In Memoriam: February 2025 – March 2026

The BRIT Awards extend their profound condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of the many exceptional artists and industry executives who have been lost to the music community these past 12 months. We join with others in paying tribute to their talent, as we acknowledge remarkable lives lived and celebrate legacies to be cherished and to be enjoyed by future generations.

The BRITs are appreciative of the many online, media and other sources that make it possible to research and collate this data. We take care to get details as correct as we can, but in the event of any unintended inaccuracies or omissions, we apologise and welcome any feedback so that we can update this tribute page accordingly.

January 2025

Chad Morgan
11 Feb 1933 – 1 Jan 2025
Australian country and western singer and musician, known for his signature style of vaudeville delivery.

Nora Orlandi
28 Jun 1933 – 1 Jan 2025
Italian musician, composer, and soprano, who worked with such major Italian artists as Lucio Battisti and Adriano Celentano. One of the leading women in Italian cinema composition, including Spaghetti Westerns, she was known for the Dies Irae piece that was performed in The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh, and which subsequently featured in Kill Bill: Volume 2. 

Leo Dan (Leopoldo Dante Tévez)
22 Mar 1942 – 1 Jan 2025
US-based Argentinian composer and singer, also popular in Mexico. In a long career, he recorded and released more 20 albums, recognised In 2012 with a Latin Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award. 

Wayne Osmond
28 Aug 1951 – 1 Jan 2025
At their peak of their Seventies popularity, the all-family Osmonds group were rarely out of the charts or off our screens. Vocalist and musician Wayne was the second-eldest of the original Osmond Brothers line-up, which began as a barbershop quartet and found fame through the Andy Williams TV show.  Propelled by the teen appeal of younger brother Donny, they became hugely popular internationally and in the UK, where they enjoyed No.1 success with Love Me For A Reason, and had hits such as Crazy Horses and The Proud One.  

Russ North
22 Jul 1965 – 1 Jan 2025
English rock vocalist, who grew up in North Wales, and is most known for his association with the metal band Cloven Hoof across different spells. He had previously co-founded his own band, Monza, and also appeared with another Welsh band, Tredegar. 

Ferdi Tayfur
15 Nov 1945 – 2 Jan 2025
Turkish vocalist and songwriter, specializing in Arabesque music, who was also very active in film as an actor, director and screenwriter. He recorded more than 30 albums, including on his own Ferdifon Records, earning nine gold certifications in his home country.

Brenton Wood (Alfred Jesse Smith)
26 Jul 1941 – 3 Jan 2025
US singer and songwriter, who enjoyed a string of hits in the Billboard charts in the last Sixties with songs such as The Oogum Boogum Song, the million-seller Gimme Little Sign, which reached No.8 in the UK, and Baby You Got It. He also worked with various artists, including Al McKay of Earth, Wind and Fire.

Ed Askew
1 Dec 1940 – 4 Jan 2025
US painter artist, who was also a singer-songwriter starting out in the New York scene of the late Sixties. Career highlights included a collaboration with Sharon Van Etten for his 2013 LP For the World.

Blaine "Beej" Chaney
30 Apr 1957 – 5 Jan 2025
American punk singer and musician, most known as the guitarist of the Minneapolis New Wave outfit, The Suburbs over a four-decade period. He additionally contributed through his LA Shangri-La recording studio.

Renuaras "Erkė" Krivelis
1974 – 5 Jan 2025
Lithuanian musician with the group Erkė Maiše.

Fredrik Lindgren
1 Feb 1971 – 5 Jan 2025
Swedish musician and songwriter, who contributed guitar and lyrics to various rock bands he performed with, such as death metal band Unleashed, of which he was a co-founding member and played on their four studio albums, and also Celestial Pain, Loud Pipes, Terra Firma, and Atlantic Tide, among others.

Hope Foye (Frances Wainwright)
2 Sep, 1921 – 6 Jan 2025
US folk singer who performed with artists ranging from Paul Robeson and Pete Seeger, and who also had a strong association with the band The Weavers. She featured in Dance Me A Song, the first musical by Bob Fosse, and was a regular performer in Mexico and in Europe.

Stella Greka (Styliani Lagada)
1 Apr 1922 – 6 Jan 2025
Greek actress, but who sang also. Emerging around the time of the Second World War, she recorded a number of songs popular in her home country, such as Let's Go into the Unknown, and Marina's Song, and also sang in some of her film roles, such as in Marina. 

Ayla Erduran 
22 Aug 1934 – 7 Jan 2025
Turkish classical violinist, who toured widely, including with the Presidential Symphony Orchestra in the Middle East. She taught the violin in  Switzerland, from 1973 to 1990.

Ragne Wahlquist
1955 – c. 7 Jan 2025
Swedish musician and frontman vocalist who, with his brother Styrbjörn and others formed the metal band Heavy Load. In 1978, they released their debut LP Full Speed at High Level, and continued recording until they switched their focus on developing Thunderload Studios. In 2018 the band reunited, releasing their fourth album, Riders of the Ancient Storm. 

Perry Montague-Mason
1957 – 9 Jan 2025
English violinist and orchestra leader. He especially worked prolifically on film scores with Hans Zimmer and Debbie Wiseman, among others, , and his legacy includes Gladiator, Highlander, Mission Impossible, with his final session being for Gladiator II. 

Otto Schenk
1931 – 9 Jan 2025 
Renowned Austrian production and stage designer, who worked with the Vienna State Opera and New York’s Metropolitan Opera House, among other venues. His signature work included his Met staging of Wagner's Ring cycle (1986-2009) and his Die Fledermaus at the Vienna State Opera (1979). He was also an actor and theatre director, including as head of drama for the Salzburg Festival.

Sam Moore
12 Oct 1935 – 10 Jan 2025
R&B and soul vocalist, who was known for his tenor voice and was part of the Sam & Dave duo who enjoyed considerable success across the Sixties and Eighties. Known for their live performances and for inspiring a generation of artists, their biggest success came with their 1967 cover of Hayes and Porter’s, Soul Man, which memorably featured in The Blues Brothers. The duo’s achievements saw them inducted in the Rock and Roll and Grammy Halls of Fame. In 2006, Moore also received a MOBO award for lifetime achievement.

Mark Izu
30 Sep 1954 – 12 Jan 2025
US jazz artist, musician and composer of Japanese heritage, who helped to forge an Asian American jazz style, including as long-time curator of the Asian Jazz Festival. His compositions included orchestral work as well as for film and theatre and dance. 

Michael Börgerding
1961 – 12 Jan 2025
German venue executive, who was largely known as General Director of Theatre Bremen. Regarded as a forward-thinking leader of was a passionate advocate of the contemporary arts. 

Buck White
1930 – 13 Jan 2025
American country music singer and musician, who was part of and father of the members of the family trio, The Whites, which formed in the early 1970s. They recorded multiple albums and achieves success in the country music scene, including with a range of artists, such as bluegrass musician Ricky Skaggs.

Elgar Howarth
1936 – 13 Jan 2025
English conductor, composer, and trumpeter, and a key member of the New Music Manchester Group. Celebrated for his versatility, from avant-garde opera conducting to pioneering brass band compositions, he left an important legacy in brass bands, contemporary opera, and modern classical music. Among his many highlights was conducting the world premieres of operas by Ligeti and Birtwistle, and he served as Principal Guest Conductor for Opera North. On trumpet, he also played with the Royal Opera House Orchestra, and his trumpet play can also be heard on The Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour.

P. Fluid (Peter Forrest)
1960 – c. 13 Jan 2025
American singer, who enjoyed some success in the 1980s, including as singer for the rock band 24-7 Spyz.

Gene Horner
1933 – 14 Jan 2025
American luthier who was a key figure in the Tennessee bluegrass and folk music scene, and a maker and repairer of the fiddle, banjos and of mandolins.

Melba Montgomery
14 Oct 1938 – 15 Jan 2025
American country singer known for her performances with Gene Pitney and with George Jones, among other artists.

Fred Noonan
13 Jun 1941 – 15 Jan 2025
American venue executive who was Associate Director of Programming for New York’s Lincoln Center in the 1980s and 1990s, and who was known for his deep passion for classical music. Among his achievements, he translated memoirs by Beethoven's biographers, Wegeler and Ries.

Linda Nolan
23 Feb 1959 – 15 Jan 2025
Irish singer, who went on to act and become a TV personality. She will mainly be remembered as a member of the all-sister vocal group, The Nolans, who became hugely popular in the late Seventies and early Eighties, landing seven UK top 20 hits, including the disco favourite, I’m in the Mood for Dancing. Linda developed a successful solo career in the 1980s, and also went into theatre and TV, finding a new audience on shows such as Big Brother and Loose Women.

David Lynch
20 Jan 1946 – 16 Jan 2025
American known largely for his iconic films and TV work, including Wild at Heart and Twin Peaks, and music, and whose creative output blended the visual and musical to powerful effect, seen in such work as Blue Velvet.  As a musician, he released the studio albums BlueBOB, and Crazy Clown Time, and The Big Dream, while he notably also directed a number of music videos, for artists ranging from Moby to Nine Inch Nails.

Toby Myers
26 Sep 1949 – 16 Jan 2025
American musician, who performed on bass for John Mellencamp and the rock group Roadmaster, and worked with other artists also.

Bob Perkins
6 Dec 2025 – 19 Jan 2025
US DJ artist, known for his passion for jazz and wider eclectic influences.

Bob Kuban
19 Aug 1940 – 20 Jan 2025
US musician, drummer, and bandleader, who, inspired by the sounds of Ike and Tina Turner, started out with his own band, Bob Kuban and The In-Men.  He went on to release the top-20 1966 hit The Cheater and enjoyed success with other singles, both in the US and Canada.

Garth Hudson CM
2 Aug 1937 – 21 Jan 2025
Canadian musician and multi-instrumentalist, most regarded as the keyboardist and occasional sax player for the legendary rock group, The Band. Hudson was credited as a key influence in shaping their signature sound and style, and was himself hailed as “the most brilliant organist in the rock world”. The band’s achievements, backed by their fervent fandom, saw them inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Hudson’s talents were such that other artists, including the likes of Sir Elton John, Van Morrison, and Leonard Cohen engaged his services for their recordings.  

Barry Michael Cooper
12 Jun 1958 – 21 Jan 2025
US music critic and writer who later turned to films. Known for his passion for late-Eighties R&B sub-genre New Jack Swing.

Rich Hall
1976 – 21 Jan 2025
American live music industry promoter and booker, who in particular worked in the independent scene and with rock and metal bands.

Paddy Cole
17 Dec 1939 – 22 Jan 2025
Prolific Irish band leader, vocalist and musician, who, in a career spanning seven decades, was largely associated with the era of showbands, including through his act the Paddy Cole Band, later renamed the Paddy Cole Superstars. He influenced other artists in promoting Irish music at home and in the US.  

Barry Goldberg 
25 Dec 1941 – 22 Jan 2025
US blues and rock keyboardist, who was also regarded as a songwriter, and record producer. His talent saw him produce for and work with numerous celebrated artists, including Bob Dylan, Percy Sledge, Stephen Stills, Steve Miller, and Leonard Cohen. His songs, some co-written with Gerry Goffin, have been recorded by many artists, ranging from Gladys Knight, and Rod Stewart, to Joe Cocker, and B.J. Thomas.

Gabriel Yacoub 
4 Feb 1952 – 22 Jan 2025
French musician and artist, and a reviver of traditional music, who was also a lead member of Celtic style Seventies group, Malicorneas. He later also played and recorded solo music, including to his own lyrics.

Edweena Banger (Eddie Garrity)
N/a – c. 24 Jan 2025 
English front-person and vocalist, who was described by Louder Than War as “a core member of the Manchester music scene”.  Edweena was involved with punk acts The Nosebleeds, and Slaughter & The Dogs, performing and singing on the band’s 1980 album, Bite Back.

Unk (Anthony Platt)
28 Nov 1981 – 24 Jan 2025
American Hip-Hop DJ and “hype-man” backing vocalist, known mainly to fans for his 2006 hit Walk It Out, which reached the top-10 in the Billboard Hot 100. He also recorded the albums Beat‘n Down Your Block and 2econd Season, releasing a number of tracks off of these to more modest success. 

Gary Grier
N/a – 26 Jan 2025
American vocalist, who, in a career that saw him work with various artists, was at one point in the line up of the R&B vocal group, The Contours. The act recorded for Motown, among other labels, and are best known for their 1962 hit Do You Love Me, which was a million-seller first-time around, and charted again in 1988.

Kazuyoshi Akiyama
1941 – 26 Jan 2025
Acclaimed Japanese conductor, who served as Conductor Laureate for the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and also worked with other leading orchestras in Vancouver and Syracuse. He was admired as an advocate of contemporary music, and was passionate about mentoring young musicians.

Walter Samuel
N/a – c. Jan 2025
English record engineer and music producer, who, from the early Seventies, worked extensively with various artists, including Van Morrison, Talk Talk, Heaven 17, Tom Jones, U2, and Tina Turner. He began his career at Nova Sound, and worked also at CBS Whitfield Street and Utopia, among other studios.  One of his first projects was mixing the No.1 song by Guys and Dolls, A Whole Lot of Loving. He also remixed one of the biggest selling singles of the Eighties, Jennifer Rush's The Power of Love.

John Sykes
29 Jul 1959 – Jan 2025
British rock musician, who in the Eighties played guitar with bands including Whitesnake – recording the multi-platinum 1987 album with them, Thin Lizzy, and Tygers of Pan Tang, before he formed his own band, Blue Murder. In 2004, he made Guitar World’s list of 100 Greatest Heavy Metal Guitarists of All Time.

Bruce Howe
1948 – 29 Jan 2025
Australian musician, who played lead guitar and performed vocals with Seventies prog rock band, Fraternity, which also included Bon Scott before he eventually moved on to AC/DC.  The band’s biggest initial hit was a cover of Seasons of Change, and its members went onto become mainstays of the Australian rock scene. The band had the number 1 singles Seasons of Change and If You Got It in their home country.

Thabang Tabane
26 Feb 1979 – 29 Jan 2025
South African percussionist and drummer, who took on the ‘Malombo sound’ mantle pioneered by his father, Dr. Philip Tabane.

Marianne Faithfull
29 Dec 1946 – 30 Jan 2025
English singer and actor, who had a meteoric rise in the 1960s, variously described as a “muse”, thanks in part to her association with the Rolling Stones and a highly publicised relationship with Mick Jagger, as well as a hugely successful self-titled debut LP and the single As Tears Go By, as well as a starring role in the cult film, The Girl on a Motorcycle, although the celebrity that accompanied her popularity was to have a damaging effect on her life at the time.  She made a successful return in the late Seventies with the acclaimed, career-defining album, Broken English, earning a Grammy nomination, and then with subsequent recordings in the 1980s, which helped to introduce her to a new audience.  In the Nineties, Faithfull embraced biographical writing, successfully publishing three volumes of her memoirs, including her last work in 2014, Marianne Faithfull: A Life on Record (2014). By now, her importance and influence as an artist was more fully recognised, and, among numerous accolades, in 2011 she was made a Commandeur of the Ordre des Artes et des Lettres by the French government.

Ben Vaughn
1976 – 30 Jan 2025
American music executive, who was President and CEO of Warner Chappell Nashville. Chappell Music Co-Chairs Guy Moot and Carianne Marshall said: “….Ben was an extraordinary human being. He met everyone with enthusiasm, warmth, and generosity. His smile was huge, and his sense of humor was infectious. He was always a passionate advocate of songwriters and a topflight music publisher. The Nashville community has lost one of its greatest champions, and he will be profoundly missed by so many across our company and the entire industry.”

Susan Alcorn
4 Apr 1953 – 31 Jan 2025
American pedal guitarist, whose work spanned country to the experimental.

Vladimír Válek
1936 – c. Jan 2025
Czech musician, long-time conductor of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra (PRSO). Válek led the PRSO from 1985 to 2011 and also conducted the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

Peter Voight
c. 1943 – c. Jan 2025
English luthier, representing the ninth generation in the Voigt family business of violin making and restoration, which was begun in 1699 by Adam Voigt in Germany. Voight inspired with a near seven-decade career.

Ilan Rogoff
1944 – c. Jan 2025
Israeli pianist, a versatile artist known for his romantic interpretations, conducting, and transcriptions, including works by Piazzolla. He was highly regarded for his reputation of blending Eastern European and Germanic styles of classical music.

Andrew S. Grossman
1945 – c. Jan 2025
American music executive who served as SVP and tour producer at Columbia Artists Management. Among the iconic artists he represented were Deana Martin, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Vladimir Horowitz, Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Seiji Ozawa, Mstislav Rostropovich, and José Carreras, as well as the ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev. 

Bill Holland
1946 – c. Jan 2025
UK music industry executive, best known as the longtime MD of Universal Classics & Jazz (later rebranded as Decca), where he played a pivotal role in shaping the classical crossover market. During his career, Holland worked with superstar classical artists such as Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli, as well as Jamie Cullum, Katherine Jenkins, and Russell Watson, and helped drive landmark successes including the Three Tenors’ chart-topping album in 1994.  Before Universal, he held senior roles at Deutsche Grammophon and founded Warner Classics in 1990. After retiring from Universal in 2006, he continued as a consultant, later returning to Warner Classics as an A&R consultant in 2009, using his decades-long industry network to discover and develop talent. Widely admired for his imagination, risk-taking, and strong instinct for pairing artists with repertoire, Holland was remembered by colleagues as a visionary leader.

Michel Poulet
N/a – c. Jan 2025
French cellist, known mainly for his decade-long tenure with the Ysaÿe Quartet in the late Eighties and 1990s. Among his highlights, he won first prizes in cello and chamber music at the Paris Conservatoire. 

Herbert Henck
1949 – c. Jan 2025
German pianist and renowned specialist in 20th Century music. Known for his premiere performances and extensive 50-plus recordings of such composers as Stockhausen, Ligeti, and Cage, as well as his writings on contemporary music. 

John Topham
N/a – c. Jan 2025
English luthier who was sought after by music establishments, museums, auctioneers and dealerships for his expertise with stringed instruments and for his dendrochronological examinations.

February 2025

Peter Schmidl
1941 – 1 Feb 2025
Renowned Austrian clarinettist, who was a principal at the Vienna Philharmonic, where he worked with Leonard Bernstein, and Vienna State Opera orchestras. He was additionally an educator and as faculty member at such institutions as the Pacific Music Festival.

Sal Maida
29 Jul 1948 – 1 Feb 2025
American-Italian musician, who pursued a varied career in music, but is known mainly for playing bass guitar with numerous bands, including The Ouija, and Milk ‘n’ Cookies, and also for working with Roxy Music and with Sparks, among others.

Big S (Barbie Hsu) 
6 Oct 1976 – 2 Feb 2025
Taiwanese artist, who was mainly known for her acting and TV work, appearing on such shows as Meteor Garden, but who was a singer also. She and her sister Dee formed the pop duo S.O.S. (Sisters of Shu), and enjoyed success with their debut album and then in 1995 the hit song, Ten-Minute Love.

Ralph Krahmer
23 Sep 1966 – 3 Feb 2025
German double-bass luthier. Together with his brother Michael, they represented the fourth generation of E.M. Pöllmann bass makers in Mittenwald and learnt their craft from their father, Günter Krahmer-Pöllmann.

Matias de Oliveira Pinto
1961 – 4 Feb 2025
Distinguished Brazilian cellist and educator, who left his mark at the universities in both Münster and Berlin. 

Mike Ratledge 
6 May 1943 – 5 Feb 2025
English musician, who drew on psychedelic music and jazz-rock, and came out of the “Canterbury Scene”.  He was a founding member of Seventies band Soft Machine, along with Robert Wyatt. In November 1973, he took part in the live BBC performance of Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. Ratledge went on to become an active producer of music for TV commercials and in theatre. A landmark moment arrived in 1995, when, with Karl Jenkins and Miriam Stockley, Ratledge co-produced and recorded the acclaimed album, Songs of Sanctuary.

Dave Jerden 
25 Jul 1949 – 5 Feb 2025
US record producer, sound engineer and mixer, who worked with major artists in the 1980s and 1990s in particular, including Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Jane’s Addiction, and The Offspring, among others, as well as parody act, Spinal Tap.  In a distinguished career, he also worked with such greats as The Rolling Stones and Talking Heads in helping to engineer their studio recordings. 

Irv Gotti (Irving Lorenzo Jr.)
26 Jun 1970 – 5 Feb 2025
US music executive and record producer, who co-founded with his brother Chris, the influential rap and Hip-Hop label, Murder Inc. Records.  Gotti is known for his role in helping to discover and promote artists such as Ja Rule, DMX, Jay-Z, Ashanti, and Jennifer Lopez.  Among his many other achievements, he was also the creator of the BET series Tales.

Naâman (Martin Mussard)
25 Feb 1990 – 7 Feb 2025
French musician and songwriter, who embraced reggae and other influences. His first mixtape, Deep Rockers, was well received, and in 2012 he travelled to Jamaica to study rasta culture. On his return to France he released the first of four albums, Deep Rockers, Back A Yard. His 2015 sophomore LP, Rays of Resistance, took him on a world tour covering the Middle East, India and Jamaica. With his friends in 2015, he organized a concert in aid of the Nepal earthquake victims. He campaigned to support migrant workers.

Horst Weidenmüller 
1964 – Feb 2025
German music industry executive, innovator and entrepreneur, who founded !K7 Music in 1985. Starting out in Eighties punk and as a producer of concert videos, he emerged as an influential figure in the Nineties Berlin techno scene. He was highly regarded by colleagues, and, among various roles, served on the board of trade bodies, IMPALA, where he was Co-President up to 2011, and the Merlin Network. Paying tribute, Helen Smith, Impala Executive Chair, said: "Horst had such a positive impact on all who knew him, the "Horst halo effect". We will miss him and will continue his work as he would have wanted. It was an honour to recognise his work with !K7 last year, just ahead of the fortieth anniversary of the iconic label, one of my personal favourites. Horst's contribution at IMPALA on the board and as founder of our sustainability task force four years ago is inspirational. He was instrumental in so many of our successes."

Dr. Maureen A. Carr
1940 – 11 Feb 2025
American music administrator who, among many achievements, was the Founding Director of the Penn State School of Music.  She left a significant legacy as a renowned music theorist, and Stravinsky Scholar.

Terror Danjah (Rodney Pryce)
N/a – c. Feb 2025
Considered a legendary British grime producer, who developed the genre in the early Noughties to become one of its champions. He started with the N.A.S.T.Y. Crew, producing beats for such MCs as D Double E, Kano, and Ghetts, while his work with soul singers like Shola Ama and Shaznay Lewis helped bring the genre to the mainstream. He also collaborated with acts including Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, FourTet, and Tinie Tempah.

Tommy Hunt 
18 Jun 1933 – 12 Feb 2025
US soul vocalist, and a Northern Soul favourite in the 1950s and 1960s, who was also part of the celebrated R&B group the Flamingos, which in 1959 recorded a popular cover of I Only Have Eyes For You.  Hunt was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, along with the other Flamingos members.

Chelsea Reject
8 Apr 2003 – 13 Feb 2025
American rapper who was particularly active in New York’s underground scene.

Jamie Muir
4 Jul 1945 – 17 Feb 2025
Regarded also for his paintings, Scottish artist most known to music fans for his brief early 70s stint as the drummer with prog rock band King Crimson, and for later solo collaborations with artists such as Derek Bailey and Evan Parker.    

Paquita la del Barrio (Francisca Barradas)
2 Apr 1947 – 17 Feb 2025
Grammy-nominated Mexican vocalist and an exponent of traditional songs. Popular with female audiences in particular, she was regarded as an empowering figure for women in a male-dominated industry, and in 2021 was honoured with a Latin Music Lifetime Achievement Award by Billboard.

Rick Buckler
6 Dec 1955 – 17 Feb 2025
British musician, most known to music fans as the drummer of the iconic new wave group, The Jam, which notably also featured Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton. Buckler appeared on the band’s six albums, including the 1977 debut, In The City, and their most successful release, Sound Effects. Following the band’s split, in 1983, he briefly reunited with Foxton, and with Jimmy Edwards formed Sharp, before also becoming involved in studio production. After a decade-long hiatus from music, in the 2000s Buckler returned with new band, the Gift, which focused on Jam material, and in 2007, with Foxton on bass, began touring under the name of From the Jam. Buckler quit in September 2009, and remained out of music from that time.

"Snowy" Fleet (Gordon Henry) 
16 Aug 1939 – 18 Feb 2025
Liverpool-born drummer, who performed with various bands at the time The Beatles were making their way, including with the Nomads, before he emigrated to Australia. Developing his career there, he found success with The Easybeats, whose move to the UK saw them land a top-10 hit with Friday On My Mind, now a Sixties classic. With the group, Fleet was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2005.

Daniel Lipton
1940 – 18 Feb 2025
French-born US conductor, known for leading the Orquestra Sinfonica de Colombia and other orchestras.

Karl Cochran
1965 – 19 Feb 2025
American guitarist, bassist, songwriter, and producer, who recorded and toured with numerous stand-out rock musicians, such as Joe Lynn Turner, Corky Lang, Felix Pappalardi, and Brian May, as well as jazz great Ricky Sebastian. He had a particularly productive collaboration with KISS’s Ace Frehley and Eric Singer.

Jerry Butler 
8 Dec 1939 – 20 Feb 2025
US soul singer and songwriter, musician, and producer, who went on to pursue a career in politics. Butler began as the original lead vocalist of R&B group, the Impressions, with whom he was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and then the R&B National Hall of Fame as a solo artist. Individually, he worked with artists such as Curtis Mayfield, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and Otis Redding, and he notched up 55 hits on the Billboard charts, with songs including He Will Break Your Heart, and Let It Be Me. 

Gwen McCrae (née Mosley)
21 Dec 1943 – 21 Feb 2025
US vocalist who will be remembered for her Seventies international smash Rockin’ Chair, among other hits.  Known for her breadth of singing styles, encompassing soul, funk, disco, and gospel, she earned the epithet “Queen of Rare Groove”, and was sampled by later artists, including Avicii and Lady Gaga.

Fred “Bekky” Beekmans
1944 – 21 Feb 2025
Belgian guitarist and vocalist, who was a founding member of the rock band The Pebbles, who were active in the Sixties and Seventies, and were popular across the Benelux countries, as well as France and Spain.

Voletta Wallace
c. 3 Feb 1953 – 21 Feb 2025
Jamaican-born American, who was the mother of Christopher Wallace, AKA The Notorious B.I.G. She pursued a career in education, and founded the Christopher Wallace Memorial Foundation. 

Gerry Arling
1962 – 21 Feb 2025
Dutch artist, part of the electronic duo Arling & Cameron. They were known for their signature Seventies kitsch sound that drew from a breadth of influences, ranging from French pop to traditional Japanese. With the group Pizzicato Five they co-wrote the popular song, Arigato, We Love You.

Khalil Fong
14 Jul 1983 – 21 Feb 2025
Hong Kong–based US vocalist and songwriter, and recorded producer, whose legacy includes his success in helping to popularise soul and R&B into the Chinese recorded music market.

Bill Fay 
9 Sep 1943 – 22 Feb 2025
British folk singer, songwriter and musician, who was largely active in the 1970s, but started enjoying a growing appreciation with a dedicated fanbase during the 1990s, which saw his older works reissued.  Fay’s last work was his LP Countless Branches, which was released in 2020.

Ken Parker (Kenneth Farquharson)
23 Feb 1948 – 22 Feb 2025
Jamaican musician most active in the 1960s, including through his band the Blues Benders, with their debut release Honeymoon by the Sea. His popularity grew as a solo artist, however, and he found himself working with leading producers, including Bunny Lee and Lloyd Chalmers. He gradually left the industry, but always enjoyed a dedicated following, and in 2014 performed a sold-out show at London’s International Ska and Reggae Festival.

Chris Jasper
30 Dec 1951 – 23 Feb 2025
US singer, composer, producer, and musician best known for his work with The Isley Brothers. His signature keyboard and Moog synthesizer work helped shape their 1970s–80s sound. Following the breakup of the Isley lineup, Jasper led Isley-Jasper-Isley, writing and singing their hit Caravan of Love. He later built a solo career, releasing over 17 albums, including gospel recordings, on his own label, Gold City Records, while also producing for other artists. Jasper with the Isley Brothers was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (1992), honoured with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2014), and inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (2022). He continued recording, producing, and performing throughout his life.

Jacques De Jongh
n/a – 23 Feb 2025
Australian musician, who performed with a number of bands in the 1970s and 1980s, including Hush, and Redhouse.

Roberta Flack
10 Feb 1937 – 24 Feb 2025
American soul and R&B vocalist, musician and songwriter, whose legacy includes some of the most beautiful songs ever recorded, not least her seventies classics The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face – the biggest hit of 1972, spending six weeks at the top of the Billboard chart and selling more than a million copies, and the No.1 Killing Me Softly With His Song. Both songs were massive global successes, with the latter enjoying another surge in global popularity after The Fugees covered it in 1996, reaching No.1 in 20 countries. The impact of both recordings saw Flack achieve the unique feat at the time of winning the Grammy Award for Record of the Year two years consecutively, in 1973 and 1974.  Flack collaborated with many of the industry’s’ fellow greats, from Burt Bacharach to Michael Jackson, and in 2020 was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Grammys, one of five she received in total.  In 2021, she was also one of the first inductees into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Robert John
3 Jan 1946 – 24 Feb 2025
US vocalist and songwriter, who will be most remembered by fans for his late Seventies hit song, Sad Eyes, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1979. He also achieved a million-selling hit with a cover of The Token’s The Lion Sleeps Tonight, and among his songwriting credits, he penned the track, I Can't Move No Mountains for the rock group Blood, Sweat and Tears. 

Henry Kelly
17 Apr 1946 – 25 Feb 2025
Irish broadcaster and entertainer on TV and radio, who was also a journalist and actor. He is most known to music fans as one of the inaugural presenters on Classic FM, which first aired in 1992. 

Phil Tripp
c. 1950 – Feb 2025
US-born industry figure, writer, and passionate advocate of new technologies, who shaped the Australian music business as it entered the digital era in the 1990s. For two decades he organised the popular Austral-Asian Music Business Conference, among his credits, and through his company Immedia! published the Austral-Asian Music Industry Directory for nearly a quarter of a century. He founded TheMusic.com.au and was the SXSW representative for the global region covering Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii.

Coburn Pharr
1963 – 25 Feb 2025
US musician, who was in the line up of various rock and metal bands, including the LA 1980s act, Omen.

James Lockhart
16 Oct 1930 – 26 Feb 2025
Scottish conductor, recognised as the first British conductor to hold a General Music Director (GMD) post in Germany, leaving an important legacy in both German and British opera, notably with the Welsh National Opera (1968 – 1972). Lockhart also held a leadership position at the Royal College of Music.

David Johansen
9 Jan 1950 – 28 Feb 2025
Versatile American artist and musician, who was a vocalist and songwriter, but who acted also, including in the Christmas movie Scrooged.  He was most known as the lead singer of the influential Seventies punk band, the New York Dolls, and he also gained a reputation for his live stage performances, captured in his live solo albums. Also performing under the alias of Buster Pointdexter, he appeared in the Saturday Night Live house band; wrote songs for films, such as The Aviator; and gave expression to his love of blues and rock through his band The Harry Smiths, and later the Staten Island Compass Project. In 2023 his life was celebrated by a Martin Scorsese/David Tedeschi documentary, Personality Crisis, One Night Only.

