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.
Kim Shattuck, the frontwoman and guitarist for Southern California punk trio The Muffs who also played with ’80s rockers The Pandoras and took a brief turn as the Pixies’ post-Kim Deal bassist, died on Wednesday from complications of ALS, her family and bandmates announced. She was 56.
Ric Ocasek, the 75-year-old frontman, guitarist and songwriter for The Cars, died peacefully in his sleep while at home in New York City recovering from an unspecified surgery, his wife Paulina Porizkova said in a statement shared on social media on Monday. Full details right here.
Ric Ocasek, the pop genius who wrote a string of hits for The Cars, the legendary new-wave act he fronted and played guitar for through the late 1970s through the late ’80s, was found dead in his New York City apartment, according to multiple news reports. He was 75.
Jeff Walls, co-founder, guitarist and songwriter for suburban Atlanta college-rock favorites Guadalcanal Diary, died on Wednesday after battling a very rare form of pulmonary hypertension that only can be cured through a double lung transplant. Murray Attaway, the band’s frontman, announced the news on Facebook.
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