RIP- musicians

[MarkV]

Steve Harley at 73.
Always enjoyed him when he was on festivall lineups
RIP

"Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)" was playing when I switched on BBC Radio London a few minutes ago. I hadn't heard the sad news, but then heard the very nice tribute from Robert Elms.
Rest in peace Steve.

First festival i attended was Reading 1974 on the last day. Steve Harley and his new version of Cockney Rebel were the highlight of the day, the crowd still singing the refrain "oh dear look what they've done with the blues blues blues"  for the whole change over and during the first song of the next artists.

[Alan2]

Oh  jo. Bloody wretched cancer.  

[delfini (Diane)]

I’d been out all day so came home to the news. B***ard cancer.

[Amethyst (Jenny)]

R.I.P Steve Harley 😥😥

[bassline (Mike)]

A sad loss, indeed.

Here's a couple of videos (it should have been one, but I accidentally switched the record button off), from my favourite spot at the Robin, (where I film one song only per gig, with my phone held in front of my chest so as not to annoy anybody).

R.I.P, Steve, you did some great stuff, thank you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-NUMycptUw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51D3xRAaODw

[davidmjs]

Not seen this confirmed yet, but reliable sources on Facebook (Phil from Facelift etc.) are sharing that the great Jimmy Hastings has left the building.  Never quite an official member of Caravan but Pye's older brother played on a huge range of Canterbury classics: Caravan, Soft Machine, National Health, Hatfields et al.

I was lucky enough to see him with the original 4-piece a couple of times during the 1990 reunion.  He looked like a Public School Bursar...but he played like a God.  85 (nearly 86) so can't complain, but RIP, sir - your music sits squarely in my soul.

[quodlibet (Ian)]

Not seen this confirmed yet, but reliable sources on Facebook (Phil from Facelift etc.) are sharing that the great Jimmy Hastings has left the building.  Never quite an official member of Caravan but Pye's older brother played on a huge range of Canterbury classics: Caravan, Soft Machine, National Health, Hatfields et al.

I was lucky enough to see him with the original 4-piece a couple of times during the 1990 reunion.  He looked like a Public School Bursar...but he played like a God.  85 (nearly 86) so can't complain, but RIP, sir - your music sits squarely in my soul.

Dave Sinclair confirms the sad news. JH's contributions were always outstanding. I'm gutted. :-(

[davidmjs]

Chris Allen/Chris Cross

https://news.sky.com/story/ultravox-star-chris-cross-who-co-wrote-smash-hit-vienna-has-died-13106417

From John Foxx on FB:

Very sad to hear about Chris Allen aka Chris Cross.
Chris was the first member of the band. He walked into the Royal College of Art where I was holding auditions for what was to become Ultravox.  This was early 1974. We had a brief chat and he was in right away. No question. Immediately engaging and mischievous, as well as looking dead right.
We auditioned the rest of the band together.
I loved going around to his place because his entire family were like him - generous, kind, resilient, outgoing, with a down-to-earth sense of humour. His brother Jeff was drummer in another band and their mum guarded her sons like Boadicea, standing at the front door, arms folded and immovable when neighbours tried to protest about the live music belting out from their council house in Tottenham.
Chris was a solid, agile bass player with a fondness for dub and avant-rock, but much more - he had great curiosity, loved investigating new sounds and technologies and was always out for adventure. When we dived into Electronics he was the first bass player of that era to use a Minimoog synthesiser and he also contributed sonic ideas from his innovative use of an early EMS synthi.  
You could always rely on him to diffuse a difficult situation with humour and was one of the very few completely unmalicious people I’ve ever known. Later,  I realised Chris was the only one of us who might be judged properly sane - no surprise he became so central to the next phase of Ultravox.
Altogether a lovely intuitive man who made it great fun to share the daft adventures of being in a band when British Rock veered into another era. Everyone who knew him will have only good memories. The kind that make you smile.

[davidmjs]

Chris Sugden/Sid Kipper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Sugden

[Nick Reg]

Chris Sugden/Sid Kipper

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Sugden

I did see The Kipper Family but looking at when they split it must have been quite a while ago. RIP Sid.

[PJayBe]

CJ Snare, lead singer of great melodic rockers Firehouse, has passed away at the age of 64 after unspecified surgery.

[wayne stote]

CJ Snare, lead singer of great melodic rockers Firehouse, has passed away at the age of 64 after unspecified surgery.

That's very sad. He was a fine singer.

I remember being surprised at how successful Firehouse were, given how late to the table they arrived. Probably the last glam/hair band to have decent sales.

[davidmjs]

Dickey Betts of the Allmans

[John From Austin]

Dickey Betts of the Allmans

Very sad about this. There's no question that he was the single biggest influence on me as an amateur guitarist. For some reason, I was able to emulate his playing better than that of my other guitar heroes; put simply, I can often figure out what he's playing. I have internalized some of his solos and can summon them at the drop of a hat.

I saw the Allmans with Dickey Betts on August 2, 1989, August 29, 1993, October 31, 1995, October 2, 1997, and July 25, 1999. I confess I left the 1999 show early because Dickey's endless solos had become repetitive. I saw them again on September 27, 2002 without him; his absence was keenly felt and I did not see another Allmans show after that. R.I.P. Dickey, it turns out you were irreplaceable.

[bassline (Mike)]

Farewell to you Dickey.  

I will raise a glass of bourbon while I listen to Jessica.

(There's only Jaimoe left of the original band. Damn.)