Rosa Fain
1929 – c. Feb 2025
Ukrainian violinist who won multiple competitions, and in 1979 she began teaching at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf. In addition to her role as a soloist at the Kyiv Philharmonic, she also taught masterclasses internationally. Through her career, she served as a jury member for the Joseph Joachim Violin Competition, the International Leopold Mozart Competition, and the ARD Competition.

Marta Kushnirskaya
1934 – c. Feb 2025
Russian violinist who was a highly acclaimed soloist and long-time member of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra and its all-female Violin Ensemble.

Diane Thome
1942 – c. Feb 2025
American composer and ground-breaking student – the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in music from Princeton University. She spent time at the University of Washing School of Music and then with University of Sussex. Thome's compositions have been performed across the world.

Robert Mozes
N/a – c. Feb 2025
Romanian-born Israeli violinist and viola player, who composed and arranged also. Mozes was a graduate of the Cluj Academy of Music, and later moved to Israel in 1977, where he studied at the Tel Aviv Rubin Academy of Music.

Massimo Paris
1953 – c. Feb 2025
Italian musician who was principal violist of I Musici di Roma for over four decades, and a founding member of the Stradivari Quartet. Paris also composed and a number of his works were recorded — notably the Christmas Suite, which appeared on Deutsche Grammophon. 

Paul Plishka
28 Aug 1941 – c. Feb 2025
American operatic bass vocalist best known for his five-decades and 1,672 performances at the Metropolitan Opera (Met) across 88 roles. Plishka, a Met favourite following his 1967 debut, was renowned for his rich voice and versatility, starring in such roles as Boris Godunov and Falstaff.

Constance “Connie” Moore
N/a – c. Feb 2025
American musician who was a pianist and was most known as a long-time faculty member of the renowned Juilliard School.

Betsy Arakawa
1960 – c. Feb 2025
American pianist, who was also the wife of Hollywood actor Gene Hackman.

Mizuki Itagaki
25 Oct 2000 – c. Feb 2025
Japanese vocalist and actor, who between 2014 and 2020 appeared in the line up of the boy-band M!lk. 

March 2025

Joey Molland
21 Jun 1947 – 1 Mar 2025
British rock musician and songwriter, who played guitar with a number of bands and artists across a five-decade career, most notably Badfinger, but also with Gary Walker, George Harrison, including on his albums All Things Music Pass and The Concert For Bangladesh, John Lennon, and Peter Frampton.

Angie Stone (née Brown)
18 Dec 1961 – 1 Mar 2025
US R&B, soul and Hip-Hop vocalist, songwriter, and producer, who acted also. She came to prominence as part of the Seventies Hip-Hop trio, The Sequence, before joining R&B group Vertical Hold in the 1990s, and then going solo to really launch her career, including the acclaimed debut solo LP, Black Diamond, and the single, No More Rain (In This Cloud). The sophomore Mahogany Soul followed, which included one of her biggest hits, Wish I Didn’t Miss You, followed by the albums Stone Love and The Art of Love and War, which gave her a first Billboard No.1. By the Noughties, Stone was acting on stage and screen, notably starring in the Broadway production of Chicago.  Grammy nominated, Stone was also honoured with Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards, and in 2021 received the Soul Music Icon Award at the Black Music Honors.

Frank Maher
7 Mar 1934 – 2 Mar 2025
Canadian musician, highly regarded for his playing of the buttonbox instrument.  He was known for his solo play as well as for his contribution to various acts, including as leader of the band Maher's Bahers. 

Ahmet Akbayram
29 Dec 1950 – 2 Mar 2025
Turkish musician and composer, who overcame childhood polio to become a prominent artist in his country’s traditional music.  Active in the 1970s, including with the single Kara Kuzu, he went on to achieve significant sales, going gold with Aldırma Gönül, among other hits. He found a new audience in the 1990s to cement his popularity.

Christof Huebner
1964 – 2 Mar 2025
Austrian-born, US-based violinist, who had been long-standing member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and prior to this has performed with the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic.

Herb Greene 
3 Apr 1942 – 3 Mar 2025
Regarded US photographer, whose work with record labels in the 1960s and 1970s helped to chronicle San Francisco's counter-culture movement, capturing many of rock’s leading figures, including Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead Led Zeppelin, and Carlos Santana, among others.  

Carl Dean
c. 1943 – 3 Mar 2025
American entrepreneur, who was married to Dolly Parton for nearly 60 years, and was said by Dolly to have been the inspiration behind her classic hit Jolene, as well as a constant support to her in her work.

Jonathan Morshead
17 Nov 1942 – 3 Mar 2025
Highly regarded English Blues guitarist, especially with other musicians, such as Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin, who first made his mark in the 1960s with the influential group, Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation. In the early Seventies he co-formed the band Heavy Jelly, but, preferring a more reclusive life, he withdrew from music to pursue other interests and a new life in Africa.  

Geraint Jarman 
17 Aug 1950 – 3 Mar 2025
Welsh artist, who made his mark as a musician and poet, as well as a TV producer. One of the influences behind Welsh new wave, he recorded both as a solo artist and also with his group, Geraint Jarman a'r Cynganeddwyr.

Bob Rupe
1957 – 3 Mar 2025
American rock musician, who performed in the line up of various Nineties bands, including Cracker, and The Silos.

Jeff Runnings
22 1963 – 3 Mar 2025
American alternative rock musician, who was most active in the Nineties and Noughties, and was part of the line up of the Nebraska band, For Against, among other acts.

Harry Elston
1939 – 4 Mar 2025
American artist, who was a founder member of the US singing group, The Friends of Distinction. They were most known for their Sixties RIAA-certified Gold hits, Grazing in the Grass, and Going in Circles, as well as the 1970 single, Love or Let Me Be Lonely, all three of which made the upper reaches of the Billboard Top-100.

Roy Ayers
10 Sep 1940 – 4 Mar 2025
US jazz musician, composer and record producer. Starting out in the 1960s and in the period termed post-bop, Roy Ayers recorded for Atlantic Records before moving to Polydor in the Seventies, and helping to usher in a golden era of jazz-funk, while he also pioneered the development of Acid Jazz – achievements that earned him the epithet Godfather of Neo Soul. He is perhaps best known for the song Everybody Loves the Sunshine, taken off the 1976 album of the same name, and which has become heavily sampled by rappers.   

Stephen Custer
18 Oct 1943 – 4 Mar 2024
American cellist known mostly for being a member of the LA Philharmonic for nearly four decades. A product of the Juilliard School, he performed in over 5,000 concerts, including under the direction of Zubin Mehta.

Randy Brown
1952 – 5 Mar 2025
American R&B vocalist, who started out in gospel, and then doo-wop, breaking through with the Stax-signed group The Newcomers. Enjoying success with the 1971 hit, Pin The Tail On The Donkey, Brown left to develop a solo career, recorded his debut single Did You Hear Yourself, also on Stax, continuing his career in the years that followed. 

Edesio Alejandro 
28 Mar 1958 – 5 Mar 2025
Cuban experimental musician, singer and composer, most notably of electronic and incidental music for film and TV.

DJ Funk (Charles Chambers)
20 Jun 1971 – 5 Mar 2025
US DJ and dance artist, regarded as a pioneer of ghetto style house music. Initially influential around Detroit, Chicago, and the Mid-West, his 1999 album Booty House Anthems sold more than a million copies to help bring national recognition. He later founded Funk Records, while his inclusion in the 1998 documentary Modulations, acknowledged his contribution in the development of US electronic music.

Troy Seals 
16 Nov 1938 – 6 Mar 2025
US country vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, who was part of the Seals family of musicians, including Jim Seals, of Seals and Crofts fame. Although released under his own name also, he was particularly successful as a songwriter, and his compositions have been recorded by such major artists as Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, and Joe Cocker. His many accomplishments saw him inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Brian James (Brian Robertson)
18 Feb 1955 – 6 Mar 2025
British musician and songwriter, who was in the line up of several Seventies punk bands before becoming a  founding member on and guitarist in The Damned.  James contributed much of the material for the band’s first two albums, Damned, Damned, Damned, including the iconic punk anthem, New Rose, and Music For Pleasure.  Later in his career, he performed with Lords of the New Church, before recording his own solo material on his New Rose label, and also worked with other artists. In October 2022, he reunited with his Damned bandmates to appear in a mini-tour of five live shows.

Danny “Sonny” Cox
18 Jul 1943 – 7 Mar 2025
US folk vocalist and singer-songwriter.  An influential artist, he was most known for his acclaimed 1974 album, Feel So Good – one of nine studio LP recordings he released, which spanned five decades between 1963 and 2012.

Alexandre Zapolski
1951 – 7 Mar 2025
Ukrainian violinist, concertmaster and teacher. A graduate of the Ukrainian National Academy of Music in Kyiv, where he studied with Olga Parkhomenko, herself a student of David Oisktrakh

D'Wayne Wiggins
14 Feb 1961 – 7 Mar 2025
US vocalist, guitarist, and producer, who will be most remembered as the founding member of Nineties group, Tony!, Tony!, Toné.  The R&B and soul act achieved five Billboard R&B number one hits, as well as two platinum albums and one double platinum album, in all selling more than six million albums.

Donald Hazelwood AO OBE
1 Mar 1930 – 8 Mar 2025
Australian considered the legendary Concertmaster for the Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) for over three decades, leaving a significant legacy in Australian music as a leader, educator, and performer. 

Bill Ashton OBE
6 Dec 1936 – 8 Mar 2025
English musician who specialised in saxophone, composer, and band leader, who was most known for helping to establish the National Youth Orchestra, of which he was Musical Director from the Sixties until his retirement in 2009, when was appointed Life President. Among his many honours, in 1995 he was presented with the BBC Radio 2 Jazz Award, and he was a Fellow of Leeds College of Music.

Beau Dozier
26 Nov 1979 – Mar 2025
US musician, songwriter, and record and TV producer, and the son of the acclaimed Motown songwriter, Lamont Dozier. He worked with artists across a range of genres, as diverse as Tupac Shakur and Backstreet Boys, and Cliff Richard and Pussycat Dolls. He was also highly regarded for developing young pop talent, including through his Beautown Entertainment Company, which in turn led to him becoming a producer on TV’s American Idol.

Stedman Pearson
29 Jun 1964 – 10 Mar 2025
British vocalist who rose to prominence in the 1980s as part of the all-family soul/pop group, Five Star. Drawing comparisons with the Jackson 5, their career reached a peak with the multi-Platinum sophomore album Silk & Steel, and overall they achieved 15 Top 40 singles in the Official UK Charts and four Top 20 albums, recognised in 1987 when voted Best Group at that year’s BRIT Awards.

Wheesung (Choi Whee-sung)
5 Feb 1982 – 10 Mar 2025
South Korean vocalist, who also produced, danced and performed in musical theatre. Starting out in the world of boy bands, in the Noughties he developed as a pop, R&B, and Hip-Hop solo artist and soon became one of his country’s biggest selling stars. Working with K-Pop platforms such as Orange Shock Agency, YMC Entertainment, and later Realslow Company, his profile continued to rise, both at home and internationally.

Bob Rivers 
7 Jul 1956 – 11 Mar 2025
American rock n roll broadcast personality and musician, who was also a songwriter and was particularly known for his Christmas parody compositions, including the RIAA Gold certified Twisted Christmas.

Cocoa Tea (Colvin Scott)
3 Sep 1959 – 11 Mar 2025
Jamaican reggae and dancehall artist, whose popularity spread well beyond his island homeland. He rose to prominence with the Eighties hits, Rocking Dolly, and I Lost My Sonia, and went from strength to strength. By the Nineties working with the likes of Shabba Ranks, other hits followed, included Young Lover, Holding On, and Rikers Island.  His success encouraged him to found his own label, Roaring Lion Records, releasing for Buju Banton and Sizzla, among others. In 2003, he initiated the popular New Year's Eve Dancehall Jam Jam.

Elizabeth Russo
1961 – 12 Mar 2025
American mezzo-soprano known for her operatic roles and teaching in New York, leaving a legacy as a soloist and mentor with notable performances in the US and UK, including Wagner’s Ring Cycle and Handel’s Messiah.

Peter Wabitt (Peter Allen)
c. 1960 – 12 Mar 2025
American rock musician, who featured in a number of bands, notably the glam metal act, Ampage, in the early 1980s, and later, the metal band, Witch.

Sofia Gubaidulina
24 Oct 1931 – 13 Mar 2025
Russian musician who was one of the first female composers to reach international acclaim. Regarded as a  leading figure in Soviet modernism, known for fusing Western and Eastern musical traditions with religious themes, often challenging authorities who initially banned her work. Notable works include her violin concerto Offertorium, which has been performed by major artists such as Rostropovich, and Simon Rattle.

Mark "Porkchop" Holder
1973 – 13 Mar 2025
American blues and rock guitarist, who at one points was part of the line up of the Nashville group, Black Diamond Heavies.

Yallunder (Yolanda Nyembezi) 
23 Aug 1994 – 13 Mar 2025
South African vocalist and songwriter, who performed in her native IsiXhosa language and was nominated for awards. In 2023, she founded her own label, Masani Music, and released her debut album, Kum.

Bruno Romani
9 Jan 1960 – c. 14 Mar 2025
Versatile Italian musician, who played sax and flute and composed and arranged also. Initially making his mark as one of the founders of the influential Eighties post-punk band, Detonazione, he went on to compose a number of acclaimed jazz albums, while also collaborating with music contemporaries.

Les Binks 
8 Aug 1951 – 15 Mar 2025
UK musician who hailed from Northern Ireland and was a rock drummer and percussionist. He was most known for drumming with the metal act Judas Priest for much of the 1970s.

Jesse Colin Young (Perry Miller) 
22 Nov 1941 – 16 Mar 2025
US vocalist and songwriter, who first made his mark as a founding member and lead singer of the Sixties act the Youngbloods, before developing a successful solo career in the 1970s and 1980s, releasing such hits as Song For Juli and various albums. A number of his songs were covered, including by Robert Plant, whose 2002 version of Darkness, Darkness earned a Grammy nomination.

Rob de Nijs
26 Dec 1942 – 16 Mar 2025
Dutch vocalist, who was also a successful actor. He rose to prominence in his homeland, in the 1970s, releasing a number of hit singles, including Malle Babbe and Zet een Kaars voor Je Raam.  His success touring and recording continued over a five-decade career.

Dandy Bestia (Fabio Testoni)
1953 – 16 Mar 2025
Italian musician, who formed part of the Seventies punk act, Skiantos. Together, they released nearly 20 studio, live, and compilation albums.

AnNa R. (Andrea Neuenhofen)
25 Dec 1969 – 16 Mar 2025
German vocalist and songwriter, who performed with the pop act, Gleis 8, and prior to this, during the 1990s and Noughties, with the Rosenstolz pop duo, enjoying chart hits in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Andrej DNK (Gjorgieski)
1982 – 16 Mar 2025
Macedonian rapper and vocalist, who formed part of the popular Hip-Hop duo, DNK.

Scott Nickrenz 
1938 – 17 Mar 2025
American violist and influential chamber music director, who directed the chamber program at the New England Conservatory, and who also held significant roles at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Spoleto Festival.

Rod Clark
1943 – 17 Mar 2025
English musician who is remembered as the bassist and vocalist with the Moody Blues, during a spell with the rock band in the mid-1960s.

Peter Farrelly
c. 1949 – 17 Mar 2025
UK musician, who made his name with the Northern Irish prog rock band, Fruupp in the 1970s. They were relatively popular, particularly on the student scene and as a supporting act, opening for such bands as Genesis, Queen, and King Crimson.

Aurelio Martínez 
26 Sep 1969 – 17 Mar 2025
Honduran singer and songwriter, known for his representation of Garifuna music. His album Laru Beya was acclaimed as among the best recordings of Latin American music.

Nadia Cassini
2 Jan 1949 – 18 Mar 2025
American-Italian actress and singer, who rose to prominence performing in the Italian ‘exploitation films’ of the 1970s and early 1980s.

Eddie Adcock 
21 Jun 1938 – 19 Mar 2025
US bluegrass musician, known for his banjo and guitar play. He performed in a number of line ups, including the Blue Grass Boys, and The Country Gentlemen, who were inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Fame. He later performed alongside his wife, Martha, first as part of II Generation, and then as Eddie & Martha Adcock. Together, they also founded Adcock Audio, a state-of-the-art sound company, serving bluegrass-related festivals.

Angelo Nardinocchi
1944 – 20 Mar 2025
Italian bass-baritone, renowned for his versatile career across major opera houses and venues such as the Verona arena. Nardinocchi was particularly celebrated for his signature role as the title character in Verdi's Rigoletto, as well as for such character roles as Leporello in Don Giovanni.

Oleg Baranov
c. 1968 – 20 Mar 2025
Russian musician, who was guitarist with a number of alternative rock bands, including Tequilajazzz, and S.P.O.R.T. 

Leanne Cowie
N/a – 20 Mar 2025
Australian drummer and percussionist, who at one time was a member of the Australian post-punk group, The Scientists. Their 1983 album, Blood Red River was ranked among Australia’s best 100 albums.

Larry Tamblyn
c. 1943 – 21 Mar 2025
American musician, the younger brother of the more famous Russ, Tamblyn was known as one of the founding members of the Sixties cult rock act, The Standells. He contributed keyboards and vocals, including to their 1966 hit Dirty Water. 

Alan Cuckston
2 Jul 1940 – 22 Mar 2025
English musician, who specialised performing early and choral music on harpsichord and piano, and was also a regarded conductor. He recorded extensively, including for the BBC, and appeared in the BBC Proms, while also touring internationally.

Andy Peebles
13 Dec 1948 – 22 Mar 2025
British radio & TV personality, Peebles made his name in the 1970s at Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio, leading to a decade- plus association with BBC Radio 1, which also saw him host Top of the Pops. Later presenting with stations including the BBC World Service, and BFBS, in 1980 Peebles secured what turned out to be John Lennon’s final interview with a UK media outlet, two days before his death on 8 December.

Francesco Benozzo
22 Feb 1969 – 22 Mar 2025
Italian poet and musician, who was also associate professor in philology at the University of Bologna. 

Kevan Staples
c. 1951– 23 Mar 2025
Canadian rock musician and multi-instrumentalist, who featured in the band Rough Trade for around 20 years up to the late Eighties. 

Huey Willams
1939 – 24 Mar 2025
American vocalist, who was a member of the highly regarded gospel act, the Jackson Southernaires, who were prolific performers and recording artists for the latter half of the Twentieth Century. Williams was one of five members at the release of their first album, and was Grammy nominated.

Johnny Green
n/a – c. Mar 2025
A popular figure on the live circuit since the 1970s, and known for his sharp dress sense and being larger than life, he was notably tour manager for The Clash, an experience he recorded in his book, A Riot of Our Own. He co-starred in the band’s Bankrobber video and also featured in their 1980 film, Rude Boy.  In later years he worked with other touring artists, including John Cooper Clarke. 

Sanjida Khatun
4 Apr 1933 – 25 Mar 2025
Bangladeshi musicologist and writer, whose work was honoured with a Bangla Academy Literary Award in 1998, as well as the Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian award, in 2021. 

Terry Manning 
29 Dec 1947 – 25 Mar 2025
US record producer and recording engineer, who was also a musician and a regarded photographer.  In an influential five-decade career, he worked with iconic labels, such as Stax, and many industry greats, ranging from Led Zeppelin and Otis Redding, to Al Green and Lenny Kravitz, as well as Island founder Chris Blackwell.

Tapani Kansa 
9 Mar 1949 – 25 Mar 2025
Finnish vocalist, who burst onto his country’s pop scene with a successful cover of the Tom Jones classic, Delilah. He enjoyed numerous hits in the late 1960s and 1970s, including Kuljen taas kotiinpäin, and developed a career in TV. He continued to find success covering international hits. 

Alice Tan Ridley 
21 Dec 1952 – 25 Mar 2025
US gospel artist and R&B vocalist, who came to public prominence later in life as a contestant on America’s Got Talent. She released her debut LP, Never Lost My Way, in 2016. 

Shushama Das
1 May 1930 – 26 Mar 2025
Celebrated Bangladeshi folk singer, whose artistic achievements over a long career earned her the affection of her country and numerous accolades, including the prestigious Ekushey Padak from the government of Bangladesh.

Tommy Rey
c. 1945 – 26 Mar 2025
Chilean musician, who was a leading name in his country’s cumbia dance style, and who was also known as a one-time member of Sixties ensemble, Sonora Palacios, one of Chile’s oldest orchestras of traditional music. 

Nicolas Kynaston
1942 – 28 Mar 2025
Acclaimed English musician who was appointed organist of Westminster Cathedral aged just 19. He went on to pursue a successful concert career, and served on juries of major competitions. Kynaston developed a praised discography, selling over 100,000 copies of his Royal Albert Hall recording alone, and was also a respected teacher at Oxford and Cambridge, as well as an influential masterclass instructor worldwide.

Young Scooter (Kenneth Bailey)
28 Mar 1986 – 28 Mar 2025
American rapper, who gained a growing following the release of his mixtape Street Lottery in 2012, and its single, Colombia, while his featured appearance on Future and Juice Wrld’s 2018 Jet Lag, earned him an entry into the Billboard Hot 100.

"Dick" Damron 
22 Mar 1934 – 29 Mar 2025
Canadian country vocalist and songwriter, whose canon covered a breath of subgenres, ranging from outlaw to rockabilly. In a career spanning six decades, he recorded over 25 albums, won various music awards, and was inducted into the International Country Music Hall Of Fame.

Richard Chamberlain
31 Mar 1934 – 29 Mar 2025
American actor known to his legions of fans for his film and TV roles, particularly as Dr. Kildare in which he made his name, but who also achieved some chart success as a pop and MOR singer, releasing various singles in the 1960s, and later performing in various stage musicals, including My Fair Lady, and Scrooge. 

Tracy Schwarz
c. 1938 – 29 Mar 2025
American musician, who performed with various old folk and string bands, including the New Lost City Ramblers (NLCR) and, in particular, the Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz  husband-and-wife folk duo, known for performing traditional music from the early bluegrass and old-time music.

Enrique Bátiz
4 May 1942 – 30 Mar 2025
Mexican concert pianist and conductor, who co-founded and then conducted the Orquestra Sinfónica del Estado de México, while also conducting the capital city’s Philharmonic Orchestra for a period.  He made numerous recordings, particularly of works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Rodrigo. 

Marinko Colnago
1942 – 30 Mar 2025
Croatian musician, who formed part of the successful group Novi Fosili that rose to prominence at the time of the former Yugoslavia in the late 1970s and Eighties. The band sold millions of recordings in their homeland, and also represented Yugoslavia at the 1987 Eurovision Song Contest.

John Nelson 
6 Dec 1941 – 31 Mar 2025
US classical conductor, particularly celebrated as a leading Berlioz interpreter, along with his music directorships, including the Indianapolis Symphony and the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, and an award-winning recording of Berlioz's Les Troyens. 

J Nyi Nyi 
12 Dec 1953 – 31 Mar 2025
Burmese singer, musician and composer, who was a leading figure in Myanmar's music scene for much of the past half century. Known for fusing traditional folk with more contemporary pop, he was a member of the J Family in the Burmese music industry, and released numerous acclaimed recordings in his homeland.

Volkan Konak 
27 Feb 1967 – 31 Mar 2025
Turkish traditional folk singer, who will be remembered for his popular song Cerrahpaşa, and his 2006 album, Mora, which achieved Gold success. 

Robin White 
1952 – Mar 2025
English conductor and arranger who worked extensively in light music, including with National Trust concerts, Classic FM and Chandos recordings. He also formed and conducted the Alban Voices choir, featured in EastEnders. 

Paul “Wags” Wagstaff
1965 – c. Mar 2025
Manchester-born guitarist known for his work with Black Grape, the Happy Mondays, Paris Angels, and The Charlatans. Wagstaff was a prominent figure in the 1990s music scene, first playing with Paris Angels before joining Shaun Ryder and Bez in Black Grape following the Happy Mondays’ 1993 split. He later performed with the reformed Happy Mondays in 1999 and continued to collaborate with Bez’s Domino Bones and with The Charlatans, among other artists.

April 2025

George Freeman 
10 Apr 1927 – 1 Apr 2025
Hailing from a musical family, and a stalwart of the American jazz scene, who played guitar alongside many of the genre’s greats in a distinguished six decade career.

Wayne Handy 
14 May 1935 – 1 Apr 2025
US rock ‘n’ roll and rockabilly  performer who played a role in the development of the genre in the 1950s, including when signed to Renown Records.

Alfons "Alfi" Kabiljo
22 Dec 1935 – 1 Apr 2025
Renowned composer over six decades in his Croation homeland, writing more than 40 film and 100 TV soundtracks, as well as musicals and ballets, which are regularly performed. 

Johnny Tillotson 
20 Apr 1938 – 1 Apr 2025
US pop star and singer-songwriter, who enjoyed major success in the 1960s with a string of hits, most notably the Sixties classic, Poetry In Motion, and the Grammy nominated, It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin'. His achievements in a six decade career saw him inducted into the American Pop Music Hall of Fame.

Michael Hurley 
20 Dec 1941 – 1 Apr 2025
American singer-songwriter and musician, who was a leading figure in the Sixties folk movement and was part of the influential Greenwich Village folk scene around the time of Bob Dylan’s emergence. He also painted and was known for his cartoon drawings.

Amadou Bagayoko
24 Oct 1954 – 4 Apr 2025
Vocalist and musician, who, with his wife, formed the iconic Malian duo, Amadou & Mariam, who both overcame the challenge of visual impairment to achieve global success. Growing in popularity through the 1980s and 1990s, by the early Noughties their unique ‘Afro funk’ style had earned them a world-wide following, cemented by their hit Dimanche à Bamako, which, among other accolades, in the UK won BBC Radio 3 Awards for World Music, and the success of subsequent recordings, including them Grammy nominated 2008 album Welcome To Mail.  Among many career highlights, in 2006, they participated in recording the official anthem for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Celebrate The Day, and in 2007 took part in Damon Albarn's "Africa Express" project at Glastonbury. Their career continued to flourish, including supporting major tours by Scissor Sisters, Blur, Coldplay, and U2, among others, and appearing at various festivals and events, including the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize and the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Dave Allen
23 Dec 1955 – 5 Apr 2025
UK guitarist and songwriter, and regarded bass player with late Seventies punk band Gang of Four, appearing on their albums, Entertainment, featuring Damaged Goods, and Solid Gold, before in 1981 co-forming Shriekback. He later worked on various artist projects before moving into the business side, first with Intel’s consumer digital services, then as President of the ents. division of Overland. He founded digital strategy firm, Fight, and ran indie label Pampelmoose, before joining Beats Music in 2014 and then Apple Music.

Roberto De Simone 
25 Aug 1933 – 6 Apr 2025
Italian composer and musician, who also wrote and directed for stage. Starting our playing harpsichord, he developed a passion for early Italian music and helped to found the group Nuova Compagnia di Canto Populare.  Among his musical compositions were La Gatta Cenerentola, which debuted in 1976 to international acclaim. He went on to direct the Teatro San Carlo in the 1980s, before becoming stage director at Milan’s la Scala opera house, and then director of the Conservatorio San Pietro a Majella in 1995.

Pongsri Woranuch 
5 Jun 1939 – 6 Apr 2025
Thai vocalist, who rose to prominence in the 1950s, becoming known as “Queen of Luk Thung”, the traditional musical style that made her so popular in her homeland, which she fused with other genres drawn from Asia and South America.  She was honoured with the Thai National Artist Award in 1992. 

Clem Burke
24 Nov 1954 – 6 Apr 2025
Hugely influential American drummer, who was regarded as the musicians’ musician, and, as a member of the band from their early days, helped to define the sound and style of Eighties post-punk, pop group Blondie. He played on all their albums and on such iconic hits as Heart of Glass and Atomic.  He also had spells drumming for The Ramones, and later The Romantics, and worked with a range of other artists including, Bob Dylan, Eurythmics, and Iggy Pop, among others.  

Al Barile
1962 – c. 6 Apr 2025
American guitarist and songwriter, who co-founded the hard rock and metal band SSD (Society System Decontrol) in the 1980s. After a creative burst, the band split, and Barile went on to form the group Gage.

Anna Slováčková 
22 Aug 1995 – 6 Apr 2025
Czech artist and musician, who was equally comfortable acting alongside her actor mother Dagmar, or singing with her own band or alongside her performer father, Felix. She released her debut album, Aura, in 2021, followed by her sophomore, Osudová, both to critical acclaim in her homeland. 

William Finn 
28 Feb 1952 – 7 Apr 2025
US composer and lyricist, particularly known for his work with musicals.  His successes included the musical, Falsettos, which earned him multiple Tony Awards in 1992.

Leon "Lenny" Welch
31 May 1938 – 8 Apr 2025
US vocalist known for his pop and MOR style.  He achieved a huge hit, early on in his career, selling over a million copies and reaching the top five of the Hot 100 Billboard chart with his cover of the big bands standard, Since I Fell For You.  Welch achieved continuing success with his recordings, including his version of the musical hit, A Taste of Honey, which was famously then covered to memorable effect by The Beatles. 

Rubby Pérez
8 Mar 1956 – 8 Apr 2025
Tragically killed in the Jet Set nightclub roof collapse, Pérez was a popular Dominican vocalist in the merengue style. He performed with various orchestras in his career, including the Wilfrido Vargas Orchestra, featuring on its acclaimed album, El Funcionario. His singing style earned him the epithet, “the highest voice of merengue”.

Roberto Cani
1968 – 9 Apr 2025
American of Italian origin who was the celebrated concertmaster of the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra. Acclaimed as a masterful violinist, he was also a talented violin and bow maker, and is credited for the role he played in helping to shape the LAO Orchestra's sound.

Nino Tempo (Antonio LoTempio) 
6 Jan 1935 – 10 Apr 2025
American-Italian singer and musician, who acted also.  He was known both for being part of the signing duo with his sister April, and also as the frontman of the Seventies funk group, 5th Ave. Sax.

Titiek Puspa (Sudarwati)
1 Nov 1937 – 10 Apr 2025
Indonesian singer and songwriter, who was widely regarded in her homeland as one of its greatest voices, responsible for some of the Indonesian songs considered among the best of all time.

Mike Berry (Michael Bourne)
24 Sep 1942 – 11 Apr 2025
Better known as an actor to British audiences, appearing in such popular favourites as Seventies sitcom Are You Being Served, Berry was also an accomplished musician, achieving chart success in a long career with hits including Don't You Think It's Time, and The Sunshine of Your Smile.  He started out in the Sixties in skiffle and rock ‘n’ roll, including through his own band Mike Berry and The Outlaws, and in these early years his recordings were produced by Joe Meek.  He continued to perform well into his later years.

