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Richard Chamberlain, who died on Saturday (March 29) night at age 90, will be remembered as a TV icon, but he was a hot recording artist for a time. His debut album, Richard Chamberlain Sings, released on MGM Records, made the top five on the Billboard 200 in 1963.
In addition, he had three top 30 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight” (No. 10 in 1962), a cover version of the Elvis Presley smash “Love Me Tender” (No. 21 in 1962) and a cover version of the Everly Brothers smash “All I Have to Do Is Dream” (No. 14 in 1963).
He was also the first artist to record “They Long to Be Close to You,” a Burt Bacharach/Hal David song that went on to become a pop standard when it was recorded by the Carpenters. The duo’s version was Billboard’s Song of the Summer for 1970 and received a Grammy nod for record of the year. Chamberlain’s version, conducted by Bacharach, went relatively unnoticed. It was featured on the B side of his Hot 100 single “Blue Guitar” (No. 42 in 1963).
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Chamberlain died in Waimanalo, Hawaii, of complications from a stroke, according to his publicist, Harlan Boll.
Chamberlain received a Grammy nomination in 1972, but not for his music. He was nominated for best spoken word album for an RCA Recordings recording of a production in which he played Hamlet.
While Chamberlain’s recording career was short-lived, his status as a TV star spanned decades. He starred in Dr. Kildare from 1961-66. The medical drama ranked in the top 10 in the Nielsen ratings in its first season and remained in the top 20 for its second and third seasons.
In 1975, he received his first Primetime Emmy nomination for starring in The Count of Monte Cristo. He was nominated for outstanding lead actor in a special program (drama or comedy).
In the early 1980s, Chamberlain gained a reputation as the king of the miniseries for his starring roles in Shogun, The Thorn Birds and Wallenberg: A Hero’s Story. He received Primetime Emmy nods for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a special for all three productions.
Chamberlain also acted in film and on Broadway. His first attempt at Broadway — in a legendarily troubled 1966 production of a musical adaptation of the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany’s with Mary Tyler Moore — ended when producer David Merrick pulled the plug on the musical after only four preview performances in New York. (Happily, both stars survived the high-profile flop.)
Chamberlain went on to star on Broadway in revivals of The Night of the Iguana (1976-77), Blithe Spirit (1987), My Fair Lady (1993-94) and The Sound of Music (1999).
Born George Richard Chamberlain in Los Angeles on March 31, 1934, Chamberlain was named after his grandfather but was always called Dick or Richard. Chamberlain was gay, which was known in the industry but kept from the public in the years he was a romantic leading man. He came out in 2003, at age 68, in his memoir Shattered Love: A Memoir.
Chamberlain’s fears of rejection by his fans proved unfounded. “Everyone has been so supportive, so positive,” he told The Los Angeles Times in an interview to promote the book. “In New York, people walked up to me in the street, and in theaters. Strangers gave me the thumbs up, wished me well, said, ‘Good for you.’ I’m just awestruck by the change in the way I feel about life now.”
Young Scooter died Friday night (March 28) on the rapper’s 39th birthday, according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and details from Atlanta Police.
Atlanta Police Lt. Andrew Smith led a news conference late Friday night to share details about what reportedly led to the death of Young Scooter (real name: Kenneth Edward Bailey). According to Smith, police responded to a call about a dispute with a weapon at a home and then set up a perimeter outside the house after a man shut the door on officers. Two men fled from the rear of the house, Smith said, with one returning to the home and the other jumping two fences as he was fleeing.
According to the AJC story, Young Scooter was the man who jumped the fences, and Smith said, “When officers located him on the other side of the fence, he appeared to have suffered an injury to his leg.”
Atlanta Police say the man was taken to Grady Marcus Trauma Center and died there.
During the news conference, Smith denied widespread reports spreading on social media that Scooter had been fatally shot by Atlanta PD officers. “Just to be very clear, the injury that was sustained was not via the officers on scene. It was when the male was fleeing.”
Young Scooter’s peers mourned the late rapper on social media, with Playboi Carti sharing the news on Instagram Stories with the caption “SMFH.” Quavo took to X with broken-heart and prayer-hands emojis, writing, “ion understand,” alongside a video of Scooter performing. The late rapper’s Instagram Stories shared dozens of posts wishing him a happy birthday throughout Friday.
While Scooter was born in South Carolina, his family moved to Atlanta when he was just 9 years old, and his music career has been based in the rap mecca ever since. He broke out locally with the song “Colombia” in 2012 before joining forces with hip-hop heavyweights Future, Juicy J and Young Thug for “DI$Function” in 2014. He hit the Billboard charts as a featured artist on Young Thug’s “Guwop,” also featuring Quavo & Offset of Migos, in 2016 (peaking at No. 45 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart) and on Future & Juice WRLD’s “Jet Lag” in 2018 (his only Billboard Hot 100 appearance, peaking at No. 72).
Billboard has reached out to the Atlanta Police and a rep for Young Scooter for further information.
Find Quavo’s X post about Scooter below:
Wolfgang Spahr, whose tenure as a Billboard correspondent covering the German music business lasted from 1973 to 2020, died Friday (March 21). He was in his mid-80s.
Spahr was well known in the German music industry for running a newsletter, in addition to writing for Billboard, and perhaps even better known for being a true character, a gregarious figure who seemed to know, and joke around with, most of the people he covered. Besides his work as an industry journalist and communications consultant, he oversaw public relations for a theater festival dedicated to the works of the German author Karl May, who wrote Westerns without ever visiting the U.S., and wrote the lyrics for the Udo Jürgens schlager song “Aber bitte mit Sahne” (Translation: “But please with cream),” a No. 5 hit in 1976 that is regarded as a classic of the genre.
