelic Paisley Underground scene of the 1980s through his bands The Rain Parade and Opal before gaining his greatest acclaim alongside Hope Sandoval in Mazzy Star, died Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported. More details right here.
Andrew Weatherall, the famed British DJ, musician, remixer and producer who helped Primal Scream craft its genre-flipping early masterpiece Screamadelica, died in a London hospital Monday after suffering a pulmonary embolism, according to his publicists. He was 56. Full details right here.
Andrew Brough, a guitarist and songwriter who played in multiple New Zealand bands in the 1980s and ’90s including Straitjacket Fits, part of Flying Nun Records’ second wave of the so-called Dunedin sound, died on Tuesday, the band announced on Facebook. More information right here.
Andy Gill, the guitarist who co-founded and remained the sole original member of Gang of Four, and whose sharp-edged playing help define the U.K. post-punk sound of the late 1970s and early ’80s, died Saturday at a London hospital following a short respiratory illness. He was 64.
Vaughan Oliver, the British artist and graphic designer who helped create the visual identity of the 4AD record label and so many of the legendary imprint’s best-known bands, including the Pixies, Cocteau Twins, Throwing Muses, The Breeders, This Mortal Coil, Dead Can Dance and more, died Sunday.
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