Max Romeo (Maxwell Smith)
22 Nov 1944 – 11 Apr 2025
Jamaican reggae and roots artist, who was popular on both his home island and in markets such as the UK. He enjoyed success as a member of the vocal act The Emotions, as well as a solo performer, including though his 1968 hit, Wet Dream, which was credited as introducing a new form of reggae style. 

Pilita Corrales
22 Aug 1937 – 12 Apr 2025
One of the Philippines’ great singers, dubbed Asia's Queen of Songs for her unique style and enduring appeal, who was also a songwriter, actress and TV presenter. Prolific over a six-decade career, she recorded over 130 LPs as well as signature hits like A Million Thanks to You, earning her a Lifetime Achievement Award from the PARI, as well as an international following, including in Australia and Japan.

Roy Thomas Baker 
10 Nov 1946 – 12 Apr 2025
British record producer, arranger and songwriter, who collaborated with many artist greats, including David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and Dusty Springfield, in an illustrious six-decade career, but who will always be most remembered for his successful relationship with Queen. He worked on five of their studio albums as a producer, including A Night at the Opera and, in particular, the iconic single Bohemian Rhapsody, which achieved 14 weeks at the top of the Official Charts across two spells in 1975 and then 1991, and garnered multiple Grammy and other awards. His endeavours as a producer saw him work with the famous Trident Studio and number of record labels, ranging from Decca Records, where he started out, to CBS Music, the latter taking him to the USA , where he then began working with major American artists.

Zigmas Šileikis
1960 – 12 Apr 2025
Lithuanian musician and guitarist with the folk rock band Rondo.

Drew Zingg 
1957 – Apr 2025
US rock, blues, soul and jazz musician and guitarist, whose career highlights included working with such leading American acts as Gladys Knight, Danald Fagen, Boz Scaggs, and Steely Dan.

Francis Davis
30 Aug 1946 – 14 Apr 2025
American music critic who was renowned for his appreciation of jazz in particular.

Jed the Fish (Jed Fish Gould III)
15 Jul 1955 – 14 Apr 2025
American radio personality and DJ, whose influential KROQ FM show, which broadcast out of Los Angeles and ran between 1978 and 2012, proved hugely popular with rock and pop new wave acts, including such British artists as David Bowie, Depeche Mode, and Sting, among others.

Winston "Wink" Martindale 
4 Dec 1933 – 15 Apr 2025
US DJ and TV and radio broadcast personality, who was also an avid champion of pop culture in a five decade career. 

Joel Krosnick
3 Apr 1941 – c. 15 Apr 2025
Acclaimed US musician, widely respected cellist for more than four decades with the Juilliard String Quartet.

McGavock "Mac" Gayden
5 Jun 1941 – 16 Apr 2025
US country and rock vocalist, musician and songwriter, who produced also, and as President of Wild Child Records was a music executive also.

Colin Berry 
29 Jan 1946 – 16 Apr 2025
English radio and TV presenter, who worked on broadcast media ranging from Radio Caroline, where he began his career, Granada and Yorkshire TV, among other channels, and then BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2, where he made his name and remained for over three decades, working on different shows. Among many highlights, between much of 1977 – 2002 he presented the votes of the United Kingdom jury at Eurovision.

Nora Aunor ONA (Villamayor)
21 May  1953 – 16 Apr 2025
Known largely as a leading Filipino actress, she also had a successful singing career.

Roger McLachlan
15 Jan 1954 – 16 Apr 2025
New Zealand-born musician, but who made his name as a bass guitarist in Australia, performing with such acts as the Little River Band, among others.

Erhard Grosskopf
17 Mar 1934 – 17 Apr 2025
German composer known for his innovative work, including with the Berlin Philharmonic, which featured “looping” and harmonic layering, and integrated avant-garde techniques, making him a significant figure in contemporary German music. 

Peter Ablinger 
15 Mar 1959 – 17 Apr 2025
Austrian-born, German based composer in the experimental style, who also worked as a music academic.

Nuno Guerreiro
1973 – 17 Apr 2025
Portuguese singer, known for his distinctive counter-tenor vocal style, who co-founded and performed in the popular Nineties band, Ala dos Namorados.

Clodagh Rodgers
5 Mar 1947 – 18 Apr 2025
UK singer hailing from Northern Ireland, who was a popular entertainer, often on our screens in the 1970s, including as the resident singer on the BBC show, It’s Cliff Richard.  She had a string of hits, notably with Jack in the Box, with which she represented the UK at the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest, coming 4th, as well as with Come Back and Shake Me, and Goodnight Midnight, among others, as well as successful albums.

Ricky Siahanna
N/a – 19 Apr 2025
Indonesian musician and guitarist, who formed part of the line up of the Noughties metal band, Seringai.

Christina Buarque 
23 Dec 1950 – 20 Apr 2025
Brazilian vocalist, who composed also. She was considered a talented singer and songwriter, who played an important role in bringing Rio's samba and folk music to a wider audience. 

Kimble Rendall
c. 1957 – April 2025
Australian creator, who was known mostly for his film work, directing such blockbusters as The Matrix films and I, Robot, but he was also a talented musician and singer, and among his credits he co-founded the punk act XL Capris, and the rock band The Hoodoo Gurus.

Angelito "Hajji" Alejandro 
26 Dec 1954 – 21 Apr 2025
Filipino vocalist and actor, who was particularly popular in the Seventies and Eighties, enjoying major chart success with his hits, Kay Ganda ng Ating Musika, and Nakapagtataka.

Martin Graham
1942 – 21 Apr 2025
English impresario responsible for the Longborough Festival Opera (LFO) in the Cotswolds. A builder by trade with no formal musical training, Graham transformed a Gloucestershire barn into a world-class opera festival, often dubbed the “English Bayreuth”, realising a passion for opera, especially Wagner. 

David Briggs
16 Mar 1943 – 22 Apr 2025
US keyboardist, composer, and record producer, who also owned a successful studio. Briggs was one of an elite core of studio musicians known as "the Nashville Cats" and was featured in a major exhibition by the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015. 

Waltraut Haas
9 Jun 1927 – 23 Apr 2025
Austrian artist who was known largely for her film work as an actress, appearing in over 70 films, but who sang on film and stage also.

Louise "Lulu" Roman
6 May 1946 – 23 Apr 2025
US comedian, vocalist and author, who appeared in countless comedy music shows, including Hee Haw, which ran from 1969 to 1993.

David Thomas 
14 Jun 1953 – 23 Apr 2025
UK-based, American musician and vocalist, songwriter, and poet. He most known as a founding member of and performer with, at various stages, the post-punk outfit Pere Ubu, although earlier he was also in the line up of the band, Rocket from the Tombs. He also released various solo albums, and was known for his versatile talent across multiple instruments, along with his distinctive singing voice and style.

Edy Star (Edivaldo Souza)
10 Jan 1938 – 24 Apr 2025
Hugely versatile Brazilian artist – vocalist, composer, actor, dancer, theatre producer, and TV presenter, who started working in entertainment when young, then developed his talent across various fields and genres, particularly specialising in Brazilian burlesque (Chanchada), cabarets and revue theatre. 

Kari Løvaas
13 May 1939 – 24 Apr 2025
Norwegian soprano of international renown, who performed at such festivals as Salzburg, and Lucerne in both opera and concert. She participated in complete recordings of rarely performed operas, including works by Haydn and by 20th Century composers.  She recorded Lieder and regularly appeared in choral concerts.

Roy Phillips
5 May 1941 – 24 Apr 2025
English musician, who later moved to New Zealand. He started out as a member of The Soundtracks, then The Saints, before becoming known as the voice and shaping the keyboard sound of the popular Manchester trio, The Peddlers, which formed in the early Sixties.

Peter Mclan
1947 – 24 Apr 2025
US-based record producer, whose credits included work in the 1980s with Men At Work on their albums Business As Usual and Cargo. 

Richard Wernick
16 Jan 1934 – 25 Apr 2025
US composer, known for his chamber and vocal works, with his work Visions of Terror and Wonder honoured with the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Music. He studied with major figures such as Aaron Copland, and Leonard Bernstein and spent much of his career teaching composition, most notably at the University of Pennsylvania, and served as a new-music consultant to the Philadelphia Orchestra under Riccardo Muti.

Paul A. Batiste
1951 – 25 Apr 2025
Paul Batiste, a longtime New Orleans musician, band leader, educator, and founding member of the Batiste Brothers Band. He was a major figure in Louisiana music and education, teaching for 35 years and helping preserve the arts through post-Katrina nonprofit work.

Nigel Templeman
1960 – Apr 2025
UK music industry executive who shone in various roles, including artist management, retail, and record company marketing, working with such labels as Arista, where he worked on the launch of Whitney Houston, and at London Records, with the highlight of creating the campaign for Bananarama as ‘highest selling UK female group ever’.  In a career stretching over four decades, he supported the success of artists as diverse as Dexys Midnight Runners, Graham Coxon, The Cribs, James Taylor Quartet, Tricky, and many more. 

Rigmor Newman
9 May 1938 – 26 Apr 2025
Swedish-born, US- based artist manager and concert promoter, who was a key figure in Jazz for much of the twentieth Century.

Charles Beare
1938 – 26 Apr 2025
American luthier with renowned expertise of the violin, particularly with Stradivari and Guarneri masterpieces – and a trusted authenticator of rare instruments.

Andy Bey
28 Oct 1939 – 26 Apr 2025
US jazz vocalist, known for his wide range, and musician known for his piano play.

Raymond "Wizz" Jones
25 Apr 1939 – 27 Apr 2025
UK singer-songwriter and acoustic guitarist, who was active from the late 1950s and recorded from 1965 to 2025. He was regarded as a guitar virtuoso and worked with notable folk guitarists such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn. He is thought to have influenced Keith Richards, Eric Clapton and Paul Simon, among others.

Christfried Schmidt
26 Nov 1932 – 29 Apr 2025
German composer who worked as a church musician and piano teacher. Hailing from what was once East Germany, some of his works for large choirs and orchestras were not performed until after unification. These included his 1975 St Mark Passion, performed in Berlin in 2019, and his 1968 Second Symphony honouring Martin Luther King, premiered in Dresden in 2021.

Mike Peters
25 Feb 1959 – 29 Apr 2025
Welsh musician best known as the lead singer of The Alarm, the rock band he co-founded in 1981 after earlier projects including Hairy Hippie, the Toilets, and Seventeen. The Alarm came to an end in 1991 until Peters relaunched the group in 2000 and continued to perform under variations of the Alarm name.
Alongside his band work, Peters had a prolific solo career through the 1990s and 2000s, releasing LPs such as Breathe, and Rise, collaborating with artists like Billy Duffy, and forming side projects such as Dead Men Walking. He also created The Gathering, an annual fan event in Llandudno. Diagnosed with cancer in 1995, Peters became an advocate for cancer care and co-founded the Love Hope Strength Foundation. From 2011 and 2013, he also served as lead vocalist for Big Country while continuing with the Alarm. 

Alexander Molchanov 
1962 – 29 Apr 2025
Rock musician in the Russian heavy metal band, Aria.

Alan O’Duffy 
6 Aug 1948 – 30 Apr 2025
Irish sound recording engineer whose innovative studio work was highly regarded and shaped influential rock and musical theatre recordings. Known as “Irish” to the Rolling Stones and praised by Paul McCartney, he engineered landmark albums including Let It Bleed, Venus and Mars, and Jesus Christ Superstar, where his meticulous mixing balanced rock instrumentation with a full orchestra. Starting at Pye Studios aged just 16, and known for his perfectionist approach, he rose quickly to work with leading 1960s and 70s artists such as the Small Faces, the Kinks, and Blind Faith. Later in his career he moved to TV and film sound, contributing to 150 dramas and 30 films, including the Oscar-winning An Irish Goodbye..

Joe Louis Walker 
25 Dec 1949 – 30 Apr 2025
US musician, most regarded as an electric blues guitarist, as well as a vocalist, songwriter and producer – and a celebrated authority on blues music. 

Steve Price
1948 – Apr 2025
American rock guitarist with the heavy metal band Thor. He made a significant contribution to their Eighties  sound, especially on the album Only the Strong. 

Richard Wernick
16 Jan 1934 – c. Apr 2025
Pulitzer Prize-winning American composer, known for his chamber and vocal works, notably Visions of Terror and Wonder.  He also taught at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Christian Elliott
1984 – c. Apr 2025 tbc
Canadian cellist and composer. He was a member of the Zehetmair Quarter as well as former principal cellist with the Irish Chamber Orchestra.

Bill Reeder
1950 – c. Apr 2025
American tenor vocalist, who was also Founding Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts at George Mason University. He made an enormous contribution to fundraising across the arts.

Juan Del Bosco
1984 – c. Apr 2025
Mexican tenor who, among his accomplishments, founded the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia. Dedicated to bringing through young talent, Del Bosco also established Passion for Opera to nurture emerging singers. Among his acclaimed roles were Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Roméo in Roméo et Julieta.

May 2025

Nana Caymmi
29 Apr 1941 – 1 May 2025
Renowned Brazilian singer – the daughter of composer Dorival Caymmi and wife of Gilberto Gil. She began her career recording on her father’s album Acalanto and gained attention after winning the national phase of the 1966 Festival Internacional da Canção with Saveiros. Her career gained momentum in the 1980s with several EMI albums and increased acclaim in the 1990s, especially after the success of Bolero. She earned multiple APCA awards and was the subject of the 2010 documentary Rio Sonata. Later, she was honoured with Latin Grammy nominations for collaborations with her brothers and tributes to Tito Madi, and others.

Sue Anderson
1955 – 1 May 2025
US trailblazing talent who was one of the first prominent female conductors to work on Broadway.  Her career spanned several decades and included work on notable shows, including as Musical Director of Cats, while she also worked with several major orchestras, including the London Philharmonic. She was additionally a mentor who inspired many female musicians in the world of Broadway.

Jill Sobule
16 Jan 1959 – 1 May 2025
US singer-songwriter best known for her folk-tinged compositions and her singles I Kissed a Girl, and Supermodel, featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Clueless. In 2009, Sobule released California Years, an album funded entirely by fan donations, making her an early pioneer of crowdfunding.

Karel Bláha
20 Sep 1947 – 2 May 2025
Czech lyric tenor who specialised in operetta, and who acted also.

Jim Smith (Jim Jobb)
8 Oct 1954 – 2 May 2025
Award winning film animator, but who was also a musician which saw him compose and played the guitar for the Ren & Stimpy music theme intro.

Glen Thrasher
1 Jul 1959 – 3 May 2025
American artist who was the WREK DJ and promoted the avant garde in Atlanta's underground music scene.

Pierre Audi
1958 – 3 May 2025
French-Lebanese stage director and impresario, renowned for founding London’s Almeida Theatre and for his leadership at the Dutch National Opera. He was a champion of new and diverse music, and of interdisciplinary art, and bold productions.

May Abrahamse
6 May 1930 – 5 May 2025
South African opera soprano, who grew up in the apartheid era and was a prominent figure in the Eoan Group cultural organisation that aimed to uplift people through the arts. She performed opera for marginalised communities in South Africa, often drawing on Verdi’s La Traviata.

Squire Parsons 
4 Apr 1948 – 5 May 2025
US Southern gospel vocalist and songwriter, who appeared with Bill Graham, and whose compositions were performed by numerous choirs.

James Baker
7 Mar 1954 – 5 May 2025
Australian musician, who was most known for his drumming with various rock and punk bands. These included The Victims, Hoodoo Gurus, and The Dubrovniks, among others. In 2006, he was inducted into the West Australian Music Industry Hall of Fame, and later the ARIA Hall of Fame with  Hoodoo Gurus.

Nathan Jerde
1975 – 5 May 2025
American musician and drummers, who was most known for his association with indie and garage rock band from Chicago, The Ponys. 

Wifiskeleton (Jeremiah Simms)
2003 – 5 May 2025
American singer and songwriter, whose song Nope You’re Too Late I Already Died gained popularity on social media and entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart following his death.

Luigi Lopez 
30 Sep 1947 – 6 May 2025
Italian composer, musician, and singer-songwriter known for major collaborations and hit songs from the 1970s onward. He co-wrote successful tracks for such artists as Ornella Vanoni, Riccardo Fogli, Michele Zarrillo, and Mia Martini, winning international recognition. He worked with many prominent performers and was known as a singer for the Italian theme of Pinocchio: The Series.

Vakhtang MachavarianI
19 Feb 1951 – 6 May 2025
Georgian, Soviet and Russian conductor and composer, who rise to become Chief Conductor of the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra.  He worked with the world’s leading symphony orchestras, and his compositions include a symphony in memory of his father, Aleksi Machavariani.

Ronald Corp OBE SSC
4 Jan 1951 – 7 May 2025
English composer and conductor – a passion he pursued alongside being an Anglican priest. He was founder and artistic director of the New London Orchestra and the New London Children’s Choir, and he also made time as the musical director of both the London Chorus and the Highgate Choral Society. 

Xatar (Giwar Hajabi) 
24 Dec 1981 – 7 May 2025
Kurdish Iranian-born German rapper and music industry businessman, who also founded and owned various labels, including Kopfticker Records, Groove Attack TraX, and Goldmann Entertainment.

Johnny Parth
11 Jan 1930 – 8 May 2025
US music industry figure who founded jazz and blues label Document Records.

Jonathan Edwards 
25 Dec 1944 – 9 May 2025 
US soul singer who built a solid solo career before becoming lead vocalist of the Spinners from 1977 to 2000. He began performing while in the U.S. Army in Germany, later working alongside major soul acts and recording for several labels. Edwards earned his first chart successes in the early 1970s with songs like Stop This Merry-Go-Round and his biggest solo hit, Careful Man.  He eventually joined The Spinners full-time, and as the group’s lead singer, he fronted such major hits as Working My Way Back to You and Cupid”. 

Juan "Johnny" Rodriguez
10 Dec 1951 – 9 May 2025
Texan country music singer who, in the 1970s and 1980s, was one of country music's most successful artists, recording a string of hit songs, such as Desperado, You Always Come Back to Hurting Me, and Down on the Rio Grande.

Stewart Francke 
15 Sep 1958 – 9 May 2025
American singer-songwriter who began performing at 19, after working as a music journalist. Mentored by blues musician Bob Baldori, he later recorded with The Funk Brothers and featured Bruce Springsteen on a 2011 album. Widely honoured, he earned multiple Detroit Music Awards, ASCAP awards, and humanitarian recognition for his cancer-care advocacy, including founding the Stewart Francke Leukemia Foundation.

Mustafa Zaman Abbasi 
8 Dec 1936 – 10 May 2025
Bangladeshi musicologist, who was also the son of folk singer-composer Abbas Uddin Ahmed. 

Larry Lee
1947 – 10 May 2025
American country rock musician. Founding member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils and co-writer and lead vocalist of the hit song Jackie Blue. Lee began writing songs during his military service and later helped shape the band’s signature sound after returning home. 

Matthew Best
6 Feb 1957 – 10 May 2025
British bass vocalist, composer, choral conductor, and academic. He enjoyed a distinguished career as a singer at major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House and the ENO, excelling in Wagnerian roles.
Best was recognised internationally as conductor of vocal music performed with his ensemble Corydon Singers, and he also taught voice at the Royal Northern College of Music up to 2024.

Kafon (Ahmed Laabidi)
1983 – 10 May 2025
Tunisian rapper, singer and actor, who gained widespread recognition in his homeland following the release of his song Houmani.

Alena Veselá 
7 July 1923 – 11 May 2025
Czech organ musician, who performed internationally and who taught music also, including as rector of the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts from 1990 to 1997. 

Leila Negra (Marie Nejar)
20 Mar 1930 – 11 May 2025
German singer and actress of African descent, who began her career as a child film actor in the 1940s, becoming a singer after World War II, and then going on to become a nurse in the late 1950s.

Ernst Mahle
3 Jan 1929 – c.12 May 2025
German-born Brazilian composer and orchestra conductor, who was a member of the Brazilian Academy of Music. In 1953, he was one of the founders of the Escola de Música de Piracicaba. After teaching music there, he became artistic director and conductor of the orchestra and choir of the institute, holding these posts for more than fifty years. In 2005, he composed the acclaimed opera O Garatuja.

Yasunao Tone
31 Mar 1935– 12 May 2025
Japanese multidisciplinary artist and key postwar avant-garde figure who worked across music, performance, and visual art. Active in 1960s Tokyo with groups like Ongaku, Neo-Dada Organizers, and Fluxus, he later moved to New York (1972) and became known for innovative collaborations and for pioneering “glitch” music through his experimental manipulation of CDs and playback devices.

Billy Earheart 
21 Feb 1954 – 13 May 2025
US county music musician, organ and piano player, and an original member in the Grammy-winning Amazing Rhythm Aces band. Earheart played piano for Hank Williams Jr’s Bama Band for 20 years and collaborated with such greats as Al Green, Waylon Jennings, and BB King. In all, he played on over 200 albums. 

David Watkin
8 May 1965 – 13 May 2025
Acclaimed American cellist who played a principal role with ensembles including the OAE, and EBS, especially as an interpreter of Bach, who was also a respected music teacher.

Dharío Primero 
27 Dec 1952 – 14 May 2025
Dominican Republic singer, considered one of the first vocalists to venture into ballads in his homeland.

Luigi Alva (Luis Talledo)
10 Apr 1927 – 15 May 2025
Peruvian tenor who worked internationally at the major opera houses and festivals. He was a Mozart and Rossini specialist, achieving prominence with such roles as Don Ottavio in Mozart's Don Giovanni. 

Charles Strouse
7 Jun 1928 – 15 May 2025
US composer and lyricist, hugely admired for his work writing for Broadway musicals. Over a long career, he contributed to the success of such stage hits as Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie.

Kenneth “Junior” Byles
2 Feb 1948 – 15 May 2025
Jamaican roots reggae singer known for his soulful voice, socially conscious lyrics, and influential work during reggae’s formative years. He first found success with The Versatiles before launching a solo career, much of it in collaboration with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry. In the early 1970s he released landmark songs, among them Beat Down Babylon, Place Called Africa, and Fade Away, which established him as a major figure in Jamaica and the UK. By the mid-1970s, personal challenges interrupted his career, though he remained influential and secured his legacy as one of roots reggae’s most distinctive voices.

Terry Draper
12 Sep 1951 – 15 May 2025
Canadian musician who was the drummer and one of three songwriters for the 1970s prog rock outfit Klaatu.

Dada KD (Nana Kwakye Duah)
c. 1968 – 16 May 2025
Ghanaian musician in the Highlife style. Duah began his career young as an instrumentalist, playing at his local church, before his music career started in the early 1990s with singles such as Odo Mu Anigye and Adi Nye Wop. His music often centred around themes of love and societal issues. 

Wally Houser
26 Nov 1934– 17 May 2025 
English alto saxophonist, who was a longtime member and organiser of the Barnes Big Band, and provided trusted legal counsel within the UK jazz community. A Manchester-born solicitor, he served for many years as the respected in-house lawyer to the Ronnie Scott’s Club. In the band, he was both a dedicated player and a reliable linchpin who handled practicalities and supported its evolution. Across decades in jazz, Houser built deep friendships and contributed to films and tributes highlighting the scene he cherished.

Roger Nichols
17 Sep 1940 – 17 May 2025
US composer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, who hailed from a musical family and was known for crafting sophisticated pop melodies. Nichols pursued a career in music and became a staff songwriter at A&M, where he developed major collaborations with lyricists Paul Williams, Tony Asher, and Bill Lane. His work with Williams produced several classics, notably We’ve Only Just Begun and Rainy Days and Mondays for The Carpenters, along with such hits as I Won’t Last a Day Without You and Out in the Country. With Lane, he co-wrote Times of Your Life”, a No. 1 hit for Paul Anka. Alongside his songwriting, Nichols released his own albums, including Roger Nichols and the Small Circle of Friends (1968), and Full Circle (2007)—featuring new versions of his well-known compositions. Outside of music, he also built a career as a jeweller.

Rodney Brown
1947 – 17 May 2025
American musician, including with the US funk band Dyke and the Blazers, led by Arlester Christian. Among their most successful records were the original version of Funky Broadway and Let A Woman Be A Woman.

Werenoi (Jérémy Bana Owona)
30 Jan 1994 – 17 May 2025
French rapper, who had been voted male revelation of the year at the Les Flammes ceremony in 2023. He released four albums and two EPs and held the number 1 position in album sales in France in 2023 and 2024. 

Dennis Whitehead Darling 
1966 – c.17 May 2025
Acclaimed American stage and opera director, known for directing such productions as Sanctuary Road, and who was recognised as a champion of diverse storytelling. 

Yuriy Gina 
16 Apr 1932 – 19 May 2025
Ukrainian violinist, composer, conductor, folklorist and teacher. He graduated from the Chernivtsi Music College and the Ukrainian National Tchaikovsky Academy of Music, going on to become a music teacher, and director of Chernivtsi Children's Music School No. 1. In 1975, he was made artistic director and conductor of the chamber orchestra of the Chernivtsi Regional Philharmonic.

Chris Hager
1958 – 19 May 2025
American rock musician, including with the glam metal bands Rough Cutt and then Micky Ratt.

Adam Ramey
1994 – 19 May 2025
American rap metal artist, who started with The Bad Chapter, and then in 2016 founded the influential rap metal band Dropout Kings, who released three albums: Audiodope, Riot Music, and Yokai. 

Arthur Hamilton (Arthur Hamilton Stern)
22 Oct 1926 – 20 May 2025 
US songwriter of note, known for writing the 1953 classic Cry Me a River, made famous by Julie London and later Michael Bublé. Hamilton began his career in early TV and film music, contributing songs to Pete Kelly’s Blues.  Through his long career, his songs were recorded by major artists including Dinah Washington, Barbra Streisand, Ray Charles, and Diana Krall. He collaborated with numerous renowned composers and worked both as a lyricist and composer. His work saw him receive Oscar, Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and he served on the boards of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the ASCAP Foundation.

Bo Michael Tretow
20 Aug 1944 – 20 May 2025
Swedish record producer, studio engineer, musician, and composer most known as a key influence in creating ABBA’s signature studio sound. After joining Metronome Studios in 1967, he began collaborating closely with Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, in the 1970s becoming studio manager at Polar Studios. His innovative recording techniques were central to ABBA’s music as well as to later projects, such as Chess. He also created themes and jingles for Swedish radio and TV. 

Mark Greene
1958 – 20 May 2025
American R&B and soul artist, who was one of the performers with the Sixties/Seventies soul band The Moments.

Frank Gibson Jr.
19 Feb 1946 – 21 May 2025
New Zealand jazz drummer, who founded Dr Tree and toured with such greats as Dionne Warwock, and The Temptations before moving to the UK in 1977 where he became a sought-after session and studio musician, working with artists including Dusty Springfield and Leo Sayer. Gibson returned to his homeland, going on to perform at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony, and producing jazz albums of the year.

James Lowe 
5 Mar 1943– 22 May 2025
US musician, known as the lead singer of the Sixties psychedelic rock band The Electric Prunes, and later as an audio engineer and producer. With The Electric Prunes he enjoyed hits including I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) before the group split in 1968. After years away from music, he reunited with the band’s core members in 1999 and continued performing, eventually as the sole original member after bassist Mark Tulin’s death. Lowe also worked as a recording engineer and producer, collaborating closely with Todd Rundgren on Nazz albums and producing early work for Sparks. After leaving the music business in the early 1970s, he shifted to TV production, creating commercials, children’s programming, and corporate media.

Guy Klucevsek
26 Feb 1947 – 22 May 2025
US accordion player and composer known for his fusion of polka and experimental music. He composed over 100 works, released more than 20 albums, and collaborated with artists like Tom Waits and Laurie Anderson, as well as contributing to John Williams film scores. In 2010, he received a United States Artists Fellowship.

Dan Storper
20 May 1951 – 22 May 2025
US music executive who, among various commercial and cultural achievements, was the founder and CEO of the record label Putumayo World Music.

Dave Shapiro
1983 – 22 May 2025
US music executive who was influential in the heavy metal and hard rock scenes. He was Co-Founder of the Sound Talent Group and a champion of independent artists, helping to launch and grow the careers of many alternative bands. A former musician, he also Co-Founded the National Independent Talent Organisation.

Daniel Williams
12 Dec 1985 – 22 May 2025
US drummer best known as Co-Founder of the metalcore Noughties band The Devil Wears Prada. Williams performed on several of their major albums and contributed to their 2012 live release Dead & Alive. After leaving the group in 2016, he transitioned into the tech industry, working as a software architect at GoPro.

Lillian Boutté 
6 Aug 1949 – 23 May 2025
American jazz and gospel singer who worked extensively as a session and backup singer for major artists such as Allen Toussaint, Patti LaBelle, and Dr. John. In the late 1970s and early 1980s she toured internationally with One Mo’ Time, recorded both gospel and jazz albums, and developed strong musical ties in Europe, co-founding the ensemble Music Friends. 

Sacha Jenkins
22 Aug 1971 – 23 May 2025
US journalist who documented Hip-Hop’s golden era and covered music in a three-decade career. 

Alan Yentob
11 Mar 1947 – 24 May 2025
Leading British TV executive whose career was deeply rooted in the BBC’s music and arts output. Joining the BBC in 1968, he quickly moved into arts programming and became a key creative force behind major documentary series. He produced and directed Omnibus, including the influential 1975 film Cracked Actor about David Bowie, and helped launch Arena, serving as its editor until 1985. Yentob later became the BBC’s head of music and arts, shaping the corporation’s cultural coverage before rising to senior leadership roles as controller of BBC2, controller of BBC1, and eventually BBC creative director. Alongside his executive work, he presented several arts programmes—including the long-running series Imagine—continuing to champion music, culture, and creative storytelling throughout his career.

Kenny Marco
14 Feb 1947 – 24 May 2025
Canadian musician who played guitar as a member of rock groups including Grant Smith & The Power, Motherlode, and Dr. Music. He was also a member of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

Simon House
29 Aug 1948 – 25 May 2025
British composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, arguably most known for his spells with prog rock band Hawkwind, though he also performed with David Bowie. He began his career with High Tide and the Third Ear Band, who contributed the soundtrack to Roman Polanski's Macbeth. From the 1970s House released several solo LPs.

Foday Musa Suso
18 Feb 1950 – 25 May 2025
Gambian-born, US-based musician, composer, and master of the kora. He became one of the first jalis in N.America and co-founded the Mandingo Griot Society, pioneering fusions of West African music with jazz, experimental, and world music. Suso collaborated widely with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Philip Glass, and the Kronos Quartet, and contributed to Olympic music projects. Known especially for his electrified kora, he helped introduce the instrument to global audiences and expanded its role in contemporary music.

Michael Sumler
1954 – 25 May 2025
American, who was known by his friends and colleagues as “Chicago Mike” and worked with funk icons Kool & the Gang in the unique role of hype man.

Ángel Mahler (Ángel Pititto)
23 May 1960 – 25 May 2025
Argentine composer and conductor, who went on to become the Minister of Culture for his home city of Buenos Aries between July 2016 and December 2017.

Rick Derringer
5 Aug 1947 – 26 May 2025
US guitarist, vocalist and songwriter who first rose to fame in the 1960s with the McCoys, and whose hit Hang On Sloopy topped the charts in 1965. After several successful singles with the band, he launched a solo career, highlighted by his 1973 hit Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo. He also worked with artists such as Steely Dan, Cyndi Lauper, and “Weird Al” Yankovic, producing several Grammy-winning parody songs. In addition, he produced music for the WWF, and contributed to film soundtracks, notably Bachelor Party (1984).

İlhan Şeşen
18 Jun 1948 – 26 May 2025
Popular Turkish songwriter and musician, who was an actor in his homeland also.

Barry McIlheney 
13 May 1960 – 26 May 2025
UK journalist, editor, broadcaster and publisher, who thrived as a hugely influential presence in music media in the 1980s and 1990s, beginning with Melody Maker and especially once he was appointed editor of Smash Hits in 1986, where he doubled its circulation. McIlheney successfully moved into film titles after this, before becoming MD of EMAP Metro in the mid-Nineties, which saw him also assume overall direction of such titles as Q and Mojo. He broadened into other areas of media after this, and was also appointed CEO of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA).

Domenico "Gigi" Canu
1959 – 26 May 2025
Italian musician who made his mark with the electronic band Planet Funk. 

Ferdinand "Freddie"  Aguilar
5 Feb 1953 – 27 May 2025
Filipino musician considered one of the icons of Original Pilipino Music, best known for his 1978 international hit Anak – one of the biggest Philippine records of all time, selling 33 million copies worldwide, and translated into 51 languages. Heavily associated with Pinoy Rock, his version of Bayan Ko became the anthem of the opposition against the regime of Ferdinand Marcos in the 1980s.

Brian Kellock
28 Dec 1962 – 27 May 2025
Scottish pianist who became a leading figure in the UK jazz scene, performing with artists such as Herb Geller, Sheila Jordan, and Art Farmer. From 1995 he played with James Morrison’s band, but his main focus was the long-standing Brian Kellock Trio, formed in 1988 with bassist Kenny Ellis and drummer John Rae. 

Tati Irianti
18 Nov 1965 – 27 May 2025
Indonesian actress, songwriter and vocalist. Starting out as a successful professional swimmer, Irianti turned to singing and songwriting, with notable songs in the 1990s including Ada Kamu and Kasih.

Per Nørgård 
13 Jul 1932 – 28 May 2025
Award-winning Danish composer and music theorist, whose music often included repeatedly evolving melodies and a focus on lyricism. Basing his music on mathematical models, he composed large-scale works including eight symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and operas, such as Gilgamesh. 

Al Foster
18 Jan 1943 – 28 May 2025
US jazz drummer known for his prowess across hard bop, swing, and jazz fusion styles. Starting in the mid-1960s with artists like Blue Mitchell and Illinois Jacquet, he later played with Miles Davis and contributed to his 1981 comeback LP The Man with the Horn, uniquely performing with Davis both before and after his hiatus. He collaborated with other jazz greats Sonny Rollins, Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, and Horace Silver, primarily in acoustic jazz. Foster also released several solo albums, beginning with Mixed Roots in 1978.

Charles Wadsworth
21 May 1929 – 29 May 2025
US classical pianist and musical promoter. Wadsworth established various chamber music concerts, especially in Spoleto, Italy and then in the US, followed by New York City. For both the Spoleto series, he kept program and performers a secret until personally announcing them at the beginning of each concert.

Susann McDonald
26 May 1935 – 29 May 2025
US classical harpist, who, along with a successful performing career, made a number of recordings and held significant academic and organizational posts. She was also co-founder and artistic director of the World Harp Congress in 1983, and founder and music director of the USA International Harp Competition in 1989.

Alf Clausen
28 Mar 1941 – 29 May 2025
Acclaimed US film and television composer, known for scoring episodes of The Simpsons, for which he was the sole composer between 1990 and 2017. He orchestrated for some 30 other films and TV shows, including Moonlighting and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Renée Victor
25 July 1938 – 30 May 2025
US actor, dance instructor and singer, best known for her role as Lupita on Weeds and for providing the voice of female Argonians in the 2011 video game The Elder Scrolls V Skyrim.

Marcie Jones
1946 – 31 May 2025
Vocalist and lead for pioneering 1960s Australian female mod group alongside the three Cook sisters, Marcie and the Cookies.

Pepé Willie
1949 – 31 May 2025
American musician who rose within the Minneapolis music scene and was regarded as an early mentor to Prince, having recruited him to his band 94 East. 

Colin Jerwood
1962 – c. 31 May 2025
British vocalist and front-man of the Eighties London anarcho-punk band, Conflict.  

Patrick Robin
1956 – c. May 2025
French luthier, who left a legacy of award-winning instrument making, including recognition as a Maître d'Art by the French Ministry of Culture for his mastery in crafting and restoring violins, violas, and cellos. 

Alberto Mastromarino
1964 – c. May 2025
Italian tenor known for his powerful performances in Verdi and Puccini operas, and whose talent adorned many of the world’s leading opera houses.

June 2025

Monica Nielsen (née Lindgren)
30 Nov 1937 – 1 Jun 2025
Swedish artist who was largely known for her body of acting work, but was also a regarded as a popular singer. 

Marcie Jones
1946 – 1 Jun 2025
Australian singer with Marcie & The Cookies, who performed alongside the three Cook sisters. The all-girl, vocal-only group, were a rarity in Australia's male-dominated music scene of the 1960s.

Eugen Doga
1 Mar 1937 – 3 Jun 2025
Moldovan composer who made important contributions to different styles of music, ranging from creating ballets, such as Queen Margot, and operas including Dialogues of Love, to writing over 100 instrumental and choral works and symphonies, among other works. He also wrote for stage, film and TV, and composed the music for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games. WIPO recognised his outstanding achievements in music with a special award in 2007.

Frankie Jordan (Claude Benzaquen)
19 Jul 1938 – 3 Jun 2025
French rock-and-roll singer of the early 1960s whose hits helped introduce the genre in French. After a brief but successful music career, he left the stage in 1963 to work as a dentist in Paris and later received major French honors for his contributions to the arts.

Halvor Haug
1952 – 3 Jun 2025
Norwegian composer, regarded as a symphonist of note, leaving a legacy of five symphonies, including Symphonic Picture, and a "modern romantic" voice rooted in Nordic tradition.

Nicole Croisille
9 Oct 1936 – 4 Jun 2025
French vocalist and actress, known for her work in film soundtracks and popular music. Active from the early 1960s, she appeared in numerous films and released various albums, gaining international recognition for her songs in Claude Lelouch’s 1966 film A Man and a Woman. Among her best-known songs are I’ll Never Leave You, Téléphone-Moi, and Parlez-moi de Lui.

Ariel Kalma (Ariel Kalmanowicz)
1947 – c. 5 Jun 2025
French artist and composer acclaimed for his pioneering work around new-age and electronic music.

Wayne Lewis
1957 – 5 Jun 2025
American R&B musician known for his keyboards and vocals, and his contribution to the New York R&B band Atlantic Starr. They are best known for their hits Always, Secret Lovers, and Masterpiece, among others.

Norman Hutchins
27 Sep 1962 – 5 Jun 2025
US musician who rose to prominence in the gospel scene of the 1990s. He released 10 albums over the course of two decades, seven of which made the Billboard Gospel Chart.

Mike Ejeagha
4 Apr 1930 – 6 Jun 2025
Nigerian artist, aka Gentleman Mike Ejeagha, and considered a ‘folklorist’ alongside his talents as a songwriter and musician. Starting his music career in the mid-20th century, he became an influential figure in the evolution of the Igbo style of music.

Billy Jones
2 Oct 1979 – 7 Jun 2025
American talent booker and concert promoter, who made his name in the New York indie rock boom of the Noughties. 

Cheo Zorrilla
17 Feb 1950 – 8 Jun 2025
Music composer, trumpet player, vocalist and one of the most successful artists to have come out of the Dominican Republic. Among his best-known songs are Apocalypse, When Each January is Born, and With Broken Wings  In 2016 Zorrilla was inducted into the Latin Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Sly Stone (Sylvester Stewart)
15 Mar 1943 – 9 Jun 2025
influential American musician, songwriter, and producer best known as the leader of Sly and the Family Stone.  Considered a key architect of psychedelic soul and funk, he created a signature sound that shaped modern music. Already a talented multi-instrumentalist, producer, and DJ by the time he formed his groundbreaking, racially integrated band in 1966, he led in creating major hits including Dance to the Music, Everyday People, and Family Affair. The group also produced several landmark albums that helped to define progressive soul and which influenced generations of artists. Stone went on to collaborate with others major musicians, and he was honoured with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1993), a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2017), and selection for the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame (2025).

Jonathan Mayers
1974 – c. Jun 2025
American live music impresario who founded the Bonnaroo and Outside Land festivals.

Jack Kleinsinger
1 Aug 1936 – 11 Jun 2025
US figure in the live music scene, who created the Highlights in Jazz, the New York concert series.

Brian Wilson 
20 Jun 1942 – 11 Jun 2025 
Trailblazing American musician, songwriter, and producer, regarded by many as one of the great figures of twentieth century music. Wilson was best known as the creative force behind the Beach Boys – the iconic West Coast band which included his brothers Carl and Dennis. Celebrated for his innovative studio techniques, intricate harmonies, and emotionally rich songwriting, the Beach Boys' sound evolved under Wilson from surf rock and doo-wop to more complex genres like chamber pop, progressive pop, and psychedelic rock, characterised by sophisticated vocal harmonies and orchestral production. The band’s early music celebrated California youth culture, while later work, particularly on albums including the 1966 classic, Pet Sounds, explored more experimental and introspective themes, with a wide array of instruments and layered arrangements. In this way, Wilson helped to redefine popular music in the 1960s with landmark songs including Good Vibrations, God Only Knows, and Wouldn’t It Be Nice, which he co-authored. Despite lifelong struggles with mental illness, addiction, and periods of reclusion, Wilson staged multiple comebacks, launched a successful solo career, and continued touring into the 21st century. Widely considered one of pop’s greatest auteurs, he influenced genres from psychedelia to indie rock and received major honours including two Grammys, Kennedy Center Honours, and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

John Sweeney
1960 – 11 Jun 2025
Popular music industry figure who, having started out in music as a writer and performer, including as a 
drummer for The Associates in the late 70s and early 80s, went on to become a passionate champion of music creators and their rights.  Among various roles, he served as the Director of Membership and a board member at PRS for Music, while he was also a founding trustee of the PRS Foundation. He went on to become a Vice President for SESAC, overseeing global songwriter and publisher affiliations outside the US.

Douglas McCarthy
1 Sep 1966 – 11 Jun 2025
English vocalist who made his mark in  electronica, including as the lead singer of the group Nitzer Ebb for much of his career. He also performed alongside producer DJ Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy, and with musician Cyrusrex as DJM/REX. He additionally was part of the Blackline music collective, as well as releasing a solo album Kill Your Friends in 2012, and worked with artists including Recoil, Die Krupps, Client, and Adult.

Ananda Lewis
21 Mar 1973 – 11 Jun 2025
US broadcast journalist, TV host, and VJ known for her influential presence on BET and MTV in the late 1990s. A two-time NAACP Image Award winner, she became a cultural role model through shows like Teen Summit, MTV’s Hot Zone, and Total Request Live. She later hosted her own nationally syndicated talk show, The Ananda Lewis Show, which focused on serious issues rather than sensationalism. After stepping away from television, she worked as a correspondent for The Insider and later returned to TV in 2019 to host TLC’s revival of While You Were Out.

Louis Moholo-Moholo
10 Mar 1940 – 13 Jun 2025
Pioneering South African jazz drummer and a key figure in Blue Notes and Brotherhood of Breath. After moving to Europe in 1964, he became influential in the British jazz scene, collaborated widely across free jazz, and led groups like Viva la Black. He returned to South Africa in 2005 and continued performing under the name Louis Moholo-Moholo.

Kollangudi Karuppayee
c. 1925 – 14 June 2025
Indian vocalist who was considered a pioneer of Tamil folk music, and who also made her mark in films. Starting out as a performer on All India Radio, she performed across an eight-decade career, and received many honours including the prestigious Kalaimamani award for her contributions to music. 

Bira Presidente
1937 – 14 Jun 2025
Brazilian musician and a key figure in the influential samba band from Rio, Grupo Fundo de Quintal, which formed at the end of the 1970s.

Sven-Åke Johansson 
1943 – 15 Jun 2025
Swedish, Berlin-based composer and drummer, who was also a poet, author and a visual artist. He became associated with the European free jazz movement and was known for his free jazz improvisation.

Kate Lukas
1946 – 15 Jun 2025
US flautist and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music professor, who left a legacy as a champion of contemporary flute music, and was a renowned performer with groups like the Chicago Symphony, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the London Symphony Orchestra, and an influential mentor.
 
Gusti Irwan Wibowo
28 Nov 1999 – 15 Jun 2025
Indonesian musician, producer, and songwriter as well as a comedian, content creator and entertainer. Wibowo was also known for producing music for other Indonesian artists, including Raisa, Ardhito Pramano and Nadin Amizah. He promoted his own music genre, Endikup – a fusion of pop, Malay and other styles. He released an album titled Duh Gusti in 2023, with a follow up released posthumously.

Hélio Delmiro 
20 May 1947 – 16 Jun 2025
Brazilian musician and composer, who played guitar with many of the best Brazilian musicians, including Moacyr Silva. With César Camargo Mariano, he recorded in 1981 the landmark album Samambaia.

John Reid
1964 – c. 16 Jun 2025
Glasgow DJ and vocalist, and founder of Nightcrawlers and the voice behind the 1992 dance classic Push The Feeling On. Before Nightcrawlers, Reid performed as Robinson Reid in the project This Way Up with Roy Hay of Culture Club. Push The Feeling On became a worldwide hit through remixes by Marc Kinchen in the mid-1990s and later gained renewed attention when sampled by Pitbull in 2009.  Reid was also a successful songwriter for artists including Tina Turner, Westlife, Rod Stewart, Kelly Clarkson, and Leona Lewis, for whom he co-wrote her No.1 debut single, A Moment Like This.

Dave Scott
15 Aug 1972 – 16 Jun 2025
American choreographer, who made his mark in Hip-Hop videos and also worked in TV, movies and video games and with artists including Bow Wow.

Charles Burrell
4 Oct 1920 – 17 Jun 2025
US jazz and classical bass player, known for various achievements, including as the first African-American to join a major American symphony (the Denver Symphony Orchestra, now known as the Colorado Symphony). 

Alfred Brendel 
5 Jan 1931 – 17 Jun 2025
Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, and composer, renowned for his interpretations of Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt. He was the first pianist to record Beethoven’s complete solo piano works and produced three complete recordings of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas. Gaining early recognition for his talent, his international career flourished, leading to numerous recordings and global tours. Brendel had close associations with the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonics, collaborating with major orchestras worldwide. He also mentored younger pianists and performed with his children, including his son, cellist Adrian Brendel.

Lou Christie (Lugee Sacco)
19 Feb 1943 – 18 Jun 2025
American-Italian pop singer-songwriter known for a string of 1960s hits, including the US No.1 Lightnin’ Strikes and the UK No.2 I’m Gonna Make You Mine. Finding success as a teenager, and known for his falsetto voice, he formed an enduring songwriting partnership with Twyla Herbert. Christie continued releasing through the Sixties and Seventies, experimenting with musical styles, and later became a staple of the oldies circuit. He recorded new material periodically, worked in film music, and hosted shows on SiriusXM. 

Teet Järvi
22 Apr 1958 – 18 Jun 2025
Estonian principal cellist with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra (ERSO). He was celebrated for his solo work, chamber music, and teaching, leaving behind a legacy within the Estonian music culture.

Ron Woodbridge
1938 – 19 Jun 2025
English rock musician, who was notably a member of the Sixties Liverpool band, The Searchers. Part of the Merseybeat Scene and the ‘British Invasion’ alongside the likes of The Beatles, they enjoyed multiple hits, including Sweets For My Sweet, and Needles and Pins – which also achieved US Billboard chart success. 

Anne Marie Børud
1949 – 19 Jun 2025
Norwegian artist who was also the wife of singer, musician and producer Arnold Børud, and was part of the Arnold B Family of music performers.

Geirr Lystrup 
22 Mar 1949 – 19 Jun 2025
Norwegian singer, poet, playwright and children's writer. He announced his arrival with his 1972 debut Ti På Taket og Måltrostblues, but made his breakthrough with his award-winning sophomore album Songen om Kjærligheta in 1981. He played with the group Godtfolk, and their first album Egg og Champagne from 1988 was awarded Spellemannprisen. 

Cavin Yarbrough
22 Jan 1954 – 19 Jun 2025
American R&B and soul singer and musician, and part of the eponymously titled Yarbrough and Peoples.  The duo enjoyed huge success in the 1980s, including with their 1981 Billboard R&B chart-topper, Don’t Stop The Music.

James Prime
3 Nov 1960 – 19 Jun 2025
Scottish musician best known as the longtime keyboardist for Deacon Blue, whom he joined in 1985, playing on all 11 of the band’s studio albums, including, most recently, The Great Western Road. Prime began as a session musician in the early 1980s before contributing to Deacon Blue’s success, including hit singles, such as Real Gone Kid in 1989, taken off the No.1 album, When the World Knows Your Name. Outside the band, he worked in theatre, toured and recorded with Johnny Hallyday, and later helped to establish the Commercial Music course at the University of the West of Scotland, where he also lectured.

David L. Hamilton
1951 – 20 Jun 2025
American keyboardist who was most known for being part of the original line up of the 1970s prog/AOR band, Pavlov’s Dog.

Patrick Walden 
5 Oct 1978 – 20 Jun 2025
British guitarist best known for his influential role in Babyshambles and for co-writing many of their songs and helping to shape the band’s distinctive, experimental guitar style. Before joining them in 2004, he played in several London groups and worked extensively as a live and session musician. He later performed at various events, started new musical projects—including the short-lived band Big Dave—and continued collaborating with former bandmates. More recently, he pursued new creative work and studied jazz composition to reconnect with his musical roots.

Eden Blackman
c. 1968 – 21 June 2025
English TV presenter who worked on Celebs Go Dating and other programming, but began his career as a music plugger on radio.

Mick Ralphs 
31 Mar 1944 – 23 Jun 2025
British guitarist, singer and songwriter, known as a founding member of Mott the Hoople and Bad Company, appearing on every studio album by both bands. A versatile guitarist and key songwriting contributor, Ralphs was pivotal in crafting hits like All the Way from Memphis and Can’t Get Enough. He began with blues-rockers The Buddies, and later joined the Mod Doc Thomas Group, which evolved into Mott the Hoople. After leaving the band in 1973, he co-founded Bad Company with Paul Rodgers, achieving international success, including a number-one U.S. debut album. Ralphs also pursued solo projects, including It’s All Good (2001), and collaborated with musicians like David Gilmour and Ian Hunter. 

Yuri Parfyonov
19 Jan 1946 – 23 Jun 2025
Russian jazz performer who started as a trumpet player with the Palace of Pioneers band. He went on to work with Oleg Lundstrem’s orchestra, and later joined the free jazz ensemble Three Ols.  He was recognised as a Merited Artist of the Russian Federation in 1997.

Feya Faku 
6 Jun 1962 – 23 Jun 2025
South African brass player, who was highly regarded for his contributions to jazz. Faku built a significant international presence, collaborating with prominent musicians and participating in prestigious festivals worldwide.

Rebekah Del Rio
10 Jul 1967 – 23 Jun 2025
American singer-songwriter and actress known for her powerful vocals and frequent collaborations with filmmaker David Lynch. Rising from San Diego’s music scene, she gained international recognition with her Spanish rendition of Crying (Llorando), and her performance of it in Mulholland Drive. She released Nobody’s Angel, had chart success in Europe, contributed to multiple film soundtracks, and later appeared in Southland Tales and Twin Peaks: The Return.

John Conklin
22 Jun 1937 – 24 Jun 2025 
US theatrical set designer who worked with the New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival, among other events and venues.

Bobby Sherman 
22 Jul 1943 – 24 Jun 2025
US vocalist and musician, who acted also. Emerging as a teen idol in the late Sixties, he achieved success with his 1969 single Little Woman, but in the 1970s he stepped away from a career in music to become a paramedic and later a lawman.

Serge Fiori 
4 Mar 1952 – 24 Jun 2025
Canadian musician who was the lead singer and guitarist with the prog rock band, Harmonium, before pursuing a successful solo career.

Lalo Schifrin
21 Jun 1932 – 26 Jun 2025 
Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductor, most remembered for his innovative film and TV scores blending jazz, Latin American music, and classical orchestration. His most iconic works include the Mission: Impossible and Mannix themes, and he created the scores for such films as Bullitt, Cool Hand Luke, Enter the Dragon, The Amityville Horror, and the Rush Hour trilogy. In a long career, he collaborated extensively with artists including Dizzy Gillespie in jazz, and with Clint Eastwood in film, while he also composed the Paramount Pictures fanfare used from 1976 to 2004. He additionally arranged for The Three Tenors and co-composed a 2025 symphony for Argentina. Schifrin earned five Grammys, multiple Oscar and Emmy nominations, and received an Honorary Academy Award in 2019. His autobiography, Mission Impossible: My Life in Music, reflects his lifelong belief in the limitless possibilities of musical expression.

Walter Scott
1944 – 26 Jun 2025
American singer, part of the LA vocal group The Whispers. Scoring hit records since the late 1960s, they were best known for their No.1 R&B singles, And The Beat Goes On, and Rock Steady – part of 15 top-ten R&B singles.

Roger Martinez
14 Dec 1962 – 26 Jun 2025
American musician who was an often controversial frontman for the Christian thrash metal band Vengeance Rising.

Ocasional Talento (Hiroshi Ruiz)
6 May 1996 – 26 Jun 2025
Bolivian rapper and vocalist, songwriter, and music producer. His work also saw him perform with the jazz and Hip-Hop group Vinilo 45, for whom he wrote and performed lead vocals.

Derek Fuhrmann
1981 – 27 Jun 2025
American singer-songwriter and guitarist, who was most known as a key member of The Crash Motive.

Stuart Burrows
7 Feb 1933 – 29 Jun 2025
Welsh operatic tenor, who specialised in works by Mozart in particular, earning the epithet King of Mozart. He was a fixture at The Royal Opera House for over two decades, and also performed regularly at the New York Met.  He reached a wider audience in the UK in the 1980s through his TV series Stuart Burrows Sings.

Kenneth Freed
1961 – 29 Jun 2025
American violinist who was with the Minnesota Orchestra for nearly three decades, and was also former music director of the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. A conductor also Freed was widely admired for his artistry and advocacy for music education, including co-founding the nonprofit Learning Through Music.

Beate Ritter
1984 – c. Jun 2025
Austrian coloratura soprano, who was highly regarded for her work with the Vienna Volksoper and Stuttgart Staatsoper.

July 2025

Hamdan ATT (Attamimi)
17 Jan 1946 – 1 Jul 2025
Indonesian singer specialising in the Dangdut style. He became widely known in the early Eighties following the success of his song Termiskin Di Dunia. Hamdan’s dedication to Dangdut saw him recognised with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Indonesian Dangdut Awards in 2021.

Brendan Berg
1982 – 1 Jul 2025
Canadian musician, most known as the bassist for Canadian indie pop band, Royal Canoe.

Verka Ivanova
 26 Apr 1926 – 2 Jul 2025
Bulgarian folk singer, most known for performing songs from ger Dobrudzha region.

Michael MacConnell 
28 Dec 1947 – 3 Jul 2025
Northern Irish musician and songwriter best known for writing Only Our Rivers Run Free. Born into a musical family, he worked in journalism before focusing on songwriting, later releasing two albums: Peter Pan and Me (1992) and Joined Up Writing (2000).

Mark Snow (Martin Fulterman)
26 Aug 1946 – 4 Jul 2025
US composer known largely for his work on film and TV soundtracks, notably for The X-Files theme, as well as for such shows as Smallville, Ghost Whisperer, Hart to Hart, Starsky and Hutch, and the 
2002 revival of The Twilight Zone.

Luís Jardim 
4 Jul 1950 – c. 4 Jul 2025
Portuguese multi-instrumental musician, particularly known for his percussion play.  He was also known for his for his work with producer Trevor Horn.

Young Noble (Rufus Lee Cooper III)
21 Mar 1978 – 4 Jul 2025
US rapper best known as a member of Tupac Shakur’s group Outlawz. Introduced to Tupac, he appeared on several tracks of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and became the last member added to Outlawz before Tupac’s death. He contributed heavily to the 1999 platinum Outlawz/2Pac album Still I Rise and went on to release solo projects and collaborations, including work with members of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

Owen Gray
5 Jul 1939 – 5 Jul 2025
Pioneering Jamaican singer whose career spanned R&B, ska, rocksteady, and reggae. Considered Jamaica’s first major home-grown singing star, he recorded early hits for Studio One and Island Records, had success in Jamaica and the UK through the 1960s–70s, and later worked in roots reggae, ballads, and gospel. He remained active for decades and received the Jamaican Order of Distinction in 2023.

Oskar Huber
31 Jul 1954 – 6 Jul 2025
Austrian musician and singer-songwriter. His first band was the Sixties-focused Universe, but by the early Eighties Huber had moved towards blues, co-founding the Bluesbreakers  with Reinhold Habernig. They toured and grew in popularity and achieved chart success. Huber later founded the group Sterz

Antti Tammilehto
1955 – 6 Jul 2025
Finnish musician, most known for his bass play as a one time member with Finnish rock’n’roll band The Boys – aka Jussi & The Boys.

Mosie Burks
1933 – 7 Jul 2025
American gospel vocalist known for their performances with the Mississippi Mass Choir.

James Cathcart
8 Mar 1954 – 8 Jul 2025
American vocal talent aka Jimmy Zoppi, who was also a pianist. He was best known for providing various voices for the Pokémon franchise.

Tim Cronin
1962 – 8 Jul 2025
US musician and vocalist, known for his drumming and bass play as well as being the lead singer of rock band Monster Magnet.

Ihor Pohlad
10 Dec 1941 – 9 Jul 2025
Celebrated Ukrainian composer, who wrote many of his homeland’s favourites and have been performed by leading singers, such as The Magic Violin sung by Nina Matviienko. He also wrote for theatre and film, and was honoured for his work as the People’s Artist of Ukraine and also Hero of Ukraine.

Raymond Guiot
5 Oct 1930 – 11 Jul 2025
French musician – flautist and composer who was known for both classical music and jazz, as principal flute at the Opéra de Paris from 1962 to 1991 and an influential teacher at the Conservatoire de Paris from 1977, but was influenced in his compositions also by jazz and popular music. 

David Kaff (David Ewer)
17 Apr 1946 – 11 Jul 2025
English musician and actor. Kaff co-founded the prog rock band Rare Bird, performing with them from 1969 to 1975 and achieving international success with the hit single Sympathy. He later gained recognition as Viv Savage, the keyboardist for the fictional band Spinal Tap, in the cult 1984 ‘mockumentary’ This Is Spinal Tap.

Iris Williams
20 Apr 1946 – 11 Jul 2025
Welsh singer who earned a scholarship to the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and then rose to prominence with her Welsh-language hit Pererin Wyf in 1971, winning the Cân i Gymru contest in 1974. Williams achieved UK chart success in 1979 with He Was Beautiful, which led to her own BBC series. Her later career included performances in the US, including concerts with Bob Hope, as well as appearances at the Royal Variety Performance and the 1999 opening gala of the National Assembly for Wales.

Toni Cruz 
14 Jul 1946 – 11 Jul 2025
Spanish TV producer who sang also, including at one time with the musical group La Trinca.

Reinhart von Gutzeit
1947 – 11 Jul 2025
German-born music professor and former Mozarteum Salzburg rector, who known for his leadership at the Mozarteum, transforming the Bruckner Conservatory into a university. He was also highly regarded as a respected violin, viola, and conducting teacher. 

Dave Cousins (David Hindson)
7 Jan 1940 – 13 Jul 2025
English musician best known as the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of The Stawbs from 1967, who had notable hits including the UK No.2 Part of the Union. Starting out in bluegrass as the Strawberry Hill Boys, with Cousins the band moved on to folk and then prog rock. Cousins continued later working with various musicians and was also known for his acoustic performances.

Matt Keil
1986 – 14 Jul 2025
Canadian guitarist who was a member and bass guitarist in the hardcore punk band, Comeback Kid.

Billy April
1974 – 15 Jul 2025
American musician, songwriter and record producer, including with the Nineties dance music act, Driza Bone.

Connie Francis (Concetta Franconero)
12 Dec 1937 – 16 Jul 2025
Trailblazing American-Italian star, who was one of the most successful female vocalists of the late 1950s and early 1960s, going on to sell over 100m records worldwide and become the first woman to achieve three No.1 hits on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Francis gained fame with her 1958 cover of Who's Sorry Now? and continued with numerous chart-toppers, including Everybody's Somebody's Fool, Stupid Cupid, and Lipstick On Your Collar. A key factor in her global popularity was her ability to record in multiple languages, including Italian, German, and Japanese, while she also appeared in various films and TV shows. Her career was interrupted by personal challenges, but she continued recording and performing until her retirement in 2018. In 2025, shortly before her death, her 1962 song Pretty Little Baby went viral on social media, introducing her music to a new generation. 

Gary Karr
20 Nov 1941 – 16 Jul 2025
US classical performer on double bass, who taught and mentored also. Considered one of the best bassists of his era, in the 1960s he pioneered the use of the double bass as a virtuoso solo instrument, promoting The Times to say that he was to the double bass "what Segovia was to the classical guitar". Karr performed with orchestras worldwide and in 1976 founded the International Society of Bassists. 

Eero Raittinen
6 Oct 1944 – 16 Jul 2025
Finnish vocalist and drummer in rock and pop, who, in a six decade career performed with multiple groups, including The Esquires, and The Boys.

Chris Faiumi
1968 – 16 Jul 2025
Founding producer and DJ of the iconic New Zealand band Fat Freddy's Drop, whose style ranged from dub and reggae to soul and R&B. Their LP Based on a True Story, was the first independently distributed title to top the New Zealand charts, and remains the third highest-seller by a national artist in the country's history.  

Alan Bergman
11 Sep 1925 – 17 Jul 2025
American composer, who, with his wife Marilyn, formed part of a prolific songwriting duo. Together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous film, TV and stage productions. Their success earned them four Emmy Awards, three Oscars, two Grammys, including Song of the Year, and induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. The Bergmans’ breakthrough came with Quincy Jones on In the Heat of the Night, launching a prolific career writing with major composers. They collaborated extensively with Michel Legrand, winning an Oscar for The Windmills of Your Mind, and with Marvin Hamlisch on Barbra Streisand’s hit The Way We Were. Through the 1980s and 1990s they continued to receive honours for their work on films including Tootsie and Yentl, as well as such moments of national importance as President Clinton’s 1993 inaugural celebration.

Daphne Walker
25 Sep 1930 – 17 Jul 2025
New Zealand vocalist, who rose to fame in the 1950s, including with such recordings as Haere Mai.

Robbie Pradlo
1979 – 17 Jul 2025
American Hip-Hop and R&B artist, who was part of the City High trio, who were Grammy nominated and achieved Billboard chart success in the early Noughties.

Sir Roger Norrington OBE CBE 
16 Mar 1934 – 18 Jul 2025
English conductor renowned for his historically-informed performances of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic music. He led various ensembles including Kent Opera, London Classical Players, Bournemouth Sinfonietta, and Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and later served as principal conductor of Camerata Salzburg and the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he created the “Stuttgart Sound.” He also guest-conducted major orchestras and advised musical societies. Norrington recorded with Decca, EMI, Erato, Sony Classical and other labels across a breadth of composers, including Mozart, Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, and Schubert, and with such artists as Andreas Scholl and Joshua Bell. His artistic endeavours saw him honoured in the UK and overseas, including Cavaliere of the Italian Republic and Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Harold Galper
18 Apr 1938 – 18 Jul 2025
US jazz pianist, composer, and educator known for his work with such major artists as Chet Baker, Stan Getz, and the Cannonball Adderley Quintet. Active as both a bandleader and sideman, he recorded extensively from the 1970s onward, toured widely with his trios, and taught at Purchase College and The New School, becoming a respected jazz educator and writer.

Helen Cornelius (née Johnson)
6 Dec 1941 – 18 Jul 2025
US country music singer-songwriter, best remembered for her duets with Jim Ed Brown, many of which reached the U.S. country singles charts at Top-10 hits in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Frank Maffei
1940 – 19 Jul 2025
American tenor vocalist who was part of the successful doo-wop and rock’n’roll 1950s outfit Danny & the Juniors. The band are best known for their massive 1957 no. 1 hit At The Hop, and their 1958 follow up Rock and Roll Is Here To Stay.

Béatrice Uria-Monzon
28 Dec 1963 – 19 Jul 2025
French mezzo-soprano best known for her acclaimed portrayals of Bizet’s Carmen, a role she debuted in 1993 and performed widely at major opera houses. She specialised in French repertoire, singing leading roles in works by Massenet and Berlioz, but also appeared in Italian operas such as Tosca. Her career also included contemporary work, notably the 2017 world premiere of Francesconi’s Trompe-la-mort in Paris.

Preta Gil 
8 Aug 1974 – 20 Jul 2025
Brazilian singer, who was also a successful entrepreneur and television personality, but was perhaps best  known as the daughter of icon Gilberto Gil.  Loved for her vibrant personality, she was also a champion of LGBT+ rights and stood out for her work both on stage and behind the scenes in the local music industry. 

John "Poli" Palmer
26 May 1943 – 21 Jul 2025
British rock musician who was an integral member of the prog rock group, Family. He was a multi-instrumentalist who played the vibraphone, flute, piano, synthesizers and drums, and he was with the band from late 1969 until late 1972.

David Rendall
11 Oct 1948 – 21 Jul 2025
English tenor who rose to international prominence through his acclaimed performances at the Royal Opera House, The Met in New York, and other opera houses. He developed a reputation for playing roles from Mozart, Rossini, and Richard Strauss, and later for heavier parts, such as Verdi’s Otello.

Eamon Downes
1969 – 21 Jul 2025
English DJ aka A.M.E. and dance music performer who, with Shane Heneghan (aka Model) formed the Nineties dance act Liquid. They broke through with the rave classic Sweet Harmony, which blended CeCe Rogers–style house with breakbeats and later gained wider release, including with different mixes. After Heneghan left following their early EPs, Downes continued the project solo, producing further club-favoured tracks such as Time to Get Up and earning UK Top 40 and European hits.

Charles “Chuck” Mangione
29 Nov 1940 – 22 Jul 2025
US musician and composer who came to prominence as a member of Art Blakey’s band in the 1960s, and later co-led the Jazz Brothers with his brother, Gap, achieving international success with his single Feels So Good. He released over 30 albums and appeared in TV shows, including a recurring role on King of the Hill.

George Kooymans 
11 Mar 1948 – 22 Jul 2025
Dutch guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his performances with Dutch rock group Golden Earring. He co-wrote the band’s global smash, Radar Love, as well as their US Top-10 hit, Twilight Zone.

Ozzy Osbourne 
3 Dec 1948 – 22 Jul 2025
English heavy metal vocalist, performer and songwriter, who went on to become a global icon of the genre, as famous for his hell-raising antics and publicity stunts, as he was for his music. Rising to fame in the early 1970s with Black Sabbath’s pioneering heavy, dark sound, he performed as frontman on the band’s first eight albums, including the groundbreaking releases, Black Sabbath, and Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971), before leaving in 1979. In the 1980s he launched a hit-filled solo career with albums including Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman, becoming a central figure in metal as well as a frequent source of controversy, which only added to his allure and the celebrity building around him. He went on to sell more than 100m albums across his solo work and with Black Sabbath, earning induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band and as a solo artist, and receiving numerous awards and accolades. He periodically reunited with Black Sabbath, contributing to their final album 13 and touring until their 2017 farewell. Beyond music, he became a major pop-cult figure through Ozzfest and reality TV shows such as The Osbournes. Health problems curtailed touring and his career in later in life, though with his wife Sharon he cemented his status as a cherished ‘national treasure’ and is inspiring a new generation of rock artists, such as Yungblud.  Millions mourned his passing just a few days after he and Black Sabbath had given a farewell live performance on 5 July at Aston Villa, in his beloved home city of Birmingham.

Alexander Bernstein
1955 – 22 Jul 2025
American music executive who was also the son of Leonard Bernstein and was President of Artful Learning.

Michael Ochs
27 Feb 1943 – 23 Jul 2025
Renowned US photographic archivist, who developed an extensive and celebrated  collection of rock music images dating back to the 1950s. Described by the New York Times as the “premier source of musician photography in the world", Ochs sold his iconic archive to Getty Images in 2007.

Dame Cleo Laine OBE (Clementine Dinah Bullock)
28 Oct 1927 – 24 Jul 2025
Legendary English jazz singer and actress celebrated for her extraordinary vocal range and her trademark scat singing. She rose to national prominence after joining John Dankworth’s band, later marrying him and collaborating with him throughout her career. Laine enjoyed popular and critical success with hit singles, acclaimed theatre roles in productions such as Show Boat and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (earning a Tony nomination), and landmark performances at venues including Carnegie Hall. She recorded widely, toured internationally, and appeared in television and stage productions for decades. Recognised with numerous honours, including a Grammy award in 1986 for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, Dame Cleo continued performing well into her later life, developing national treasure status.

Amalia Macías
22 Mar 1934 – 24 Jul 2025
Mexican vocal performer as well as an actor of stage and screen. Popular in her homeland, she also toured around the world extensively in the 1960s and 1970s. 

Tommy McLain
15 Mar 1940 – 24 Jul 2025
US ‘swamp’ musician, best known as a singer but who also played keyboards, drums, bass guitar, and fiddle.

Obafemi Lasode
4 Dec 1955 – 24 Jul 2025
Multi-talented Nigerian artist, who was a musician, songwriter and producer as well as a film executive. He was CEO of Even-Ezra Nigeria Limited, the stable that produced an award-winning movie, Sango in 1997.

Fiji (George Veikoso)
10 May 1970 – 24 Jul 2025
Fijian musician, singer-songwriter, musician, and producer, who worked with Fijian style of music.

Tom Lehrer
9 Apr 1928 – 26 Jul 2025
US satirical songwriter and musician known for his comedic songs. Rising to popularity in the 1950s, he crafted humorous pieces that parodied musical styles and often addressed contemporary political issues. His best-known works include Poisoning Pigeons in the Park. In the 1970s he stepped back from performing and spent much of his later career teaching mathematics and musical theatre.

Patrick “Jock” McDonald
1956 – 26 Jul 2025
Irish born, Scottish-based musician and industry figure who fronted the late seventies band the Bollock Brothers and was also involved with Jimmy Lydon's 4-Be-2s. Known for his colourful and sometimes checkered reputation, he was at various times was a singer, promoter, DJ, and manager. 

Ziad Rahbani
1 Jan 1956 – 26 Jul 2025
Lebanese composer and musician, considered one of his homeland’s most influential artists, who was also a playwright and political activist.  Born into a famous musical family which did much to shape Arab music, many of his musicals made a commentary on Lebanese politics. 

Anna Lemiszka
1971 – 26 Jul 2025
Polish violinist who was a long-time member of the Polish Radio Orchestra in Warsaw. An alumna of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, she was admired for her sensitive musicianship and deep commitment to ensemble playing.

Daddy Lumba (Charles Kwadwo Fosu)
29 Sep 1964 – 26 Jul 2025
Ghanaian-born German-based artist who wad a singer, songwriter, and producer in the highlife style. He was widely regarded as one of Ghana’s most influential musicians, known for producing decades of hit records and rich storytelling rooted in Ghanaian culture, and major national and international honours.

Celso Valli 
14 May 1950 – 27 Jul 2025
Italian composer, conductor, arranger, and record producer, who began his career working with such artists as Drupi and then Mina, before developing into a leading music creator from the 1980s onwards, collaborating with greats including Andrea Bocelli, Laura Pausini, and Eros Ramazotti.

Roger K. Burton
12 Jun 1949 – 28 Jul 2025
British creative known for his major influence on fashion, film costuming, and music and countercultural arts. Beginning in the 1970s, he designed for iconic fashion spaces, including Vivienne Westwood & Malcolm McLaren’s Worlds End, and supplied mod clothing to the film Quadrophenia. In 1978 he founded the Contemporary Wardrobe Collection, an archive of 20,000 vintage garments used by stylists and designers. 

Sir Michael Hill
23 Dec 1938 – 29 Jul 2025
Renowned New Zealand violinist and philanthropist – also known for his successful jewellery business –
who founded the prestigious Michael Hill International Violin Competition to encourage young musicians and the arts in New Zealand and globally.

Livio Macchia 
9 Nov 1941 – 29 Jul 2025
Italian pop bassist and vocalist, known as part of the founding line up of the I Camaleonti pop group, and performing and recording with them over a six-decade career, contributing to 17 studio albums.

Paul Mario Day
19 Apr 1956 – 29 Jul 2025
UK metal vocalist best known as the original lead singer with Iron Maiden between 1975 and 1976. He later performed with the bands More, Wildfire and a re-formed Sweet, recording a live LP in 1986. He relocated to Australia, where he worked with several rock bands and appeared as a guest vocalist on Buffalo Crows’ LP Bovonic Empire. In 2019, he reunited with Iron Maiden’s original 1975 lineup for a special concert in London.

Sylvia Young OBE 
18 Sep 1939 – 30 Jul 2025
Renowned performing-arts educator known for founding in 1981 the influential Sylvia Young Theatre School, which offers vocational training in acting, dance and music, and counts Amy Winehouse, Leona Lewis, and Dua Lipa among hundreds of alumni who have pursued successful careers in the worlds of music and entertainment. Her granddaughter is the singer Eliza Doolittle. 

Michael Lydon
14 Sep 1942 – 30 Jul 2025
Celebrated American music journalist, who leaves a powerful legacy as a founding editor of Rolling Stone magazine.

David F. Gibson
7 Mar 1953 — 30 Jul 2025
Renowned jazz drummer known for his driving, precise swing with major big bands including the Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway orchestras. Celebrated for his versatility and musical intuition, he also contributed to Philadelphia’s jazz scene and worked in both large ensembles and small-group settings.

Leonardo "Flaco" Jiménez 
11 Mar 1939 – 31 Jul 2025
US singer-songwriter and musician known for performing in a variety of Mexican styles – with groups, such as Los Super Seven and Texas Tornados, and as a solo artist. Over a seven-decade career, he received many awards and honours, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Jonathan Lloyd
30 Sep 1948 – 31 Jul 2025
English composer who studied at the Royal College of Music and at Tanglewood. He gained recognition with such works as Toward the Whitening Dawn, received commissions from UK ensembles, served as composer-in-residence at Dartington, and also wrote for theatre and film, including a score for Hitchcock’s Blackmail.

Erik Wunder
7 Mar 1983 – 31 Jul 2025
American musician who was a staple of the US metal scene through his band Cobalt, but who was also at home in folk in the acoustic Man's Gin.

Jesto (Justin Yamanouchi)
25 Nov 1984 – 31 Jul 2025
Italian rapper born into an entertainment family. He released his first EP Coming Soon in 2003, shortly followed by his debut album Il Mio Primo e Ultimo Disco. In 2006 he released the mixtape Radio Jesto Libero Vol. 1. and later brought out his second studio album Estremo, going on to release further mixtapes.

Frans Brouw
1929 – c. Jul 2025
Belgian-born pianist and teacher, who was the longest-living prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth Piano Competition. He made his mark with his debut performing Beethoven's Concerto No. 4 with the Orchestre National de Belgique and subsequently performed 60 concerts a season in Europe and internationally. 

Brian Clarke
1933 – c. Jul 2025
English former Co-Principal Viola at the LSO. He performed with various orchestras, including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and, in a long career, worked with some of the world’s greatest conductors including Andre Previn, Claudio Abbado and Leonard Bernstein. He also contributed to the soundtracks of several John Williams film scores, among them Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Superman and E.T.

Dan Meizhen
1944 – c. Jul 2025
Pioneering Chinese string maker, and founder of For-Tune Strings, who devoted her life to string production,  despite having no formal musical training, and focused on research and development for both Western and traditional Chinese instruments. 

Fox Fehling
1949 – 7 Jul 2025
US violinist, who devoted much of her professional career to The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, where she served between 1979 and 2022 following an invitation from Sir Georg Solti. She performed with orchestras as diverse as the Springfield Symphony, the National Orchestra of New York, and the orchestras at the Spoleto, Italy, and Aspen music festivals.

Norman E. Johns
1951 – c. Jul 2025
US cellist who was a long-standing member of the Cincinnati Symphony, where he was recognised as the CSO’s longest-serving African American musician. Johns helped to establish the Norman E. Johns chair award to offer scholarship support to musicians from underrepresented backgrounds, and he also mentored pre-professional musicians through the CSO’s diversity fellowship programme.

Karen Ritscher 
1952 – c. Jul 2025
American violist and educator who served on the Manhattan School of Music viola faculty beginning in 1989, returning to the Precollege in 2007 and the College faculty in 2010. Renowned for her deep musical insight, who inspired students from around the world. 

Mary Woehr
1953 – c. Jul 2025
American violinist who was a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) for four decades until 2023. She leaves a legacy as a talented violist, pianist, and accompanist, known for her dedication to music. 

Seth Malkin
N/a – c. Jul 2025
US longtime bass singer with the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, who performed more than 220 solos. Malkin also appeared with major opera companies in the U.S. and Germany, and performed on Broadway and national tours. Trained as a professional ballet dancer, he was frequently featured in chorus dance scenes. 

Rosemary Gunn
N/a – c. Jul 2025
Scottish-born mezzo-soprano, who was a long-serving artist with Opera Australia. Known for her versatility and many prominent roles. In 1977, she won both the Pan Pacific Final of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and the Sydney Sun Aria.

Tim Cronin
1921 – c. Jul 2025
Versatile American founding drummer as well as vocalist and bass player with the US rock band Monster Magnet. 

August 2025

Jeanne Seely 
6 Jul 1940 – 1 Aug 2025
US country singer, songwriter, and producer, known for her Grammy-winning hit Don’t Touch Me.  A.K.A “Miss Country Soul”, she became one of the Grand Ole Opry’s most enduring figures, making more appearances than any performer and helping to update its image. Seely began when still young before moving into songwriting and then recording in Nashville. She charted singles in the 1960s and 1970s, both solo and in partnership with Jack Greene. After a pause in the late Seventies, she expanded into acting, business, and became the first woman to host the Opry. She continued performing and recording into later life, and hosted a regular Sirius XM radio show, remaining a presence in country music for nearly six decades.

David Roach
1966 – c. 1 Aug 2025
US rock vocalist and songwriter with LA band Junkyard. Originally from Texas, Roach rose to prominence after co-forming Junkyard in 1987. The band released their debut Junkyard in 1989, achieving a degree of impact with songs including Blooze. Broader success proved elusive, but the band continued performing and in 2017 released High Water, which reached the top 25 on Billboard’s Hard Rock Album chart.

Howie Tee (Howard Thompson)
2 Feb 1964 – 2 Aug 2025
English-born, but of Jamaican heritage artist, who developed a successful Hip-Hop DJ and producer career in the US.  He was best known for his work with U.T.F.O., Special Ed, and The Real Roxanne, among others.

Jane Morgan (Florence Currier )
3 May 1924 – 4 Aug 2025
US pop vocalist and recording artist who initially found success in Europe before achieving recognition in her homeland, where she went on to achieve six records that were certified Gold. She was also a popular performer in musical and club theatre and on US television in the 1950s and 60s.

Terry Reid
13 Nov 1949 – 4 Aug 2025
British singer, guitarist, and songwriter known for his powerful, emotive vocals, which earned him the epithet “superlungs”. He released 10 albums in all, including the critically acclaimed River and Seed of Memory in the 1970s, earning the respect of peers like Robert Plant and Graham Nash, although mainstream success eluded him. Starting out in the early 1960s, he performed with Peter Jay and the Jaywalkers and supported major acts like The Rolling Stones, Cream, and Fleetwood Mac.

James Whale MBE
13 May 1951 – 4 Aug 2025
English radio and TV presenter and indie music enthusiast, also known for his outspoken and sometimes controversial broadcasting style. He rose to fame in the 1980s with The James Whale Radio Show on Leeds’s Radio Aire, later spending over a decade hosting late-night programmes on Talksport and working with LBC, the BBC, and talkRADIO. Alongside radio, he hosted a long-running podcast. 

Larry Gillstrom
1957 – 4 Aug 2025
Canadian rock guitarist, most known for his performances with the Eighties metal band Kick Axe, who found a receptive audience for their 1984 album Vices and hit singles such as Heavy Metal Shuffle, and On the Road to Rock.

Col Joye (Colin Jacobsen)
13 Apr 1937 – 5 Aug 2025
Australian rock and pop singer-songwriter and musician, who began as a teen idol and went on to become a successful entrepreneur and artist manager, including for the Bee Gees’ Andy Gibb, in a career that spanned seven decades. Joye was the first Australian to have a country-wide No.1, and followed this with a string of chart hits, backed by his band the Joy Boys.

Marlene Rosen
1943 – 5 Aug 2025
American musician and voice professor at Oberlin conservatory, who left a significant legacy as a dedicated faculty member for 40 years.

Nancy King (née Whalley)
15 Jun 1940 – 5 Aug 2025
US jazz vocalist, celebrated for her talent at scatting and for her remarkable range.  King performed extensively on worldwide tours and collaborated with jazz greats such as Jon Hendricks, among others.

Raymond Bisha
1958 – 5 Aug 2025
Canadian classical music executive who began as a musician, playing the French horn, but who developed a career with Naxos, rising to become the label’s SVP of Marketing. He leaves a global legacy as a performer, producer, marketer, and passionate advocate for making classical music accessible worldwide.

Lee Min
1977 – 5 Aug 2025
South Korean-American singer who was one half of the R&B duo As One. She made her debut in 1999 and with her partner was known for popular R&B hits such as Day by Day and Desire and Hope. She remained active in the industry until her sudden passing, including releasing a new single in June 2025. 

Eduardo “Eddie” Palmieri
15 Dec 1936 – 6 Aug 2025
Pioneering US musician, bandleader, and composer who helped shape modern salsa and Latin jazz. With Puerto Rican heritage, Palmieri was initially inspired by his brother Charlie and in 1961 founded Conjunto La Perfecta, introducing the powerful trombone-driven “trombanga” sound blended with Cuban rhythms that shaped New York Latin music at the time.  Palmieri went on to produce landmark albums in the genre, such as Superimposition and Vámonos Pa’l Monte, and in a long career received nine Grammy Awards.

Brandon Blackstock
1977 – 7 Aug 2025
American music and TV producer, and talent manager. Blackstock was the former husband of singer Kelly Clarkson and the son of music manager Narvel Blackstock and stepson to singer Reba McIntyre. He managed country artists such as Blake Shelton and also served as an executive producer for The Kelly Clarkson Show. 

Judy Bailey OAM
3 Oct 1935 – 8 Aug 2025
New Zealand-born, Australia-based pianist, who became an classical jazz musician in her homeland, and who also composed and arranged, while later in her career also becoming a senior lecturer.

Robert Jaramillo
1947 – 8 Aug 2025
American musician of Mexican heritage, who was one of the founders of the Sixties west coast rock band Cannibal & the Headhunters. They were one of the first Mexican-American groups to have a national hit record, Land of a Thousand Dances. Notably, the band were the opening act for The Beatles second US tour.

Arlindo da Cruz Filho OMC
14 Sep 1958 – 8 Aug 2025
Brazilian samba musician and songwriter, who helped to found the influential Grupo Fundo de Quintal band, and was considered a pioneering figure in the pagode style of music.

Ray Brooks
1939 – 9 Aug 2025
Primarily known for his distinguished acting roles, including in such landmark films as Cathy Come Home, he also pursued a short-lived music career, which saw him release an album of his own songs in 1971, Lend Me Some of Your Time.

Bjørn Kjellemyr 
1950 – 9 Aug 2025
Norwegian jazz bassist and a prominent performer, educator, and longtime contributor to ECM recordings, collaborating with leading Norwegian and international jazz artists, including Terje Rypdal, Chet Baker, and Pat Metheny. He was honored with Jazz Musician of the Year in 1990 and the Buddy Award in 1994.

NoB (Nobuo Yamada)
20 Jan 1964 – 9 Aug 2025
Japanese vocalist who was the lead singer of the band Make-Up and was also a member of Project.R.

Bobby Whitlock
18 Mar 1948 – 10 Aug 2025
US vocalist, songwriter and musician, most-known as a member of Derek and the Dominos, playing alongside Eric Clapton. He began performing with soul acts like Sam & Dave and Booker T. & the M.G.'s, before joining Delaney & Bonnie and Friends in 1968. His collaboration with Clapton led to contributions on George Harrison’s 1970 LP All Things Must Pass and the formation of Derek and the Dominos.  For their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Whitlock wrote/co-wrote half the tracks, including Tell the Truth and Bell Bottom Blues. In the 1970s, he released four solo albums, including Bobby Whitlock and Raw Velvet, and contributed to recordings by Clapton, Dr. John, and the Rolling Stones. After a hiatus, he returned in 1999 with It’s About Time, subsequently recording and performing with his wife CoCo Carmel and other musicians. 

Graham Fenton
c. 29 May 1947 – 10 Aug 2025    
English vocalist who spent a significant part of his career with the rockabilly band Matchbox, whom he joined in 1978. The band enjoyed success in the late Seventies and 1980s, including with their hits Rockabilly Rebel and Midnite Dynamos. In 1989, Fenton formed Graham Fenton's Matchbox, recording multiple albums and achieving success across Europe.

Sheila Jordan (née Dawson)
18 Nov 1928 – 11 Aug 2025
US jazz vocalist and songwriter. Jordan developed a reputation as a talented session singer, going on to work with leading jazz artists whilst also making her own recordings. She was considered a pioneer of the scat jazz and bebop vocal styles and was regarded for her ability to improvise song lyrics. Music critic Scott Yanow praised her as "one of the most consistently creative of all jazz singers", while Charlie Parker would often introduce her as "the lady with the million dollar ears". She also worked with the British jazz community.

Choo Hoey
1934 – 11 Aug 2025
Founding Music Director of the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO), who left a legacy of building the SSO from the ground up and placing it on the world map. 

Celso Garrido-Lecca
9 Mar 1926 – 11 Aug 2025
Peruvian composer who studied in Chile and the US, including with Aaron Copeland. His most important works include Antaras for double string quartet and double bass, Laudes I and II, Elegía a Macchu Pichu, Sonata Fantasía for cello and piano. He was a member of the Colegio de Compositores Latinoamericanos de Música de Arte.

Gabrijela Novak
8 Jul 1936 – 11 Aug 2025
Croatian vocalist who was a popular pop and jazz singer in the 1960s, and who was also the wife of the prominent Yugoslav singer-songwriter Arsen Dedic. 

Chuck Girard
27 Aug 1943 – 11 Aug 2025
US musician regarded as a pioneer of contemporary Christian music. Starting with the groups The Castells and The Hondells, in 1970 he co-founded Love Song, one of the earliest Christian rock acts. Going solo, he wrote and performed Sometimes Alleluia and Rock 'N' Roll Preacher, featured on his debut LP Chuck Girard. 

Cool John Ferguson
2 Dec 1953 – 12 Aug 2025
US blues guitarist renowned for his distinctive playing style, who was also a respected singer and songwriter. He collaborated with numerous artists, including B.B. King, The Stylistics and others, which saw him feature on some 20 albums, and he also released five of his own solo LP recordings. Among other achievements, he was the Director of Creative Development for the Music Maker Relief Foundation.

Klaus Wirzenius
2 Sep 1987 – 13 Aug 2025
Finnish rock artist who was a bassist, guitarist and singer. He played in various the bands and line ups, including Anthriel, Manzana, and Bullet Ride, among others.

Jamshied Sharifi
17 Oct 1960 – 15 Aug 2025
American composer, conductor, musician, and producer known for blending jazz with Middle Eastern and African musical traditions. He studied at MIT, later directing MIT’s Festival Jazz Ensemble before developing a career writing film and TV scores, contributing to projects like Muppets From Space, Harriet the Spy, and The Thomas Crown Affair. A skilled pianist and innovative synthesizer performer, he also produced and arranged for global artists, released acclaimed solo albums including A Prayer for the Soul of Layla and One, and won a Tony Award for The Band’s Visit. 

Joe Hickerson
20 Oct 1935 – 17 Aug 2025
US folk vocalist and musicologist, who notably also directed the Archive of Folk Song at the Library of Congress for nearly four decades between 1963 and 1998.

Aesop “The Black Wolf” (Derrick McElroy)
1974 – 17 Aug 2025
American rapper and Hip-Hop talent, who was known for his groundbreaking work as a creator, and was also a member of the Living Legends crew.

Banu Kırbağ
2 Mar 1951 – 18 Aug 2025
Turkish popular artist, who also composed and arranged music. She was recognised as one of the first Turkish female contributors to pop culture in the 1970s.

Ronny Whyte
12 May 1937 – 19 Aug 2025
American vocalist and pianist, known in particular for his cabaret performances.

Michael "Tunes" Antunes
10 Aug 1940 – 19 Aug 2025
US jazz musician, particularly known for his sax play and for his performances with the John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.  He also had a part as a musician in the 1983 movie Eddie and the Cruisers.

Luz (Kōji Tatewaki)
23 Jul 1993 – 19 Aug 2025
Japanese vocal performer singer who released five studio albums and two single tracks, and was also known as the leading member the Royal Scandal group, as well as an organiser of the XYZ Tour.

Brent Hinds 
16 Jan 1974 – 20 Aug 2025
US musician, most regarded for his role with the metal band Mastodon, where he sang and played lead guitar. He also performed with the surf band, Fiend Without a Face, and was involved in other projects including rock bands The Blood Vessels, West End Motel, and Four Hour Fogger, among others.

Kurt-Hans Goedicke
Feb 1935 – 21 Aug 2025
German timpanist, educator, and long-serving member of the London Symphony Orchestra, where he was Principal Timpani for 36 years and worked with many leading conductors. Beyond his orchestral career, he played a significant role within the LSO and was a highly respected teacher at major UK conservatoires, later serving as Distinguished Fellow and Head of Department at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Jan Erik Berntsen
24 Dec 1944 – 21 Aug 2025
Norwegian actor and singer, popular in his homeland, and who among his carious artistic achievements was a Melodi Grand Prix runner-up in 1971.

Stanisław Soyka 
26 Apr 1959 – 21 Aug 2025
Influential Polish vocalist, musician, and arranger, who began as a child prodigy and built a distinguished career blending jazz, soul, and pop. He was honoured with various music awards and certified discs, and was also known for his work inspired by Shakespeare and other poets.

Salvador Aguilar
1969 – 21 Aug 2025
Mexican artist, who among his achievements was a musician and lead vocalist for the band Coda.

Yaroslav Yevdokimov
22 Nov 1946 – 22 Aug 2025
Ukrainian-born Belarusian baritone vocalist, who was highly regarded in his homeland and was also an Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation in recognition of his artistic achievements.

Pete Sinclair
1975 – 23 Aug 2025 
American music and fintech entrepreneur who was Co-Founder and CEO of BeatBread, whose mission is to expand artist access to capital while allowing them to retain ownership and creative control of their work. 
Highly respected as a pioneering figure in music and fintech, Sinclair previously worked with Universal Music Group, as well as companies including Score Big, Green Dot, and McKinsey. 

Tom Shipley
1941 –24 Aug 2025
American singer-songwriter who was most known for being part of the Sixties/Seventies folk rock partnership Brewer & Shipley.  The duo were known for their guitar play and vocal harmonies as well as their socially conscious lyrics, including in response to the Vietnam War. Their greatest success was the 1970 song One Toke Over the Line.

Rogério Meanda 
1964 – 25 Aug 2025
Brazilian musician most know for his work as the guitarist with the popular Eighties band, Blitz.

Nisse Karlén
1975 – 25 Aug 2025
Swedish rock vocalist, guitarist, and founding member of Swedish death metal band Sacramentum.
Karlén’s contribution is highlighted on his 1996 debut album, Far Away from the Sun, which is now considered a classic of the black metal genre.

Joe Rivers
1937 – 26 Aug 2025
American singer best known for his partnership in the vocal R&B duo Johnnie & Joe, who were best known for their 1957 hit Over the Mountain, Across the Sea.

Manuel de la Calva
15 Feb 1937 – 26 Aug 2025
Spanish singer, songwriter and actor, best known as one half of the influential pop duo Dúo Dinámico. A teen idol, he co-starred in four films with his duo partner Ramón Arcusa, while, as a songwriter, he co-wrote Spain’s 1968 Eurovision-winning song La, la, la, as well as hits for Julio Iglesias and others.

Joe Stevens
25 Jul 1938 – 26 Aug 2025
US photographer of musicians and bands particularly in 1970s New York and London. Celebrated subjects included Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Debby Harry, The Ramones, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols.  His body of work was recognised in 2012 when it formed part of a major retrospective of rock photography at LA’s Annenberg Space for Photography.  

Jim Kimball 
c. 1965 – 27 Aug 2025
US punk drummer, who appeared with such acts as the Laughing Hyenas, Mule, and The Jesus Lizard.

Jürgen Bartsch
c. 1950s/60s – 27 Aug 2025
German musician who was the founding bassist and member of the hardcore metal band, Bethlehem, and was considered a key pioneer of the DSBM genre.

Gary Didier Perez 
5 Dec 1965 – 28 Aug 2025
Haitian singer in the ‘compas’ style. He began his career in the late Eighties and was one of the first singers of the band Zenglen, before co-founding Ozone in the 1990s. Among his popular songs were Fidèl, and Tambou Nou – considered classics of the compass genre.

Ray Mayhew
1965 – 28 Aug 2025
English punk musician, best known as the drummer for Eighties alt punk-pop band, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, who had three UK Top 40 hits – Love Missile F1-11, and 21st Century Boy. Their distinct sound and image drew heavily from electronic glam influences such as the New York Dolls and from dystopian films including Blade Runner and Mad Max. Mayhew remained the only constant member throughout various changes in line-up.

Rodion Shchedrin
16 Dec 1932 – 29 Aug 2025
Russian composer from the Soviet era, who made his mark creating opera, ballet and symphonic works.

Ex Tuuttiz (Aaro Teikari)
1988 – c. 29 Aug 2025
Finnish rapper, music producer, and DJ aka Tuuttimörkö. He started out with the group SNTC Family, and subsequently guested on albums by DJ Kridlokk, among others. His debut solo LP On totta achieved a top 3 placing in the Finnish charts upon its release in 2013. 

Juhani Markola 
27 May 1942 – 30 Aug 2025
Finnish pop vocalist, who achieved prominence in the early Sixties after he won a Finnish schlager competition and a record contract. He sang with various bands, including Herttuat, before releasing various solo albums. His biggest hit was the 1976 Rakkauden aamu, from an album that achieved gold status. 

Atomic Steif (Guido Richter)
c. 1967 – c. 31 Aug 2025
German thrash metal musician and drummer, most known for his work with the band Sodom.

Jan van den Berg
1942 – c. Aug 2025
Dutch-born violinist, who made a name for himself around the world, including as the first professional concertmaster of the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (CSO) in New Zealand.

Maria Di Freda
1950 – c. Aug 2025
Italian venue administrator who was the long-serving General Manager of La Scala opera house, Milan.

Tosh Ryan
N/a – c. Aug 2025
Manchester music figure whose Rabid Records label was regarded by some as the template for Factory Records. Formerly the Manchester music collective Music Force with Martin Hannett, Tosh Ryan and Lawrence Beadle, formed a local label called Rabid Records and started putting out singles by such local acts as Slaughter & the Dogs (with Rob Gretton, later to manage Joy Division and New Order), and John Cooper Clarke, among others. They also licensed "Jilted John" by Jilted John to EMI Records. 

September 2025

Viv Prince
1941 – c. Sep 2025
English drummer who performed briefly with sixties band The Pretty Things. Known for his chaotic, high-energy style and unpredictable on-stage antics, he earned a reputation as “rock’s original madman drummer,” influencing contemporaries such as Keith Moon. His behaviour led to his dismissal from the band in 1965, and he went on to perform with acts including The Honeycombs and Hawkwind, later settling in Portugal. The Pretty Things commemorated him in their 1999 song “Vivian Prince.”

Ted Robert (Robert Gurtner)
11 Oct 1943 – 3 Sep 2025
Swiss singer-songwriter who worked with various contemporary artists, while he was also active in Swiss politics.

Pia Velsi (Elpidia Sorbo) 
31 Mar 1924 – 4 Sep 2025
Italian actress and singer who began as a 1940s performer and became known for character roles in cinema, theatre, and TV. She also had a long stage career in Neapolitan musical comedy.

Robby Turner 
c. 1962 – 4 Sep 2025
US guitarist in the pedal steel style, most known for his work with Waylon Jennings along with numerous other artists.

Mark Volman
19 Apr 1947 – 5 Sep 2025
US vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, best known as a founding member of the 1960s rock band The Turtles, featuring on their classic hits, including the 1967 Billboard chart-topper Happy Together.  Volman also featured in the seventies rock duo Flo & Eddie, and he later joined Frank Zappa’s The Mothers of Invention. 

Nicholas Brown
1950 – 5 Sep 2025
American music executive and business manager who worked with major artists including Michael Jackson, George Michael, Aerosmith, Stevie Nicks, Neil Diamond, and ELO among others. Over a five-decade career spanning London and Los Angeles, Brown became highly respected for overseeing a wide range of financial and business matters for his clients, from touring and royalties to taxes, real estate, and music catalogs.

Bruce Loose
6 Jun 1959 – 5 Sep 2025
American singer, who performed with the band Flipper, and is said to have inspired a young Kurt Cobain.

Allen Blickle
1983 – c.5 Sep 2025
American rock musician who, among other roles, featured as a drummer in the metal band Baroness in the Noughties. 

Dominik Wortig
1973 – Sep 2025
German tenor and voice professor who also served as Director of the Leopold Mozart College of Music at Augsburg. 

Christoph Von Dohnányi
8 Sep 1929 – 6 Sep 2025
American classical musician who was the longtime conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, and was highly regarded for his studied approach to music.

Rick Davies 
22 Jul 1944 – 6 Sep 2025
British musician best known as the Co-Founder, vocalist, and keyboardist of rock supergroup Supertramp. As the band’s only constant member, Davies shaped its sound with his rhythmic blues-influenced piano style, progressive rock writing, and distinctive vocals. After forming Supertramp in 1969 with Roger Hodgson, the pair shared lead vocals and songwriting through the band’s rise with such classic albums as Crime of the Century and the x2 Grammy Award winning Breakfast in America. Following Hodgson’s 1983 departure, Davies became sole frontman and led the group into a new direction, writing many of their major hits including Bloody Well Right, and Goodbye Stranger. Davies had set out in music as a drummer before moving to keyboards and playing in several early bands. Supertramp saw multiple breakups and reunions, with Davies reviving the group in 1997 and again in 2010. Since forming over six decades ago, the band are estimated to have sold nearly 75m records, with 20m of these coming from Breakfast in America alone.

Angela Ro Ro (Angela Gonsalves)
5 Dec 1949 – 8 Sep 2025
Brazilian singer-songwriter in a jazz and traditional folk style. Her debut album was voted by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the best Brazilian albums of all time. In the early Noughties she also hosted the musical talk show Escândalo.

John Glover
1944 – c. 9 Sep 2025
English music manager and a founding member of the Music Managers Forum (MMF). Glover served twice as MMF Chair (1995–2004) and remained an active custodian up to the end of his. He began his career in the early 1970s at Island Artists, working with such acts as Free, Mott The Hoople, and Jim Capaldi. Through his own company, Blueprint Management, now led by his son Matt, he represented artists including Go West, ABC, Alison Limerick and Tony Hadley. Widely admired for his advocacy on behalf of artists and managers, he helped shape the UK government’s New Deal for Musicians, enabling young unemployed musicians to access support outside standard welfare schemes. As MMF chair, he also founded the British Music Roll of Honour in 1995, which evolved into the Artist & Manager Awards. His lifetime contribution was recognised in 2011 with the Peter Grant Award. Paying tribute, MMF CEO Annabella Coldrick said: “He was such a kind and generous man with the most amazing stories from the music industry…. He stayed involved in the MMF his whole career and was still offering us support and guidance through the Custodians Council. We shall miss him deeply and are very thankful for his contribution to the MMF and the wider management community.”

Allan "Skill" Cole
14 Oct 1950 – 9 Sep 2025
Jamaican professional footballer who also acted at the tour manager for Bob Marley and The Wailers in the 1970s. He received a songwriting credit for the 1976 track War on their Rastaman Vibration album.

Jessica Gilliam-Valls
1970 – 9 Sep 2025
American double bassist and educator, who performed with orchestras including the Austin Symphony and who taught music at Southwestern University. 

Bobby Hart (Robert Harshman)
18 Feb 1939 – 10 Sep 2025
US songwriter and musician, best known as part of the prolific songwriting partnership with Tommy Boyce, who together penned many of The Monkees hits, including their debut Last Train to Clarksville and (Theme to) The Monkees. They wrote for other artists, including Chubby Checker, and Come a Little Bit Closer for Jay & the Americans, as well as TV theme tunes, such as for the long-running soap, Days of Our Lives. In 1979 The First Bobby Hart Solo Album was released, and in 1983, Hart was Oscar-nominated for his song Over You, written for the film Tender Mercies. According to the Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll, Boyce and Hart together wrote over 300 songs, and accounted for 42 million record sales. 

Nicky Ryan 
14 Jul 1946 – c. 10 Sep 2025
Irish recording producer and engineer, and artist manager. He was most known for his long-term business and recording partnership with the artist Enya that proved so fruitful in developing her into a global star. He worked with other musicians from the 1970s onwards including Gary Moore, Clannad, and Christy Moore. 

Chris Hill
8 Jan 1945 – 11 Sep 2025
English DJ who had a major input into the creation of the British 'Brit Funk' scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. He had a residency at Ilford’s Lacy Lady club, and also performed out Canvey Island’s Goldmine. He was regarded as head of the 'Soul Mafia' group of early eighties London DJs, which included Greg Edwards, DJ Froggy, and Robbie Vincent. Gilles Peterson wrote of his passing: "A DJ ahead of the curve in so many ways and a huge inspiration".

Yu Menglong
15 Jun 1988 – 11 Sep 2025
Chinese actor and singer aka Alan Yu. Yu began his career through talent shows, debuting as a singer and actor around 2011–2014. He gained major recognition from 2015 onward with standout roles in Go Princess Go, Eternal Love, and other popular dramas, building steady popularity through leading roles up to 2020.

Ezequiel Amador Echegaray
N/a – 12 Sep 2025
Peruvian violinist who was a member of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional del Perú and the San Francisco Symphony. As a soloist, he performed Peru, as well as abroad in Paris, Vienna, Munich, Mexico and Brazil.

Hermeto Pascoal
22 Jun 1936 – 13 Sep 2025
Prolific Brazilian composer, nicknamed The Wizard, and known for his unconventional, fertile creativity.

John Painter
1933 – 13 Sep 2025
Australian cellist who founded the Australian Chamber Orchestra in 1975 and was considered a significant figure in Australian music. Painter left a profound legacy on the nation's classical music, including through his role with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. 

Andreas Martin 
23 Dec 1952 – 13 Sep 2025
German singer in the popular schlager style. He rose to wider prominence when he reached the final stages of the OGAE Second Chance Contest 1989. 

Stephen Luscombe
29 Oct 1954 – 13 Sep 2025
English musician who co-founded the Eighties synth-pop group Blancmange. His start in music saw him 
join the experimental Gavin Bryars-formed Portsmouth Sinfonia, where he played violin and Brian Eno was on clarinet. Luscombe switched to pop by gigging in pubs before co-forming Blancmange, which rose to prominence with hits including Living on the Ceiling. After a 25-year hiatus, the band reunited for the 2011 album Blanc Burn, but Luscombe was forced to step back due to ill health. Luscombe collaborated widely with other artists, including Boy George to blend Indian classical traditions with Western pop. He also wrote for film and TV, including the documentary The Legend of Leigh Bowery, and the film Flight of the Navigator.

Farida Parveen
31 Dec 1954 – 13 Sep 2025
Bangladeshi folk singer, known as the Queen of Lalon Song. Popular in her homeland, she received multiple awards, including the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the 1993 film Andho Prem.

Akiko Tsuruga
1 Sep 1967 – 13 Sep 2025
Japanese-born, celebrated organ player, known for his “rhythmic command and soulful melodic flair”, making her a leading instrumentalist of her generation.

Omen (Sidney Brown)
21 Aug 1976 – 13 Sep 2025
Acclaimed Harlem-born, US music producer known for his versatile work across Hip-Hop, R&B, and soul. He produced for major artists including Drake, Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, and Usher, earning a Grammy through Ludacris’s Release Therapy. Celebrated for blending rich instrumentation with lyrical depth, he influenced both mainstream and underground music and left a lasting impact on contemporary Hip-Hop.

Alan Iglitzin
7 Nov 1931– 15 Sep 2025
Distinguished American violist, founding member of the Philadelphia Quartet, and a major force in American chamber music, acclaimed internationally for his artistry and leadership. He later founded the Olympic Music Festival in Washington State, leaving a lasting legacy as a performer, educator, and cultural visionary.

Joel Moss 
11 May 1946 – 15 Sep 2025
US producer and sound engineer, known for influential work across multiple genres as well as theatre and film. Early on in his career he worked with greats including Little Richard, Joe Cocker, and Johnny Cash. As this developed, as an executive director at The Record Plant, he helped advance film sound technology and worked with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. He founded Managra Music, worked closely with Broadway label Sh-K-Boom Records, and played a key role in cast recordings such as In the Heights, earning multiple Grammy Awards. 

Tomas Lindberg
16 Oct 1972 – 16 Sep 2025
Swedish singer and musician with Scandinavian death metal band At the Gates.

Fausto Amodeim
1946 – 18 Sep 2025
Italian folk singer-songwriter, who was also a musicologist and in later life became a politician.

Diane Martel 
7 May 1962 – 18 Sep 2025
US director of music videos and also a sought-after choreographer. She worked with numerous leading artists, including Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, and Sting, and notably produced the famous video for Blurred Lines in 2013.

Brett James
5 Jun 1968 – 18 Sep 2025
Nashville-based country music singer, songwriter, and producer. He launched his career in 1995 with a self-titled LP, charting three singles. He developed into an accomplished songwriter, penning hits for artists such as Martina McBride, Kenny Chesney, Rodney Atkins, and notably Carrie Underwood and her Grammy-winning Jesus, Take the Wheel. By the noughties he had become one of Nashville’s most successful writers, earning ASCAP’s Country Songwriter of the Year honours. He also produced for several country/pop artists. 

Sonny Curtis 
9 May 1937 – 19 Sep 2025
Texan singer-songwriter best known for his long association with Buddy Holly and the Crickets, and for writing several enduring pop, rock, and country classics. He played guitar on early Buddy Holly recordings and joined the Crickets shortly before Holly’s death, later becoming the band’s lead singer and guitarist.
Curtis wrote a number of major hits, including Walk Right Back for the Everly Brothers, I Fought the Law – later made famous by The Clash, and the theme to the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Love Is All Around. He also co-wrote Keith Whitley’s No. 1 country hit I’m No Stranger to the Rain. During a career spanning six decades, Curtis performed and recorded with numerous artists including Glen Campbell and Andy Williams. His songwriting earned him induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, and, as a Cricket, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He continued performing into the 2010s.

Mike Wofford 
28 Feb 1938 – 19 Sep 2025
US jazz pianist and composer, who in a long career worked with numerous artists, including Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, and Zoot Sims. He performed on albums including Strawberry Wine and Summer Night. 

Chris Doheny 
1961 – 19 Sep 2025
Australian musician, most known as the founder, lead vocalist and guitar player for the Eighties glam pop rock band, Geisha. Their highest-charting single, Part Time Love Affair, peaked in the Australian Top 30, and they also released two albums, Geisha (1985) and Midnight to Dawn (1987).

JD Twitch (Keith McIvor)
1968 – 19 Sep 2025 
Scottish DJ, A.K.A JD Twitch and one half of the influential Glasgow duo Optimo along with partner Jonnie “JG” Wilkes. McIvor co-founded the seminal 1990s club night Pure before launching Optimo Espacio with Wilkes at Glasgow’s Sub Club in 1997. The duo ran the night for 13 years and continued to tour globally, known for their eclectic, boundary-pushing sets.  McIvor also produced, and was in demand from artists ranging from Florence + The Machine to Franz Ferdinand. 

Zubeen Garg 
18 Nov 1972 – 19 Sep 2025
Influential Indian musician, vocalist, composer, and actor, best known for his work in Assamese, Bengali, and Hindi music and films. A multi-instrumentalist, he performed in numerous languages and dialects. Over a 33-year career, he recorded more than 40,000 songs and became one of Assam’s most celebrated artists.

Roland Pidoux 
29 Oct 1946 – 21 Sep 2025
French musician and teacher who was principal cellist of the Orchestre de France for a decade in the 1980s, which he followed as professor at the Paris Conservatoire. 

Ron Carroll 
20 Apr 1968 – 21 Sep 2025
US DJ, vocalist, songwriter and record producer and most active in House music, and an LGBT+ campaigner. 
Carroll worked with many leading House producers, including e-Smooth and Bob Sinclair. 

Danny Thompson
4 Apr 1939 – 23 Sep 2025
English folk-jazz musician, most regarded for his double bass play. He was known for his prolific collaborations with other musicians, including John Martyn, Richard Thompson, and Kate Bush. In the 1960s he performed alongside John McLaughlin in the trio Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated, before becoming a founding member of Pentangle. Between 1987 and 2012 he also recorded six solo studio albums. 

Dieter Kaufmann 
22 Apr 1941 – 23 Sep 2025
Austrian composer, regarded as a pioneer of electroacoustic music through his work at the Vienna Music Academy. He composed for voices, traditional instruments and electronics, often in combinations. 

Graham Wood OAM
1930 – 29 Sep 2025
Australian violinist and educator who played a key role in shaping string performance and music education in Western Australia. A long-standing contributor to the Australian Youth Orchestra—as a founding National Music Camp participant, later director, tutor, and Life Member—he was widely recognised for his dedication to nurturing young musicians. Internationally experienced through work with the Royal Opera House and London Philharmonic Orchestra, he later became a key figure in the early development of the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, serving 24 years as associate concertmaster. 

Chris Dreja 
11 Nov 1946 – 25 Sep 2025
British musician and songwriter, who was most regarded as a rhythm and bass guitarist with the Sixties band The Yardbirds, playing alongside the likes of Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page, and known for such hits as Heart Full of Soul and the psychedelic Shape of Things. At the end of that decade he turned to professional photography, but in later life would perform in Yardbirds concerts until ill health forced him to retire in 2011.

Cristiano (Gaetano Rossi)
8 Sep 1943 – 26 Sep 2025
Italian singer of Sicilian heritage, who was largely successful in the first half of the 1980s, including through a number of chart hits, and he also competed in several San Remo festivals.

Jim McNeely 
18 May 1949 – 26 Sep 2025
US jazz pianist and composer known for his work with jazz orchestras. McNeely gained recognition once joining the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band in 1978. He later performed with the Stan Getz Quartet in the 1980s and Phil Woods Quintet in the 1990s. He held major conducting roles, including with Frankfurt’s HR Big Band, also serving as their composer-in-residence. A prolific recording artist, McNeely released over 20 LPs and earned 12 Grammy nominations, including a win in 2008 for Monday Night Live at the Village Vanguard. He contributed to the development of modern big-band composition and to jazz education.

Güllü (Gül Tut)
15 Oct 1973 – 26 Sep 2025
Turkish singer, particularly known for her Arabesque style of music delivery, with Romani origin.

Paul Roberts 
1973 – 26 Sep 2025
British choreographer who worked extensively with music artists. His most notable collaborations were with One Direction, and Harry Styles in particular, including a dance sequence in the video for Treat People With Kindness between Styles and Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which earned him an MTV Video Award.  He also worked with Katy Perry, Mariah Carey, Bon Jovi, Gloria Estefan, and Annie Lennox, among others.

Franz Grundheber
27 Sep 1937 – 27 Sep 2025
Celebrated German baritone closely associated with the Hamburg State Opera, where he gave more than 2,000 performances. Initially known for Mozart roles, he later excelled in major works by Verdi, Wagner, and Strauss. He performed internationally at leading opera houses and collaborated with renowned conductors including Claudio Abbado and Daniel Barenboim. Over a career totalling more than 6,000 performances, Grundheber received numerous honours, including the title of Kammersänger.

Dave Benton
1948 – 27 Sep 2025
American musician, best known for his spell with Seventies US rock band, Spooner, for whom he performed guitar, bass and vocals.

Pablo Guerrero 
18 Oct 1946 – 30 Sep 2025
Spanish singer-songwriter, who was known for his use of traditional harmonies and melodies, blended with flamenco as well as US rock and jazz and then later African sounds and rhythms from other cultures. His music became increasingly avant-garde, incorporating minimal ambient and electronic styles.

Soo Catwoman
24 Oct 1954 – 30 Sep 2025
American artist who was considered a punk fashion icon, often featuring in magazine features and film documentaries.

Dr Louis van der Watt
1958 – 30 Sep 2025
Respected string teacher in the South African classical music community, who was a violinist, violist, organist, and conductor, as well as an academist.

John Kitchen
1938 – Sep 2025
English violinist whose career spanned several of the UK and Ireland’s leading orchestras. Starting out with the Royal Manchester College of Music and completing National Service with the Band of the Grenadier Guards, in 1959 he became the youngest member of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He moved to the London Symphony Orchestra in 1965, later becoming Leader of the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland (RTÉ). He went on to perform with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and English Chamber Orchestra, remaining with the LPO until his retirement in 2009. After retiring, he devoted himself to chamber music and teaching. 

Scott Evans
1959 – Sep 2025
Australia’s longest-serving member and Section Principal Trombone of Orchestra Victoria, whom he joined aged just 19 in 1978. Trained in both jazz and classical, he studied with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and later performed with numerous ensembles, including Japan’s Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa. He also accompanied world-renowned soloists such as Dame Joan Sutherland and Plácido Domingo. 

Alex Albanese
N/a – Sep 2025
American musician of Italian heritage, known for his double bass play, and member of the Sarasota Orchestra for over 40 years. Also known for his extensive freelance work with other groups like the Naples Philharmonic and Southwest Florida Symphony. 

October 2025

Bohdan Bohach
1975 – 1 Oct 2025 
Ukrainian performer who was a member of the Ukrainian a cappella vocal group formed in the 1990s, who became hugely popular in their homeland and won many awards.

Chhannulal Mishra 
3 Aug 1936 – 2 Oct 2025
Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist, celebrated for his mastery of Khayal and Purab Ang. Over a distinguished career he received numerous honors, including the Padma Bhushan (2010) and Padma Vibhushan (2020), as well as several prestigious music awards from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. 

Cristian Ganicenco
1967 – 2 Oct 2025
Romania-born, US-based musician, who rose to become Principal Trombonist at the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, whom he joined in 1999.

Dame Patricia Routledge
17 Feb 1929 – 3 Oct 2025
Highly regarded as a classical and comedic actress on stage and screen, and best known for her iconic role as Hyacinth Bucket in the BBC’s Keeping Up Appearances. However, Routledge was also an accomplished singer, and achieved notable success in musical theatre in London’s West End and on Broadway in New York.  Among numerous honours, she received a Tony in 1968 for her performance in Darling of the Day, and an Olivier Award in 1988 for Best Actress in a Musical for her role in Candide.

Robert de Pasquale 
1928 – 4 Oct 2025
American musician, longtime Philadelphia Orchestra violinist and former associate principal second violin, known for performing worldwide and for co-founding the De Pasquale Quartet with his brothers. After retiring in 1997, he devoted himself to teaching and music education.

Ike Turner Jr.
N/a - 4 Oct 2025
American music industry figure who was a Grammy-winning sound engineer and the son of Tina Turner and Ike Turner. He was known for his musical talent and work on his father’s Grammy-winning album.

Paul Van Bruystegem
13 Jun 1959 – 4 Oct 2025
Aka as Monsieur Paul or Lange Polle, Belgian musician known as the bassist for Triggerfinger which he joined in 2003 after earlier work as a guitarist with numerous bands. He became a sought-after live and session musician in the 1980s and 1990s, and later also worked as a producer for several Belgian acts. He co-ran Red Tape Recording Studio, released a solo project, and published the tour book Monsieur Paul on tour in 2016. 

Louis Lanza Jr.
1936 – 5 Oct 2025
American musician, former Philadelphia Orchestra violinist, whose orchestral career spanned 47 years.

Ken Parker
25 Aug 1952 – 5 Oct 2025
American instrument craftsman who built innovative guitars, played by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Trent Reznor among many others.

Ian Freebairn-Smith
1932 – 7 Oct 2025
US composer, who arranged and conducted also. He was additionally known for his work in film & TV music. He began as a group singer before moving into choral and orchestral arranging and film composition, working on such projects as The Muppet Movie, and A Star Is Born. In 1977, he won a Grammy for his arrangement of Barbra Streisand’s Evergreen. He worked with many notable artists over a long career.

Halid Bešlić 
1954 – 7 Oct 2025
Renowned Bosnian baritone singer of folk music, who over with a five-decade career became a major influence across the Balkans, including during the Bosnian War, leaving an enduring cultural legacy.

Niyazi Sayın 
12 Feb 1927 – 8 Oct 2025
Turkish musician and music educator, regarded as a key figure in Turkish classical music, and known in particular for his performances with the tanbur. 

Terry “Buzzy” Johnson (Isaiah Johnson)
12 Nov 1938 – 8 Oct 2025
American pop vocalist, who also wrote songs and was a music producer. He featured in the band The Flamingos, and as a session artist worked with Motown performers, also producing for The Temptations and The Supremes, among others. 

Ace Finchum
1961 – 8 Oct 2025
British drummer, known for his performances with Welsh glam metal band, Tigertailz – and featuring on their top 40 1990 album Bezerk, which included the hit singles Love Bomb Baby and Heaven.

Rajvir Jawanda
1990 – 8 Oct 2025
Indian Punjabi folk singer and actor, best known for hits including Kangani.

Efrem Amiramov
11 Apr 1956 – 9 Oct 2025
Russian vocalist and poet who rose to public prominence in the late 1980s. He was an Honoured People's Artist of Kabardino-Balkaria. 

Fede Dorcaz
28 Jan 1996 – 9 Oct 2025
Argentine model who also developed a career as a singer, with songs including Cara Bonita and Volver A Empezar. Dorcaz was also a contestant on Las Estrellas Bailan En Hoy, a TV talent show in Mexico.

John Lodge
20 Jul 1943 – 10 Oct 2025
English musician known as the longtime bassist, co-lead vocalist, and songwriter for The Moody Blues. Joining in 1966, he played a central role in defining the band’s symphonic rock sound, contributing standout compositions such as Ride My See-Saw and Isn’t Life Strange. His melodic bass style, distinctive vocals, and songwriting helped shape many of the band’s most celebrated albums in their classic era. Outside the Moody Blues, he collaborated with Justin Hayward on the Blue Jays project (1974–75), and also pursued solo work, releasing such LPs as Natural Avenue and 10,000 Light Years Ago, while continuing to tour and record well into later life. Lodge additionally worked as a producer, extending his influence across multiple projects.

Kristin Okerlund
N/a – 10 Oct 2025
Austrian musician, highly renowned and longtime repertoire pianist and solo repetiteur of the Wiener Staatsoper. Regarded for her exceptional musicianship, stylistic mastery, and deep support of singers, she was considered indispensable to the opera company since joining in 1993.

Thommy Price
9 Dec 1956 – 10 Oct 2025
US drummer who was a member of various bands from the Eighties onwards, including Scandal, Blue Oyster Cult, and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (1986 –2016). He was also much in demand as a session musician, working with such artists as Debby Harry, Billy Idol, Roger Daltrey, and The Psychedelic Furs. He continued to perform up to 2025, drumming for the rock band, Love Crushed Velvet.

Adrian Sutton
15 Aug 1967 – 10 Oct 2025
English composer, raised in Zimbabwe and then South Africa, most regarded for his music for theatre and film and TV, but also known for his symphonic and chamber music. He is particularly remembered for the scores he composed for acclaimed a number of National Theatre productions, such as War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

Roberta Alexander
3 Mar 1949 – 14 Oct 2025
American soprano, known for her remarkable range and who was a celebrated lead at the Metropolitan Opera for more than a decade.

Richard “Dick” Addrisi 
4 Jul 1941 – 14 Oct 2025
Part of the US pop duo The Addrisi Brothers with his brother Donald, who both started out in the family acrobatic group, the Flying Addrisis. In the 1950s, they moved into music, initially meeting with limited success but then penning the hit Never My Love for The Association. Further success followed, including with the theme to the Nanny and the Professor TV series, and in 1977 they secured their biggest hit with Slow Dancin' Don't Turn Me On.

D’Angelo (Michael Archer)
11 Feb 1974 – 14 Oct 2025
US pioneering ‘neo-soul’ singer, songwriter, and producer, regarded as one of the greatest R&B vocalists of all time, leading to his induction in the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2025. D’Angelo burst on the scene by co-writing/co-producing the 1994 hit U Will Know. His platinum debut LP Brown Sugar in 1995 helped launch the neo-soul movement, and he followed with collaborations alongside such artists as Angie Stone, Erykah Badu, and Lauryn Hill, appearing on Hill’s track Nothing Even Matters from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. His second album, Voodoo (2000), debuted at No. 1, earned two Grammy Awards, and included the hit Untitled (How Does It Feel). Following a hiatus, he returned in 2014 with the acclaimed Black Messiah, reaching the Billboard top five, and won the Grammy for Best R&B Album, with Really Love earning additional awards. In 2018, he contributed Unshaken to the game Red Dead Redemption 2.

Klaus Doldinger
12 May 1936 – 16 Oct 2025
German saxophone musician most known for founding the band Passport, and for his accomplishments in jazz and as a composer of music for film. Notable scores included the music for Das Boot and The Never-Ending Story in the 1980s, as well as the theme tune to the long-running German TV series Tatort. 

Jack White (Horst Nußbaum)
2 Sep 1940 – c. 16 Oct 2025
One of the most successful German record producers, who also had a successful career as a professional footballer in the 1960s. In the Seventies, using his Jack White stage name, he became a force in schlager music. Releasing some 25 records of his own, he worked with artists including Laura Branigan, Barry Manilow, David Hasselhoff and Jermaine Jackson to achieve well over 2,000 writing and production credits.

Bob Franke
25 Jul 1947 – 16 Oct 2025
American folk singer-songwriter known for this politically aware songs. Beginning his career in the 1960s while at the University of Michigan, he later settled in New England and became a significant figure in the folk community, performing widely and leading on songwriting workshops. Many of his compositions, such as Hard Love, and The Great Storm Is Over were widely covered and entered modern folk tradition. 

Paul "Ace" Frehley
27 Apr 1951 – 16 Oct 2025
US rock musician, who was a founding member of glam-rock icons Kiss, and was the band’s original lead guitarist until his departure in 1982 (returning again between 1996 – 2002). Known for his ‘Spaceman’ persona, and inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, after leaving Kiss he formed Frehley’s Comet, releasing two albums with the group, before embarking on a successful solo career that saw him release in 1978 an eponymously-titled debut album, which attained platinum status. In 2024, his eighth and final studio album, 10,000 Volts peaked at No. 72 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Dr William Sloan
1941 – 17 Oct 2025 
US violin collector, amateur player and luthier. He owned two violins from master luthiers: the 1714 ’Leonora Jackson’ Stradivari violin and the 1742 Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin.

Sam Rivers
2 Sep 1977 – 18 Oct 2025
American musician best known as the bassist, backing vocalist, and founding member of the nu metal band Limp Bizkit in 1994, who he helped to shape into a leading force in the genre. He produced for other artists, worked on side projects like Sleepkillers, and returned to Limp Bizkit to record later albums. 

Dave Burgess
1935 – 19 Oct 2025
American Rock’n’roll performer and songwriter, most known for featuring in the line up of the popular Fifties/Sixties act,  The Champs, who had a big No.1 hit with Tequila in 1958, which sold over 1 million copies and achieved Grammy success also. 

Anthony Jackson
23 Jun 1952 – 19 Oct 2025
American musician who collaborated with many of the greats, and considered a pioneer of the six-string bass.  His trademark performances can be heard on hundreds of album recordings, from the O'Jays to Roberta Flack and Chaka Khan.

Dionysis Savvopoulos 
2 Dec 1944 – 21 Oct 2025
Greek singer-songwriter and musician, who was influential in shaping the new wave of modern Greek culture.

Alberto “Ingo” Hauss
9 Mar 1954 – 21 Oct 2025
German producer and composer who worked on artist projects including Beats 4 You, Chocolate, U96, ATC,  F.R.E.U.D, Boytronic, and Culture Beat. 

Davey Langit
20 Dec 1986 – 21 Oct 2025
Filipino singer-songwriter and TV personality whose songs Selfie Song and Dalawang Letra made their mark.
Langit rose to prominence through the Pinoy Dream Academy in 2006, and he emerged as an influential figure in the Philippines music scene, including through his music writing for other artists.

Philip Gallaway 
1954 – 22 Oct 2025
British violinist who was a founding member of the Coull Quartet and principal second violinist of Sinfonia Viva.

Dave Ball 
3 May 1959 – 22 Oct 2025
British musician and producer, best-known as one half of Eighties synth-pop duo Soft Cell, alongside singer Marc Almond. Together, they had a massive hit with their cover of Tainted Love, taken from their platinum debut LP, Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret, and went on to have 12 top-40 hits. Ball formed Other People with Gini Hewes after Soft Cell disbanded in 1984, and later co-founded dance outfit The Grid. He worked with numerous artists, including Erasure, Kylie Minogue and David Bowie, and across a range of projects in electronic and experimental music. 

Benita Valente
19 Oct 1934 – 24 Oct 2025
American operatic soprano who performed at many of the US’ opera houses. 

Petar Deltchev
1949 – 24 Oct 2025
Bulgarian violinist who was twice laureate at the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition. Deltchev performed widely in Bulgaria with leading conductors and made several recordings, including The Weeping Violin. He later moved to Germany, where he played with the Cologne Radio Orchestra, and then Italy.

Marcie Free
12 Apr 1954 – 24 Oct 2025
US rock singer, who was most known as the lead singer of various bands including King Kobra and Unruly Child.

Mtulazaji "P.E.A.C.E." Davis
15 Jun 1974 – 24 Oct 2025
American Hip-Hop artist who was also a founding member of the Los Angeles group Freestyle Fellowship.

Tom Edwards 
20 Mar 1945 – 25 Oct 2025
British radio and TV broadcaster, who began working on the Sixties pirate radio stations Radio City and Radio Caroline, before moving on to work on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2, and then commercial TV. He chronicled his life in his autobiography, Is Anybody There.

Michael “Danny” Francis 
16 Aug 1950 – 25 Oct 2025
British bodyguard who spent decades protecting some of rock and pop’s biggest stars, including Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Cher, and Jon Bon Jovi. A former boxer, he entered security work after a chance meeting with Paul McCartney in 1974.  Known for combining strength with charm and loyalty, Francis became indispensable on artist tours, although he also endured chaotic years with Led Zeppelin, survived brawls with Bad Company, and formed a deep friendship with Jon Bon Jovi. His most treasured professional relationship was with Cher, whom he protected full-time for three years and came to regard as family. He published Star Man in 2003 and later stepped back from rock security.

Jack DeJohnette
9 Aug 1942 – 26 Oct 2025
American jazz drummer, highly regarded for his idiosyncratic style that made him a favourite among his peers in a six decade career.

Vivian Jones 
1957 – 27 Oct 2025
Jamaican-born British reggae singer, who first performed with sound systems before joining the line ups of various bands in the Seventies, including The Spartans, The Doctor Birds, and The Pieces. He pursued a solo career in the 1980s, when he enjoyed success with hits including the UK Reggae Chart-topping Good Morning. In 1984 he released his debut LP, Bank Robbery, before going on to work with a breadth of artists and producers ranging from Jah Shaka and Bobby Digital, to Sylvia Tella and Sly and Robbie.

Adrian Maben
1942 – 28 Oct 2025
British-born film and TV director, writer, and producer, who will most be remembered by music fans as the director of Pink Floyd's 1972 concert film Live at Pompeii.

Pierre Robert
1955 – c. 29 Oct 2025
American radio Rock’n’Roll DJ, hugely popular with US audiences in a four-decade career.

Andrew Metcalfe
N/a – c. 29 Oct 2025
Lead singer and songwriter with Liverpool alternative rock band Sound of Guns, who rose to prominence in the late 2000s with their powerful live shows before going on hiatus in 2013. Sound of Guns released two studio albums, What Came From Fire (2010) and Angels and Enemies (2012).

Scott Sorry (Gerard Scott)
30 Oct 1978 – 30 Oct 2025
US singer-songwriter and guitarist, who was known for appearing in the line ups of various rock bands, including Amen, The Wildhearts, Sorry and the Sinatras, and Brides of Destruction, before pursuing a solo career.

Alexei Moshkov
1968 – c. Oct 2025
Russian-born violinist and teacher who was concertmaster of the Belgian National Orchestra for 27 years and also taught at the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp. 

Matt Tolfrey
c.1980 – c. Oct 2025
British DJ and producer. He was best known for running the Leftroom family of record labels, which he launched in 2005, and for appearing on Resident Advisor’s Top 100 DJ Poll in 2011 and 2012. He built his career in the UK club scene while studying at Nottingham Trent University, later performing at major venues such as The Bomb, and Fabric. He released his debut album Word of Mouth in 2012.

Thomas Keller
1976 – c. Oct 2025
German classical musician, who was Principal Tuba of the Staatskapelle Berlin since 1999. Keller had spent the entirety of his career at the Staatskapelle Berlin, joining its Academy when he was 22 and becoming a full member of the orchestra in 1999. Keller had also appeared with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Berlin Philharmonic, among others.

November 2025

Archie Fisher
23 Oct 1939 – 1 Nov 2025
Popular figure in British folk, both as an acclaimed folk musician and as host of BBC Radio's Travelling Folk.

Ray Drummond
23 Nov 1946 – 1 Nov 2025
US jazz musician who made his mark on bass and who also composed, as well as teaching academically.  Drummond’s contribution to American jazz can be heard on hundreds of albums, as well as through his work with The Drummonds.

Young Bleed (Glenn Clifton Jr.)
1974 – 1 Nov 2025
American rapper who began writing and recording music in childhood and emerged from the local scene with the group Concentration Camp. He gained national attention when Master P remixed his track How You Do That, leading to a successful release of his 1998 debut album My Balls & My Word, which reached the Billboard Top 10 and went gold, later platinum. He continued his career independently with releases through West Coast Mafia Records and later other labels and remained active into the 2010s with projects including Preserved, Livin’, and additional work under his Trap Door Entertainment imprint.

Joseph Byrd
19 Dec 1937 – 2 Nov 2025
US composer who lined up with Sixties band The United States of America, known for their fusion of psychedelic rock and avant-garde electronics.

Jim Self 
20 Aug 1943 – 2 Nov 2025
American musician known for his tuba play and compositions. He performed extensively in the US and internationally as a soloist or with orchestras, such as the LA Opera, as well as notably as a studio musician for film soundtracks, appearing on over 1500 of them.

Donna Jean Godchaux
22 Aug 1947 – 2 Nov 2025
US singer and a pioneer of women in rock, who performed backing vocals for Elvis Presley, but is most regarded as a member in the 1970s for the cult group The Grateful Dead. With her husband Keith, she also performed with the Jerry Garcia Band and the Heart of Gold Band before creating her own outfit, the Donna Jean Godchaux Band in 2006.

Lô Borges (Salomão Borges Filho)
10 Jan 1952 – 2 Nov 2025
Brazilian singer-songwriter and musician, who was one of the founders of the influential music collective Clube de Esquina. He also co-authored with Milton Nascimento the landmark album of the same name.  Among his most regarded compositions are Paisagem da Janela, and Para Lennon e McCartney. He leaves a legacy as one of Brazil’s most influential composers, with his work having been covered by numerous artists.

Thomas Klein
1966 – 2 Nov 2025
German rock musician who was a talented guitarist and composer, and co-founded the German speed metal band, Warrant.

Victor Conte Jr. 
10 Jul 1950 – 3 Nov 2025
US entrepreneur, who was also a musician, playing bass with the R&B group Tower of Power, and appearing on their 1978 release We Came to Play!.

Robert Taylor
16 Apr 1951 – 4 Nov 2025
New Zealand-born Australian guitarist and musician, most known as a member of the group Dragon in the decade between the mid-Seventies and mid-Eighties. With the band he achieved top 10 albums, including Running Free, and they were later inducted into the ARIA and New Zealand Music Halls of Fame.

Ronald Masin
1937 – 5 Nov 2025
Dutch violinist and longtime concertmaster of the Amsterdam Philharmonic (1963–1984). A highly regarded performer, who founded ensembles and who later taught and led music programs in South Africa and Ireland.

Gilson Lavis
27 Jun 1951 – 5 Nov 2025
British drummer who also had an acclaimed talent as a portrait artist. He was most known for being a member of the popular post-punk group Squeeze, in the Seventies and Eighties, performing on their classic hits, including Cool For Cats, Up The Junction, and Labelled With Love. He also had a long association with Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra. 

Giuseppe “Beppe” Vessicchio
17 Mar 1956 – 8 Nov 2025
Italian television personality and musician, known for his conducting and compositions and closely associated with the San Remo music festivals.

Mel Rudder
2 Apr 1980 – 9 Nov 2025
Much-loved, hugely successful British music radio plugger, who had a long association with Atlantic Records, part of Warner Music Group, before founding her own company, Thirty Three Music.  Mel started out on the street team for Atlantic’s East West Records in 2000 before heading the London street team and then moving to club promotions for Warner. She then joined Atlantic’s national promotions, where she managed its specialist radio and TV campaign strategies. In 2016, she co-founded the label and management company Salute The Sun, and a year later worked on the launch of One Vibe, a non-profit organisation supporting young people affected by the Grenfell tragedy.  Mel worked with great passion and dedication throughout a 25-year career that saw her help break and then support the success of many artists. This included working with Jay Z to help him land his first ever UK No.1, alongside promoting the careers of UK and international talent such as Alesha Dixon, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Janelle Monáe, Lil’ Kim, Plan B, Rudimental, and Wretch 32, among others. This year, Mel successfully led the charge for Ravyn Lenae, and the last record she plugged and left her mark on was for Kehlani, whose first-ever Top-20 Folded was largely down to Mel’s belief and tenacity. Other notable achievements saw Mel work as a mentor with Girls I Rate, and in 2023 she represented Warner on the BRITs Committee, where she championed under-represented voices and the introduction of a stand-alone R&B category. Mel leaves a tremendous legacy, including as part of the multi-award winning Atlantic Promo team – helping them to win a record haul of 20 Music Week Awards.

Thomas Schlee
26 Oct 1957 – 10 Nov 2025
Austrian organist and composer, who was an arts administrator also, directing the Brucknerhaus in Linz and the Brucknerfest in the 1990s.  He was also vice general manager of the Beethovenfest in the early 2000s.

Richard Darbyshire
8 Mar 1960 – 10 Nov 2025
British singer, songwriter and producer, most known as the lead vocalist and guitarist for Living in a Box. The eighties pop group enjoyed chart success with their albums Living in a Box and Gatecrashing, and their eponymous single made the Billboard Hot 100 top-20. In 1994, Darbyshire released his debut solo LP, How Many Angels, and he also wrote and produced for various artists, including Lisa Stansfield and Jennifer Rush.

Geraldine O’Grady
1932 – c. 11 Nov 2025
Irish violinist who was a respected figure in the music world, additionally appearing on radio and Television, and who served as concertmaster for the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra over a four year period. She recorded albums of Irish airs with Eily O’Grady, among other collaborations. 

Jeff Hannusch
31 Aug 1954 – 11 Nov 2025
American music writer, who in particular documented the New Orleans R&B scene, including though 
his books I Hear You Knockin’ and The Soul of New Orleans.

Cleto Escobedo III
23 Aug 1966 – 11 Nov 2025
US musician and bandleader also, leading, among other groups, Jimmy Kimmel’s house band Cleto and the Cletones. Escobedo began his career touring with major artists including Paula Abdul and Marc Anthony.

Michael Davis
1944 – 13 Nov 2025
English violinist who was leader of the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) under the directorship of Claudio Abbado, and he also performed with the Hallé and BBC Symphony Orchestras in a distinguished career.

Todd Snider
11 Oct 1966 – 14 Nov 2025
Nashville singer-songwriter, known for incorporating folk, rock, blues, country, and funk into his musical work. He worked with numerous artists across the folk-country scene, and helped to promote the career of various artists, including Jimmy Buffet’s Coral Reefer Band member, Keith Sykes.

Hilly Michaels (Michael Hillman)
3 Jul 1948 – 15 Nov 2025
American drummer and musician, most known as performing with the art rock/pop band Sparks in the 1970s, featuring on such albums as Big Beat in 1976 as well as touring with Russell and Ron Mael.  He also 
released two solo LPs in the early 1980s, including his debut Calling All the Girls.

Maxon Margiela (Mason Reyes) 
16 Jun 2004 – 16 Nov 2025
US rapper and songwriter who only recently began making music, rising to prominence in 2024 with the release of his singles Austin Powers and Sexual Fantasies ft. Percaso. 

The Kessler Twins – Alice and Ellen Kessler
20 Aug 1936 – 17 Nov 2025
Twin German singers, dancers and actresses who were popular in Europe between the 1950s – 1970s, especially in their German homeland and also in Italy, where they were known as the Gemelli Kessler.

Jards Macalé (Jards da Silva)
3 Mar 1943 – 17 Nov 2025
Brazilian composer, singer and actor, who was particularly known for his influential role in the rise of the Tropicália movement in the Sixties, which blended traditional and avant garde music.

Humane Sagar 
25 Nov 1990 – 17 Nov 2025
Indian vocalist in the Playback style who worked mostly performing in the Odia “Ollywood” sector of the Indian film industry. His win in the second season of reality singing competition Voice of Odisha in 2012 brought him to public attention.

Jean-Claude Éloy
15 Jun 1938 – 19 Nov 2025
Highly regarded French composer particularly known for his work in the field of electroacoustics.

Lois Martin
1952 – 19 Nov 2025
American violist, known as a prominent champion of contemporary music, as well as a longtime orchestral leader, educator, and versatile collaborator across classical, jazz, and popular music.

Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield
16 Nov 1962 – c. 20 Nov 2025
Manchester musician, who was most known as the popular bass player with The Stone Roses, recording with them their two classic albums, The Stones Roses and Second Coming between 1989 and 1994. He became a member of Primal Scream after the band split in 1996, performing on their five albums up to 2011, before rejoining The Stones Roses for their reunion tour. A passionate fan of Manchester United, Rough Trade described him as “the perfect example of how a bassist can be the beating heart of a band”.

Ornella Vanoni OMRI
22 Sep 1934 – 21 Nov 2025
Singer, songwriter and actress, who became an icon of Italian music – over a seven-decade career releasing over 100 recordings and selling more than 65 million singles and albums. Breaking through in 1963 with Senza Fine, she enjoyed numerous hits across the Sixties, Seventies and beyond, such as L'Appuntamento, and was a regular performer at the San Remo festival.  She was still active in her early nineties, notably performing Sant’ Allegria in a duet with Mahmood to cement her status as a national treasure.

Leon Bates
3 Nov 1949 – 21 Nov 2025
Acclaimed American Black classical pianist, who developed a global audience and whose talent saw him perform around the world.

Jean Guidoni
3 May 1951 – 21 Nov 2025
French singer and songwriter, who emerged in the 1970s and went on to create acclaimed albums, including his socially aware Je Marche Dans les Villes in 1980, which was awarded the prestigious Grand Prix du Disque for French Song in 1981.

Garry "Jellybean" Johnson 
19 Nov 1956 – 21 Nov 2025
US musician – drummer and guitarist, and also songwriter and producer best known for his involvement with the band The Time, and prior to this with Flyte Time.

René Karst 
13 Aug 1966 – 21 Nov 2025
Dutch singer who began performing in 1979 with his mother as Duo Karst. After serving as a CDA municipal councilor, he focused fully on music and built a successful solo career with numerous party hits and gold discs secured. Karst also worked in children’s entertainment, theatre projects, and on TV. 

Ian Lees
c. 1960s – 23 Nov 2025
Australian rock musician who was also a member of Moving Pictures, the Australian band formed in the early 1980s. They achieved significant success in their home market before their singles Days of Innocence and the classic track What About Me helped them to break through in the US market. They continued to achieve domestic success until they disbanded in 1987 before reforming in 2011 for annual tours.

Jimmy Cliff OM (James Chambers)
30 Jul 1944 – 24 Nov 2025
Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae, and soul musician, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, who acted also. Widely credited with helping to popularise reggae worldwide, he received Jamaica’s Order of Merit, for his contribution to the arts and sciences. Cliff became internationally known for iconic songs such as Many Rivers to Cross, You Can Get It If You Really Want, The Harder They Come, and his notable covers of Hakuna Matata, and I Can See Clearly Now, the latter featuring in the film Cool Runnings. His starring role in the film The Harder They Come played a major role in bringing reggae to a global audience. He also appeared in Club Paradise. In 2010, Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Sara Surkamp
27 Jul 1953 – 25 Nov 2025
American vocalist and musician, who was a member of Pavlov's Dog, the experimental prog AOR rock band first formed in the 1970s.

Andrew Lauder
22  May 1947 – 26 Nov 2025
English record executive and A&R manager, regarded as a champion of independent music and for his genre-spanning signings. Rising to head A&R at Liberty and then United Artists Records, he promoted an eclectic roster which ranged from the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band to Dr Feelgood. He also played a role in promoting underground, pub rock, punk, and Krautrock acts in the UK. From the late 1970s onward, Lauder helped shape the independent-label landscape, co-founding influential imprints such as Radar, F-Beat, and Demon, and later launching Silvertone—home to The Stone Roses—and several other specialist labels. Throughout his career he supported both emerging and established artists, nurtured many who split from earlier bands, and embraced innovative artwork and promotional ideas. His memoir Happy Trails was published in 2023.

Judy Cheeks 
13 Feb 1954 – 26 Nov 2025
US soul and R&B vocalist who rose to prominence in the Seventies, going on to perform with various artists, including Ike and Tina Turner, as in ‘Ikette’, as well as Donna Summer, and Stevie Wonder, among others.

Pam Hogg 
c. 1958 – 26 Nov 2025
Scottish fashion designer and musician, celebrated for her fiercely independent, avant-garde style. Trained at the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Art, she emerged as an influential figure in London’s 1980s design scene, becoming known for creating bold, subversive collections and for dressing high-profile artists, including Siouxsie Sioux, Debbie Harry, Kylie Minogue, and later Lady Gaga and Rihanna. Hogg also pursued an eclectic music career from the late Seventies onwards, building a cult following with such bands as Rubbish, The Garden of Eden, Doll, and Hoggdoll. Her body of work spanned fashion, music, film, and art –earning major exhibitions, collaborations, and awards. For the 2016 BRIT Awards with Mastercard, Hogg joined a select group of creators, such as Peter Blake, Vivienne Westwood, and Damien Hirst, when invited to design the BRITs statuette trophy, which that year went to artists including Adele, Coldplay, and Björk, and which was also presented posthumously to David Bowie.

Justin Baren
1985 – 28 Nov 2025 
American singer who was a teen idol and went on to found the pop-rock band The Redwalls, who had been signed to Capitol Records in the Noughties.

Antone “Chubby” Tavares
2 Jun 1944 – c. 29 Nov 2025
American R&B and soul singer most regarded as the lead singer for the Grammy-winning group Tavares, famous for mega-hits including Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel, It Only Takes a Minute, and their More Than a Woman contribution to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. Having started out with his band Chubby and the Turnpikes, he also released solo albums, including Jealousy and Can't Knock Me Down.

Bob 'Bongo' Starkie
1952 – 29 Nov 2025
Guitarist for the legendary Aussie rock band Skyhooks, whom he joined in 1973. He became a central part of the band during their period of greatest success in the Seventies and Eighties.

Alexei Michlin
15 Aug 1938 – 30 Nov 2025
Russian classical violinist and teacher who performed at his peak during the Soviet era.

Billy Nichols
1940 – c. 30 Nov 2025
Legendary US Motown figure, who was equally adept as a guitar, a songwriter, or as a producer. He was known for his work with such greats as Marvin Gaye, and Martha and The Vandellas.

Warren Williams
5 Apr 1940 – 30 Nov 2025
Australian rock musician, who in the 1950s emerged as a pioneer of the genre, including though his band, Warren Williams and the Squares.

Dag Spantell 
1950 – 30 Nov 2025
Norwegian singer who rose to prominence in the 1970s, achieving success with the hits Kjendis-party and En helt alminnelig sang om sommer.  He was part of the popular På Treff-gang group, touring extensively and competing multiple times in Norway’s Eurovision selections. Spantell returned to music in the 2000s thanks to a hit collaboration with rappers Jaa9 and OnklP, and released a hits album to renew his appeal.

December 2025

Anna Noferini
N/a – 1 Dec 2025
Italian musician who was first violinist of The Orchestra of Maggio Musicale in Florence. She won first prize at Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles in 1986, where she studied with Arthur Grumiaux. She also graduated from Conservatorio di Milano in 1990. Noferini came from a musical family – her father was the Italian composer and conductor Giordano Noferini, and her mother Maria Grazia was a pianist. She played chamber music with her brothers; Andrea and Roberto, as well as her partner, the violinist Luigi Cozzolino.

Poorstacy (Carlito Milfort)
15 Mar 1999 – 1 Dec 2025
US musician, he drew from punk, Hip-Hop, and metal genres to create his own distinctive sound. He released two studio albums, and was featured on the Grammy nominated soundtrack to Bill and Ted Face the Music.

Steve Cropper
21 Oct 1941 – 3 Dec 2025
Acclaimed US guitarist, songwriter and producer aka The Colonel. He worked with Stax band Booker T. and the M.G.’s, who backed such greats as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and Neil Young. Cropper also produced many of their records, and separately was a member of the Blues Brothers.  Rolling Stone ranked him 36th on its list of 100 greatest guitarists, and he was also honoured with two Grammy awards.

Tetsu Yamauchi 
21 Oct 1946 – 4 Dec 2025
Japanese rock musician, who in the Seventies featured in the line up of several influential bands, including Free, and Faces, where he too over from Ronnie Lane and performed on the band's final single, You Can Make Me Dance, Sing, or Anything. Yamauchi additionally recorded various solo material and worked as a session musician before stepping back from music in in the late Nineties.

Ted Egan AO
6 Jul 1932 – 4 Dec 2025
Australian folk singer, who also pursued successful careers in local politics and administration.

Frank Gehry
28 Feb 1929 – 5 Dec 2025
Iconic Canadian American architect and designer celebrated for his landmark post-modern architectural building designs. These included a number of music venues and arts centres among them, such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles.

Sandro Giacobbe 
14 Dec 1949 – 5 Dec 2025
Italian singer-songwriter known for romantic ballads. He rose to fame in the early 1970s, achieving his first major success in 1974 with Signora Mia, and going on to enjoy a decade of popularity with several hits, including Il Giardino Proibito, whose Spanish version topped the charts in Spain in 1976. That same year, he placed third at the Sanremo Music Festival. From the mid-1980s, he focused mainly on live performances.

Camryn Magness
14 Jul 1999 – 5 Dec 2025
US vocalist and musician, who rose to prominence through her YouTube videos. Among various career highlights, she worked with One Direction on their Up All Night tour of 2011 and then the Take Me Home tour of 2013, while she also performed with Fifth Harmony among other artists.

Rafael Ithier
29 Aug 1926 – 6 Dec 2025
Puerto Rican considered a legend of salsa music, Ithier was founder and longtime musical director of the iconic orchestra El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico. A pianist, composer, and arranger, he helped shape salsa over six decades. Under his leadership, the group became a cornerstone of salsa’s golden age, recording classics, training generations of musicians, and earning global acclaim, including a Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Martin Parr
23 May 1952 – 6 Dec 2025 
English photographer whose iconic images appeared on recording releases by Blur, Richard Hawley and Madness, among others.

Bernie Toorish    
1931 – 7 Dec 2025
North American tenor singer and arranger, who was part of the popular Canadian vocal group active between the 1950s and 1970s, The Four Lads. Their million-selling signature tunes included Moments to Remember, and Who Needs You?

Jubilant Sykes
17 Sep 1954 – 8 Dec 2025
US baritone vocalist, whose breadth of repertoire spanned opera, pop, musicals and gospel music and saw him earn a Grammy award nomination for his work.

Raul Malo 
7 Aug 1965 – 8 Dec 2025
US country singer and songwriter, who played guitar and was a producer also, most known as lead singer and the creative force behind The Mavericks. Malo later pursued a solo path, including as a member of the Los Super Seven supergroup, before returning to the band to tour and help them to receive an American Music Award for duo/group of the year in 2015.

Andrew Fairfax
1953 – 9 Dec 2025
English luthier and writer who developed his violin-making and restoration talent in the Netherlands, before moving back to the UK to work with J&A Beare in a 25 year-career. Fairfax collaborated with many acclaimed musicians, including Nicola Benedetti, and restored and studied many of the greatest and most celebrated violins, violas and cellos, including those by Guarneri and Stradivari. He later co-established Fairfax violins. 

Eddie Thornton 
19 Oct 1931 – 10 Dec 2025
Jamaican-born trumpeter, known as Tan-Tan, who began his career in the Fifties, starting out with the Roy Coulton band. He toured internationally and became part of the jazz scene, collaborating with leading artists, such as Georgie Fame, Andy Fairweather Low, and Aswad, among others. He released a self-produced solo LP in 1981, and from 2008 lined up with Kitty, Daisy & Lewis.

Zafer Dilek
30 Aug 1944 – 11 Dec 2025 TBC
Popular Turkish musician, guitarist, and arranger, famed for his iconic ‘Yeşilçam’ film scores and collaborations with many major artists.

Brent McLachlan
6 Aug 1961 – 11 Dec 2025
American drummer who performed with a number of groups but is most known for his time with noise-rock band Bailter Space.

Manny Guerra
22 Jan 1939 – 12 Dec 2025
Influential US record producer, engineer, and recording artist known for shaping Tejano music. He began his career with Sunny and the Sunglows, scoring such national hits as Talk to Me in 1963. With his enterprises Manny Music Inc., AMEN Studios, and GP Productions, and briefly in partnership with BMG, Guerra produced leading Tejano artists including Augustine Ramirez, Jay Perez, Sunny Ozuna, Culturas, and Selena.

Magda Umer
9 Oct 1949 – 12 Dec 2025
Polish vocalist, known for her performances of poetry as well as being a journalist, author, film director, screenwriter, and actor. Umer released five albums and won various competitions throughout her career.

Marilyn Mazur 
18 Jan 1955 – 12 Dec 2025
US -born Danish percussionist who worked with various groups, including Six Winds, and she also appeared Miles Davis's band.

Abraham Quintanilla
20 Feb 1939 – 13 Dec 2025
US musician, producer, and artist manager best known as the father and manager of Tejano star Selena. A former member of Los Dinos, he later formed Selena y Los Dinos with his children, leading them to major success. After Selena’s death, he focused on preserving her legacy through films and music projects.

Tonny Eyk (Teun Eikelboom)
4 Jul 1940 – 13 Dec 2025
Multi-talented Dutch artist and musician, who composed and arranged, produced, played piano and was a bandleader and writer also. Known to TV audiences as a jury member in various shows.

Anda-Louise Bogza
27 Feb 1965 – 13 Dec 2025
Romanian soprano, who, based at the State Opera, where she was the soloist emeritus, and National Theatre in Prague, pursued a successful international career, known particularly for her breadth of Verdi roles.

Rob Reiner
6 Mar 1947 – 14 Dec 2025
Acclaimed US film director, responsible for such classic movies as When Harry Met Sally, but whose work and also created a significant impact on music. He directed and co-starred in the 1984 rock “mockumentary” This Is Spinal Tap, which satirized heavy metal culture. The film’s improvised style, fictional band, and deadpan humour blurred the line between music documentary and comedy, leaving a lasting imprint on musicians, filmmakers, and audiences. Reiner remained closely connected to Spinal Tap throughout his career, culminating in Spinal Tap II: The End Continues (2025) and the concert film Stonehenge: The Final Finale, which featured real-world musical guests and reinforced the project’s crossover between comedy cinema and live rock performance. Beyond Spinal Tap, Reiner’s broader filmography frequently emphasized the importance of curated soundtracks and popular music—particularly in films like Stand by Me, helping cement music as a key emotional and cultural element in mainstream cinema.

Carl Carlton
21 May 1952 – 14 Dec 2025
US R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a teenage performer in the 1960s under the name “Little Carl Carlton.” After early success on the northern soul scene and steady chart appearances in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he achieved major U.S. success with the classic hit Everlasting Love, following this success up in 1981 with She’s a Bad Mama Jama, which earned a Grammy nomination and helped his self-titled album achieve Gold status. Carlton remained influential, with his music frequently featured in compilations and sampled in hip-hop, and he later explored gospel music in the 2010s.

Joe Ely
9 Feb 1947 – 15 Dec 2025
US singer, songwriter and guitarist, who was influential in the US country scene of 1970s and 1980s. He worked with numerous artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, the Los Super Seven supergroup, The Chieftains, and The Clash.

Antony Price 
5 Mar 1945 – 16 Dec 2025
British fashion designer and ‘image-maker’, known for his influential sartorial collaborations with leading figures and celebrities, as well as music artists ranging from David Bowie and Bryan Ferry, to Duran Duran and Steve Strange.

Sir Humphrey Burton CBE
25 Mar 1931 – 17 Dec 2025
British classical music television presenter, broadcaster, director, and producer, who was also an academic and writer. Among his many achievements was to help launch BBC 2 and, as BBC Head of Music and Arts, helped to create such important programming as Young Musician of the Year and Arena. Other credits among numerous contributions to broadcasting included directing the Proms and opera broadcasts, and for Omnibus he directed the world premiere of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Requiem in 1985.

Mick Abrahams 
7 Apr 1943 – 19 Dec 2025
British musician who worked with numerous artists but is best known for his work as the original guitarist with Jethro Tull between 1967 and1968, and also as the leader of the band Blodwyn Pig.

Natalya Boyarskaya
1946 – 19 Dec 2025
Russian violinist and music teacher who was married to cellist Alexander Boyarsky and was also the mother of the violist Konstantin Boyarsky. She taught at the Yehudi Menuhin School and the Royal College of Music

Michał Urbaniak
22 Jan 1943 – 20 Dec 2025
Polish jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist including violin and saxophone. He was adept at folk and R&B as he was more symphonic music.

Nick Williams
1976 – 21 Dec 2025
English dance industry figure and DJ in independent music. He was a long-time influence at Soho’s Phonica Records and founded the Meda Fury label, releasing work from Lady Blacktronika, Takuya Matsumoto, and others up to 2020. Phonica said: "Nick was part of the heart of Phonica Records for 16 years. From behind the counter to shaping the spirit of the shop, he gave so much of himself to this place and to the community around it. His knowledge, generosity, humour and passion for music touched countless artists, DJs, customers and friends from all over the world."

Chris Rea
4 Mar 1951 – 22 Dec 2025
English rock legend, who was also an acclaimed blues singer-songwriter, guitarist and actor. BRIT nominated, he was renowned for his Middlesbrough roots, signature husky voice and expressive slide guitar style. A prolific recording artist who released 25 studio albums over four decades, achieving more than 40 million sales globally in total, and who enjoyed a peak of popularity with his UK No.1 albums The Road to Hell and Auberge, which also sold massively well around Europe in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Rea landed a total of 13 UK Top 40 singles across his career, including two Top 10s – in 1988 with the festive classic Driving Home For Christmas and in 1989 with the track The Road To Hell (Part 2). Other well known songs included Let’s Dance, On the Beach, Stainsby Girls, and Fool (If You Think It’s Over), the latter taken from his 1978 debut album Whatever Happened to Benny Santini, which helped to launch his career, earning him U.S. chart success and a Grammy nomination. Well documented health issues in the 2000s prompted a rethink and a shift towards more blues-based projects released on his own label, leading to ambitious works such as Dancing Down the Stony Road and the 11-disc Blue Guitars. Rea was also known for his passion for cars and motor racing, leading him to write the title track and score for the 1993 film Soft Top, Hard Shoulder, and then in 1996 writing and producing the film La Passione, in part inspired by his childhood love of Ferrari. Rea also acted, taking the lead in the 1999 comedy Parting Shots alongside John Cleese and Felicity Kendal. Rea continued creating music and touring, and leaves a legacy as a distinctive figure in popular music.  

Jack Pedler
1953 – 23 Dec 2025
Canadian musician who at one time was part of the line up of the punk group Teenage Head, popular in Canada since the early 1980s.

Howie Klein
20 Feb 1948 – 24 Dec 2025
US writer, media personality and rights advocate, who at one time was a DJ and producer as well as a record label executive, being president of Reprise Records between 1989 and 2001.

Perry Bamonte
3 Sep 1960 – 24 Dec 2025
British musician who will be best remembered for his work with The Cure. Originally part of the band’s crew in the 1980s, he became a full member in 1990, playing guitar, keyboards, along with bass and percussion. He contributed to a number of LPs, starting with Wish in 1992, and remained part of the line up until 2005. After leaving, Bamonte focused on occupations as diverse as illustration and fly fishing, and he later joined Love Amongst Ruin as their bassist, appearing on their 2015 album. He participated in The Cure’s 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction and rejoined the band in 2022 for their “Shows of a Lost World” tour.

Don Bryant
4 Apr 1942 – 26 Dec 2025
US R&B singer and songwriter who began performing in church and later fronted The Four Kings before joining Hi Records, where he became a prolific staff songwriter credited on over 150 titles. He wrote major hits including I Can’t Stand the Rain with Ann Peebles. He continued to perform and recorded acclaimed albums with The Bo-Keys, including Don’t Give Up on Love and the Grammy-nominated You Make Me Feel.

"Pate" Mustajärvi 
12 Jul 1956 – 26 Dec 2025
Finnish rock singer who was a longtime member of rock group Popeda although he also pursued a career as a solo artist.

Gary Graffman
14 Oct 1928 – 27 Dec 2025
American classical pianist, who later turned to teaching before being appointed director and president of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Fanny (Fanny Biascamano) 
16 Sep 1979 – 27 Dec 2025
French singer who rose to prominence in 1991 when participating in the Numéro 1 de Demain part of the TV show Sacrée Soirée before releasing a hit cover of Piaf’s L'Homme à la moto and then her self-titled debut album. In 1997, she was placed seventh in the Eurovision Song Contest when representing France with Sentiments Songes. 

Andy “Ms Zsa Zsa Poltergeist” Billups
1953 – 28 Dec 2025
British musician and bass player, who was a longtime band member with The Hamsters – popular on the pub and club circuit by combining humour with music.

Michael Lippman
1949 – 29 Dec 2025
US lawyer, entrepreneur, and artist manager, who founded Lippman Entertainment in the mid-1980s and managed major artists including David Bowie, George Michael, Matchbox Twenty, and Rob Thomas. He was known for maintaining an enduring partnership with George Michael as well as working with other notable musicians and producers.

Richard Smallwood 
30 Nov 1948 – 30 Dec 2025
US gospel vocalist who took forward his talent through his group, the Richard Smallwood Singers.

Peter-Lukas Graf 
5 Jan 1929 – 31 Dec 2025
Swiss flautist and an orchestra and opera conductor, who also taught at the Basel Music Academy. Among various notable achievements, Graf played at James Galway’s wedding in 1972, and in 2005 was made an honorary doctor by the Academy of Music in Kraków.

Hayden Thompson 
5 Mar 1938 – 31 Dec 2025
US rockabilly musician, vocalist and songwriter, whose achievements saw him inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. 

January 2026

Wolfgang Herzfeld
c. 1937 – 1 Jan 2026
German violinist who was a long-time member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, having joined in 1963. Alongside his work with BPO, he taught at the Dounias-Sindermann Conservatory from 1964 to 1967 and was also the founding first violinist of the Herzfeld Quartet. 

Tony Carr (Tony Caruana)
1927 – 2 Jan 2026
Maltese jazz drummer, percussionist and session musician. He was credited with helping to lay the foundations of Malta’s jazz scene before forging a distinguished career in the UK as a session musician, performing with legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Paul McCartney, Dizzy Gillespie, Tom Jones and Cliff Richard. Carr was the session percussionist on the original recording of You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate and also played with Paul McCartney’s Rockestra at Abbey Road. 

Lajos Rovátkay
15 Sep 2026 – 2 Jan 2026
German-born, Hungarian musician, who played organ and harpsichord, and conducted also.  He also supported music education as a college professor. 

Johnny Legend (Martin Margulies)
3 Oct 1948 – 2 Jan 2026
American musician who was highly regarded in the rockabilly scene, and who additionally produced films, acted, and had a successful sideline wrestling manager.

Amanda Rice-Johnson 
1984 – 2 Jan 2026
US double bassist who performed extensively as a freelance bassist with the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet, the Wheeling and Grand Rapids Symphonies, and served as principal bass of the Westmoreland Symphony. She was also a founding member of the Kassia Ensemble and taught double bass at Chatham University.

Mesut İktu 
22 May 1947 – 3 Jan 2026
Turkish operatic baritone performer, who was also an administrator and a voice teacher. His various positions included artistic direction of the Turkish State Opera and Ballet. 

Calbo (Calboni M'Bani)
22 Sep 1973 – 4 Jan 2026
French-Congolese rapper who, with his brother Gaëlino M'Bani, was also part of the rap duo Arsenik. 

Andrew Bodnar
23 Sep 1954– 5 Jan 2026
British bassist and songwriter, most known for his work with Graham Parker and The Rumour in the 1970s. He co-wrote Nick Lowe’s I Love the Sound of Breaking Glass, played the distinctive bassline on Elvis Costello’s Watching the Detectives, and later toured as the Thompson Twins’ bassist between 1982–83. Bodnar performed and recorded with many artists including Tina Turner, The Pretenders, and Angie Bowie. He also reunited with The Rumour in the 2010s, appeared solo in This Is 40 (2012), and remained active in music.

Jim McBride
28 Apr 1947 – 6 Jan 2026
US country music songwriter, whose success working with many greats over the years, such as Johnny Cash and Crystal Gayle, saw him inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. McBride was responsible for five No.1 songs, 10 top-10 singles, and nearly 20 top-40 hits, including Chasing that Neon Rainbow, (Who Says) You Can’t Have it All, and Someday.

Ihor Blazhkov
23 Sep 1936 – 7 Jan 2026
Ukrainian conductor and musicians, whose achievements were honoured with a People’s Artist of the Ukrainian SSR award in 1990.

Matthias Siefert
4 Jun 1962 – 7 Jan 2026
German-born, London-based music industry management executive and musician, who was also known for the generous support he gave that helped to facilitate so many careers in music. His varied roles included MD, A&R at Bizarre Management, as well as General Manager at Bronze Records, Head of Operations at Soundhouse, and New Business Manager at PPL.

Guy Moon
7 Feb 1962 – 8 Jan 2026
US composer known for his work in film, particularly animated shows, such as Danny Phantom.

Pouya Faragardi
1989 – c. 8 Jan 2026
Iranian violinist, who was also known as a teacher, performer, and maker of traditional wind instruments.

Sanam Pourbabaei
1999 – C. 8 Jan 2026
Iranian violinist and teacher.

Terry Sullivan
22 Jul 1938 – 9 Jan 2026
English drummer and percussionist, most known as a member of the classic lineup of prog rock act Renaissance. Prior to this, in the 1960s, he featured in the line up of rock group Dry Ice, who at the time toured with major bands including Pink Floyd and The Who.

Bob Weir
16 Oct 1947 – c. 10 Jan 2026
US guitarist, vocalist and  songwriter, who leaves his greatest legacy as a co-founder of pioneering band, The Grateful Dead, with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was also awarded a Kennedy Center Honor. Once the group disbanded in the Nineties, Weir and other members formed part of the line up of The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, while Weir also had spells with groups including Kingfish, Bobby and the Midnites, and Furthur. In 2015, with former Grateful Dead members he joined with John Mayer and others to form Dead & Company. 

Yeison Jiménez
26 Jul 1991 – 10 Jan 2026
Colombian vocalist, composer, songwriter and performer in the Música Popular style. His body or work included around 70 songs and eight album recordings.

John Forté
30 Jan 1975 – 12 Jan 2026
US artist and producer who was a member of the Refugee Camp All Stars collective, contributing to We Are Trying to Stay Alive (with Wyclef Jean) and Rumble in the Jungle (with The Fugees, Tribe Called Quest, and Busta Rhymes). He also did production work on The Score, which earned him a Grammy nomination, and in 1998 released his debut studio album, Poly Sci. 

Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin
2000 – c. 12 Jan 2026
English musician and an alumnus of The BRIT School, who was the guitarist and co-founding member of the experimental rock band Black Midi. Matt played on the band’s acclaimed 2019 debut Schlagenheim, which was Mercury Prize shortlisted, and was considered central to their intense live shows. He left the band in 2021 and continued making music independently, including through guest appearances.

Jodie Bevers
1945 – c. Jan 2026
American cellist, who was a longstanding performer with the National Academy of Santa Cecilia orchestra from 1974 to 2005. Bevers was also known for recordings of early music, including works by Benedetto Marcello and Tomaso Albinoni.

Lord Andrew Shiach
1956 – 14 Jan 2026
British pioneer in audio technology who in 1994 founded ACS in aid of hearing health.  From a small UK workshop, Andy built ACS, and what began as handcrafted solutions for a local community grew into products trusted across the world. Today, ACS supports musicians and music professionals, alongside individuals working in industry, motorsport, emergency services, broadcasting, aviation, and many other sectors, wherever sound plays a critical role and hearing must be preserved.

James Borrer
23 Jan 1979 – 14 Jan 2026
British Music Executive. Head of Digital Music at Silva Screen Music Group including Silva Screen Records and SO Recordings, having previously been a label manager at IODA and PIAS UK.

Duncan Johnstone
1957 – c. Jan 2026
Scottish violinist and viola player, who studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. From 1979–1980, he was a member of London’s National Centre for Orchestral Studies in its inaugural year.
Johnstone performed as principal violist with the Scottish Ballet Orchestra, and as a section violist with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden.

Maria Mircheva
1944 – 15 Jan 2026
Bulgarian cellist, and a former principal cellist of the Valencia Orchestra. She left a a major legacy as a performer, soloist, teacher, and recording artist deeply influential in Valencia’s musical life.

Kenny Morris
1 Feb 1957 – c. 15 Jan 2026
British drummer and percussionist, songwriter and visual artist. He first rose to prominence as the drummer for Siouxsie and the Banshees, whom he joined in 1977, contributing to such classic songs as Hong Kong Garden, while he also played on The Scream and Join Hands in the late 1970s, before parting ways.

Tony Dallara (Antonio Lardera)
30 Jun 1936 – 16 Jan 2026
Italian vocalist and actor, who emerged as a major star in the late 1950s. Influenced by US singers, he achieved huge success in 1957 with Come Prima and in 1960 went on to win the Sanremo and Canzonissima festivals with Romantica, repeating the feat at the 1961 Canzonissima with Bambina Bambina. He appeared regularly at Sanremo, notably performing with Ben E. King, as well as on Italian entertainment shows, and scored numerous other hits.

Paavo Pohjola
1935 – 17 Jan 2026
Finnish violinist, chamber musician, conductor, and teacher. Pohjola held concertmaster positions with major orchestras in Finland, Germany, and Sweden, including the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Stockholm Philharmonic. Alongside his performing career, he was a highly respected educator, contributing significantly to chamber music and orchestral development in Finland.

Tucker Zimmerman 
14 Feb 1941 – 17 Jan 2026
US singer-songwriter, who made his mark with his debut album Ten Songs, said to be one of David Bowie’s favourite LPs. He worked with various artists, including the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, and also turned to composition for film and symphonies. In the mid-Nineties he co-formed the Nightshift trio, which released Walking On the Edge Of The Blues and Chautauqua. In 2024 he announced the album Dance of Love.

Roger Allers 
29 Jun 1949 – 17 Jan 2026
US film director, animator and screenwriter, who included the film musical of The Lion King among his many credits.

Destiny Boy (Afeez Adesina)
2004 – c. Jan 2026
Nigerian artist in the Afrofuji style, which blends traditional Yoruba Fuji sounds with modern Afrobeats.
Adesina rose to national prominence after his 2019 version of popstar Davido's hit song If went viral on social media. He later recorded his own renditions of other popular songs as well as original tracks.

Ralph Towner 
1 Mar 1940 – 18 Jan 2026
US musician who was a successful composer, arranger and bandleader with a talent extending to guitar, piano, synthesizer, percussion, and trumpet. He appeared in various groups including Winter Consort and Oregon, which released a number of influential records that blended folk, jazz and Indian music.  Along with a relationship with the ECM label, in the 1970s Towner featured on Weather Report’s Sing the Electric Body and released his own album, Solstice. 

Stephen "Cat" Coore
1957 – 18 Jan 2026
Jamaican musician who in 1973 was a founding member of the influential reggae group, Third World – famous for such hits as their Eighties cover of Now That We Found Love. He previously performed with bands including The Alley Cats and Inner Circle.

Billy Parker 
19 Jul 1937 – 19 Jan 2026
US country music vocalist and DJ – names the CMA’s Disc Jockey of the Year in 1974, and who received further honours in the 1970s and 1980s, and in 1992 was inducted into the Country Music Disc Jockey Hall of Fame, among other accolades. As a singer, he charted more than 20 singles, including (Who's Gonna Sing) The Last Country Song, which peaked at No. 41 in the Billboard charts in 1982. 

Deniz Özasker
1978 – 19 Jan 2026
Turkish violinist and a concertmaster with the Izmir State Symphony. She trained at the Ankara State Conservatory and came from a musical family, with her father, a cellist in the Presidential Symphony Orchestra. 

Rob Hirst
3 Sep 1955 – c. Jan 2026
Australian percussionist who was a founding member of Midnight Oil, performing on drums and vocals from the 1970s until the early Noughties and then when the band reformed in 2017. He also performed with various other groups including Ghostwriters, Backsliders, the Angry Tradesmen, and The Break. 

Anders Möller
c. 1962 – 19 Jan 2026
Swedish singer and guitarist, best known as the frontman of the rock band Black Ingvars, although he also performed with Swedish Erotica.  Emerging as part of the Swedish punk scene, he rose to prominence in the 1990s with Black Ingvars’ hard-rock versions of dansband songs. They also competed in Melodifestivalen. 

Annette Morreau 
4 Feb 1946 – c. Jan 2026
Influential UK arts administrator, music critic and champion of contemporary music. A trained cellist who studied with János Starker, she went on to shape British musical life through the BBC and the Arts Council, founding the Contemporary Music Network in 1970 to bring new music across the UK. She later worked in broadcasting, became a critic for The Independent, and authored a biography of her distant relative, the cellist Emmanuel Feuermann.

Yaw Sarpong 
N/a – 20 Jan 2026
Gospel songwriter and musician from Ghana, who also led the Asomafo Band, which he founded in 
1986.

Guy Hovis
24 Sep 1941 – 22 Jan 2026
US vocalist who, with his spouse Ralna English, was, among other achievements, one of the featured acts on the nationally syndicated Lawrence Welk Show.

Francis Buchholz
19 Feb 1954 – 22 Jan 2026
German guitarist most regarded as the bass player for German hard rock group Scorpions for two decades up to 1992.  His bass riffs featured on such international hits as Rock You Like a Hurricane, and Wind of Change. Buchholz also had spells performing with Temple of Rock as well as other bands.

Earl Carlyss 
1940 – 23 Jan 2026
American violinist and longtime member of the Juilliard Quartet, a student of Ivan Galamian, and a leading chamber music educator, who leaves a legacy of a distinguished performing and teaching career.

Margaret Ross
1943 – 23 Jan 2026
American singer who featured in the 1960s line up of the R&B all-female group, The Cookies. The group performed and released in their own right but also supported numerous major artists as session vocalists, including on Neil Sedaka’s hit, Breaking Up is Hard to Do, and the Little Eva smash, The Loco-Motion.

Jean Cussac 
31 May 1922 – 25 Jan 2026
French baritone vocalist and music director, best known as a founding member of The Swingle Singers and for his extensive work as a singer and music director on major Walt Disney films. His long career spanned classical music, jazz, film soundtracks, and other genres, and he continued well into his later years.

Abhijit Majumdar
11 Sep 1971 – 25 Jan 2026
Indian film music director and prolific composer in the Odia style of films, characterised as being part of 
“Ollywood”. He has composed more than 700 songs for Odia movies, as well as albums, including for the Sambalpuri industry. 

Lucky Widja
1976 – 25 Jan 2026
Indonesian Nineties music star, singer and songwriter, who was known as the frontman of the popular group, Element.

Gabe Lopez
1995 – 25 Jan 2026
US pop-rock singer and songwriter of part Mexican heritage, who produced also. Signed to UMG as a songwriter and as an artist to Spectra Music, he wrote and produced for numerous artists, including Belinda Carlisle and New Kids on the Block, and was also regarded for his work on TV including RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Lowell “Sly” Dunbar
10 May 1952 – 26 Jan 2026
Jamaican drummer and percussionist, most known to fans as one half of the prolific Jamaican reggae production duo, Sly and Robbie. His innovative rhythms helped to shape reggae and popular global music, making him an influential figure, and performed on countless classic recordings, working with major artists ranging from Bob Marley to Grace Jones and Bob Dylan to Herbie Hancock.  Dunbar was honoured with 13 Grammy nominations in a recording career stretching back to 1970, two of which he won, and he leaves a rich legacy as one of the most recorded drummers in music history.

James "Mingo" Lewis
8 Dec 1953 – Jan 2026
US drummer and percussionist, who performed with, among other bands, Santana, Al Di Meola, and The Tubes.

António Chainho
27 Jan 1938 – 27 Jan 2026
Portuguese guitarist in the Fado style, who leaves an important legacy having worked with many of its greats, including Herminia Silva and Carlos do Carmo, as well as other leading artists, such as Paco de Lucia. He also recorded and toured extensively with the Lisbon-based Sao Tomean São Toméan singer, Marta Dias.

Nigel Ogden 
21 Nov 1954 – 27 Jan 2026
English organist, industry figure and radio presenter, who became best known for hosting BBC Radio 2’s The Organist Entertains, a weekly show of organ music which he presented from 1980 until 2018.  As a musician he composed and arranged music, toured extensively playing theatre and church organs, and continued his broadcasting passion on The Organist Encores podcast after the Radio 2 show ended.  Ogden received a British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Gold Badge of merit in 2012. 

Bryan Loren (Hudson)
5 May 1966 – Jan 2026
US singer-songwriter and music producer, also known by his sobriquet, The Wiz. Among his notable achievements, he wrote and produced and wrote the 1990 The Simpsons’ hit Do the Bartman, and worked with superstars Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson, among others. He also released the 1984 songs Lollipop Luv and Do You Really Love Me?, which both featured in the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.

Abdelhadi Belkhayat
1940 – 30 Jan 2026
Moroccan singer in the Arab-Andalusian style popular in his homeland. He is remembered for such songs as Ya bent Nass, since covered by contemporary artists, and albums including Ya Dak L'insane. He also wrote, following a request from King Hassan II, the spiritual Al Mounfarija, based on Ibn Al Nahawi's famous poem.

Parthenon Huxley (Richard Miller)
19 Janu 1956 – 30 Jan 2026
American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor, who was known for his solo projects, including those under his P Hux title, and his work with the ELO offshoots ELO Part II and The Orchestra.

Miklós Fenyő
1948 – 31 Jan 2026
Hungarian vocalist and guitarist and keyboard player, most-known for forming the pop-rock group Hungária, which in the 1980s became popular in the face of the country’s oppression by the Communist regime.

"Billy Bass" Nelson
28 Jan 1951 – 31 Jan 2026
US musician, who, among notable achievements, including induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, was the original bass player for the iconic group Funkadelic.

Tracy Zamot
c. 1971 – C. Jan 2026
US longtime music industry publicist who held senior roles at Atlantic, Virgin, Motown Records, Pandora, and SiriusXM, among others. She was known for working with major artists across rock and pop, including Matchbox 20 and Rob Thomas, Genesis and Phil Collins, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin.

February 2026

Steve Washington
1959 – 1 Feb 2026
American musician and trumpeter who appeared in the lineup of the R&B and soul funk bands of the 1980s and 1990s, Slave and Aurra.

Ken Peplowski 
23 May 1959 – 1 Feb 2026
US jazz clarinetist who was skilled in the tenor sax also. He was most regarded for his devotion to Swing music, and worked closely with Concord Records, as well as other record labels.

Charles “Chuck” Negron
8 Jun 1942 – 2 Feb 2026
US singer and songwriter, who was most known as a founding member and lead vocalist of the rock band Three Dog Night.

Yuan Wei-Jen 
24 Jun 1968 – 2 Feb 2026
Taiwan singer-songwriter and record producer, known by the nickname Little Fat Teacher, who was a prolific songwriter and hitmaker, especially in the Noughties, and was known for his collaborations with artists in the Mandopop style.

Lamonte McLemore
17 Sep 1935 – 3 Feb 2026
US vocalist, composer, actor and pioneering photographer, best known as a founding member of the Grammy-winning group, The 5th Dimension. Before music, he broke barriers in sports and media—becoming the first Black athlete to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals and later the first Black photographer hired by Harper’s Bazaar. His photography career directly led to the formation of The 5th Dimension, and he also co-wrote songs recorded by the group, including A Love Like Ours.

Tommy Crook
16 Feb 1944 – 4 Feb 2026
US country and bluegrass guitarist, whose achievements in the genres across many decade saw him inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Fred Smith
10 Apr 1948 – 5 Feb 2026
American bassist for influential rock band Television and a former member of early Blondie. He joined Television in 1975 and played on their landmark albums Marquee Moon (1977) and Adventure (1978). After the band’s initial breakup, Smith collaborated on solo projects with bandmates and other artists, later reuniting with Television in the 1990s and continuing to perform with them into the 2000s.

Helen Micallef
1951 – 5 Feb 2026
Maltese singer who was part of the Helen and Joseph Maltese singing duo that represented their country at the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest. 

Lynn Blakey
N/a – c. 6 Feb 2026
American country music musician who was best known for her work with the alternative country group, Tres Chicas.

Ebo Taylor
6 Jan 1936 – 7 Feb 2026
Ghanaian musician and composer, who was a pivotal figure in his country’s music scene for more than six decades. He was also a bandleader, record producer and an arranger who focused on the highlife and afrobeat styles of music, and he worked with various artists including Fela Kuti.

Mr. Complex (Corey S. Roberts)
N/a – 7 Feb 2026
US Hip-Hop artist, who rose to prominence in the 1990s New York scene with a series of independent 12″ singles, including his 1995 hit Visualize. He later compiled his early work on 2000’s Complex Catalogue and released full-length projects, most recently F0rever New. A member of Polyrhythm Addicts, he collaborated with such artists as DJ Spinna, Biz Markie, and Sadat X, leaving a lasting mark on underground Hip-Hop.

Greg Brown 
c. 1969 – 7 Feb 2026
US musician, best known as a founding member and a guitarist in the band Cake. He played on the band’s first two albums, Motorcade of Generosity and Fashion Nugget, co-writing several songs including the hit The Distance. After Cake, Brown worked with bands and artists including Deathray, Rivers Cuomo’s side project Homie, Matt Sharp, and Golden Shoulders, contributing as a guitarist, songwriter, and producer. He later released a solo EP in 2023 and made a guest appearance on Cake’s 2011 album Showroom of Compassion. 

Brad Arnold
27 Sep 1978 – 7 Feb 2026
US rock singer-songwriter and musician who was most known as the co-founder of the group 3 Doors Down, serving as its lead vocalist. The band rose to prominence with the 2000 single Kryptonite, which Arnold wrote when he was just 15.

Matti Caspi
30 Nov 1949 – 8 Feb 2026
Leading Israeli musician and vocalist, songwriter and composer, whose distinctive style drew from influences ranging from the classical to Latin music.

Garland Green
1942 – c. Feb 2026
US soul singer and pianist best known for his 1969 hit Jealous Kind of Fella, which reached No. 5 on the Billboard R&B chart and sold over a million copies. After early releases on Gamma and Uni Records, Green achieved national success before recording for Cotillion, RCA, Ocean-Front and other labels. He continued performing well into his later years and in 2012 released I Should’ve Been The One, his first new material in three decades.

Andrew Ranken
13 Nov 1953 – 10 Feb 2026
British percussionist and drummer, who was most known for his role with The Pogues, having joined them in the early 1980s and appeared with them on all their recordings and tours until their breakup in 1996 and again between 2001 and 2014. In 2023, Ranken and the Mysterious Wheels released a charity single Take Me Down to St. Joe's in support of St Joseph's Hospice.

Jerry Kennedy 
10 Aug 1940 – 11 Feb 2026
US producer, songwriter, and guitarist who began as a child prodigy signed to RCA Records and went on to become a leading figure in Nashville’s 1960s country boom. He played on major recordings, including Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, and produced hits for artists such as Reba McEntire and Roger Miller. A four-time Grammy winner, he later founded JK Productions and was the father of songwriter Gordon Kennedy.

Simon Harris 
10 Sep 1962 – 13 Feb 2026
English DJ, music producer, and leading figure in the electronic music scene, having also founded the Music of Life Hip-Hop label. He was perhaps best known to the wider public for his 1988 hit Bass (How Low Can You Go?). 

Tim Very
c. 1984 – c. Feb 2026
American drummer, who was the longtime drummer for the band Manchester Orchestra, whom he joined in 2011, contributing to their albums including A Black Mile to the Surface and The Million Masks of God.

Wayne Proctor
N/a – c. 15 Feb 2026
Influential American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter of the 1960s band We the People. He was considered a pioneering figure in the garage rock scene, shaping its early sound with songs including My Brother, The Man and Mirror of Your Mind. 

Billy Steinberg
26 Feb 1950 – 16 Feb 2026
US songwriting great who, with his partner Tom Kelly, penned some of the biggest hits of the 1980s, notably Madonna’s Like a Virgin, as well as True Colors by Cyndi Lauper, Eternal Flame by The Bangles (1989), So Emotional by Whitney Houston, and I Drove All Night, memorably covered by Roy Orbison. Steinberg went on to collaborate with other songwriters as well as artists including Celine Dion, t.A.T.u., and Demi Lovato.

Robin Stevens
1959 – 16 Feb 2026
Welsh cellist and composer
A graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, he held the post of Music Director at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in York. He composed prolifically, with nearly 180 works to his name, including a sonata and suite for unaccompanied cello, 14 works for cello and piano and nearly 40 short works for unaccompanied cello. His solo albums, An Inward Journey, and Further Along An Inward Journey were released in 2021 and 2023.

Lil Poppa (Janarious Wheeler)
18 Mar 2000 – 18 Feb 2026
US rapper, singer and songwriter. He was signed to the Collective Music Group, having gained initial recognition for his track Purple Hearts. 

Angela Luce
3 Dec 1938 – 20 Feb 2026
Italian vocalist and actress famed for her popular interpretation of Neapolitan culture and traditions. She appeared in more than 60 films in a five-decade career, which often included singing roles.
 
Willie Colón
28 Apr 1950 – 21 Feb 2026
Pioneering US salsa and Fania artist of Latin American heritage, known for his versatile talent as a singer and musician.  He used his profile to spread the popularity of salsa as well as to promote social activism.

Shinya (Shinya Yamada)
13 Jan 1970 – 17 Feb 2026
Japanese musician, media personality and entrepreneur, best known as the drummer with the rock group Luna Sea – who were influential in the Visual Kei scene. He also released the solo album No Sticks in 1997 and supported live or session work of other artists including Maki Ohguro, and Creature Creature.
 
Luci4 (James Dear)
2 Aug 2002 – 22 Feb 2026
US rapper, singer, songwriter, and producer most known for pioneering the internet microgenre sigilkore and considered an influential figure in the underground rap scene. His songs gained popularity on TikTok, leading to him being signed to Atlantic Records, while he also produced for such artists such as Tay-K.
 
Éliane Radigue 
24 Jan 1932 – 23 Feb 2026
French composer who began in the 1950s, although her first compositions were not presented until the late 1960s. For much of her career, she worked almost exclusively using the ARP 2500 modular synthesizer and tape, and in later years her compositions were mainly for acoustic performance. 
 
Sir Monti Rock III (Joseph Montanez Jr.)
29 May 1939 – 23 Feb 2026
US musician also known as a flamboyant TV personality from the 1960s. He will be remembered to many fans as frontman with the group Disco-Tex and the Sex-O-Lettes, whose hits Get Dancin’ and I Wanna Dance Wit’ Choo (Doo Dat Dance) became disco anthems. He later appeared in the film Saturday Night Fever.
 
Oliver "Power" Grant
3 Nov 1973 – 23 Feb 2026
Jamaican-born, US entrepreneur and producer closely associated with the success of the Wu-Tang Clan, whom he supported early in their career before becoming executive producer of their groundbreaking albums. Grant founded the pioneering streetwear line Wu Wear, which he later rebranded as Wu-Tang Brand, relaunched it in partnership with Live Nation. Grant acted in such films as Black and White, and produced the 1999 video game Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style. He was also portrayed in Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga. Grant is remembered as a pioneer in hip-hop entrepreneurship.

Neil Sedaka
13 Mar 1939 – 27 Feb 2026
One of the most influential artists and songwriters of all time, and a globally popular singer and musician whose career spanned nearly seven decades. Rising to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s, he scored major hits such as Oh! Carol, Calendar Girl, Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen, and his signature No. 1 song Breaking Up Is Hard to Do. His career achieved another peak in the mid-1970s with such chart-toppers as Laughter in the Rain. A prolific composer, Sedaka wrote or co-wrote more than 500 songs. He also penned major hits for other artists, including Stupid Cupid for Connie Francis, (Is This the Way to) Amarillo? for Tony Christie, and Love Will Keep Us Together for Captain & Tennille. Over the years, he recorded in multiple languages and maintained strong international appeal. Sedaka blended pop craftsmanship with formal musical skill, recognised by multiple Grammy awards and nominations. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983, he continued performing well into the 21st century. He is remembered as one of pop music’s most enduring and versatile hitmakers and leaves an incredible legacy of classic songs.