“Wolfgang was a very keen and passionate observer of our industry,” said Frank Briegmann, chairman/CEO of Universal Music Group Central Europe, in a statement. “I was always happy to welcome him to our events and I enjoyed his often-humorous comments on our business. He leaves a gap in the music business, and he will be missed deeply.”
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Spahr “was full of energy and he was very friendly to everyone,” remembers Hille Hillekamp, a music publisher and close friend of Spahr’s for decades. Many of his professional relationships were measured in decades, and he became a trusted advisor for many industry executives, both formally and informally.
“He was a great character and knew absolutely everyone in the German music business,” says Adam White, a former Billboard international editor and then the magazine’s top editor. “Yet he was a modest man with considerable charm and a warm sense of humor.”
Spahr may have been the longest-serving writer at Billboard. Although it is hard to determine exactly when he started, he is listed on the masthead as early as 1973 — as the correspondent for West Germany — and he kept contributing until 2020. During that time, he covered the rise of the country as one of the top global recorded music markets, the entry of Bertelsmann into the U.S. recording business and the industry’s digital transition. His access to sources was unparalleled. “You could call him and ask him about anything regarding the German industry and he would know it, and when he did not, he would always quickly get back to you,” remembers former Billboard international editor Emmanuel Legrand.
Legrand remembers seeing Spahr twice a year. “First at MIDEM, where we would share a few drinks, most of the time with his lovely wife Gabriele [Schulze-Spahr, a longtime lawyer at Warner Chappell], and then at the German Echo awards. At the afterparty, he would navigate between the various labels, and it was like seeing royalty. Everybody knew Wolfgang and he knew everybody.”
Over the years, whenever I met Spahr at a restaurant, he always seemed to know one of the owners, one of the chefs and at least a couple of other people — whether they had anything to do with the music business or not. More than a decade ago, at the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg, I spent about 20 minutes with him walking the length of a city block, because he knew so many people and stopped to greet all of them.
His success as a songwriter, which he never mentioned, was no small thing. “Aber Bitte mit Sahne” was a defining hit for Jürgens, a German superstar from the 1960s to the end of the 1990s and beyond. Spahr is said to have written the words with the lyricist Eckart Hachfeld, but it is not entirely clear what exactly his role was. The song was an instant hit, and it aged into a classic — covered by numerous artists, used in a commercial with the name of the cream substitute Rama and remembered by millions of German music fans.
Spahr’s role in the annual Karl May theater festival in Bad Segeberg was substantial, too. May’s stories about a cowboy and an Apache chief became part of German pop culture, made into movies and TV shows – think Little House on the Prairie with the popularity of the X-Men comics – and the festival attracts hundreds of thousands of fans a year. Every year, it produces a new play, based on one of May’s stories, and Spahr would help recruit talent, plus work on marketing and communications.
Over the course of the last decade, especially as he reached his 80s, Spahr contributed fewer articles. (He died at 84 or 85, but even his close friends aren’t sure what year he was born.) As his health worsened, he withdrew from the industry. He died at home, in his sleep, of a lung infection. He is survived by his wife, Schulze-Spahr.
Larry Tamblyn, the keyboardist/singer and co-founder of L.A. garage rock band The Standells has died at 82. The news was first announced on Friday by Tamblyn’s nephew Dennis and confirmed by the group’s Facebook page. “Sad news to announce tonight,” the group wrote on Saturday in a message that did not provide any additional information on the cause of death.
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“My uncle Larry Tamblyn passed away today. I have very fond memories of him and his family over the years,” Dennis wrote in the post that appears to have since been deleted. “He lived an incredible life. He was in a band called The Standells, whose hit song ‘Dirty Water’ is still played to this day whenever the Red Sox or the Bruins win a home game. They also played on an episode of The Munsters.”
According to People, the post continued, “A few years ago, The Standells played at Hotel Congress here in Tucson, Ariz., and Larry stayed with me. It was so great to hang out with him and catch up. He was still making music well into his later years. You will be missed, Uncle Larry.”
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The Standells were formed in Los Angeles by Tamblyn — who had a brief solo career in the early 1960s — along with guitarist Tony Valentino, bassist Jody Rich and drummer Benny King. Their debut single, “You’ll Be Mine Someday Gir/ Girl in My Heart” was released in 1963 under the name Larry Tamblyn and the Standels before they signed to the Liberty label and adopting their foreshortened name, with Gary Lane taking Rich’s place and Gary Leeds replacing King; Leeds left a short time later and was replaced by former Mouseketeer Dick Dodd, who also took over as lead vocalist.
The band’s first album, the mostly covers collection In Person at P.J.s, came out in 1964 and the group famously made a cameo on The Munsters sitcom in 1965, where they played the original “Come On and Ringo” and a cover of the Beatles’ “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” Though the group was originally formed by Tamblyn, he did not sing the lead vocals on what is the band’s most enduring hit, 1966’s Billboard Hot 100 No. 11 garage rock classic “Dirty Water.”
“Dirty Water” became the band’s calling card, acting as one of the anchors of both the 1972 Nuggets garage rock compilation as well as a sports anthem for a number of Boston-area professional teams, serving as the victory song at Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics games. The track, anchored by Dodd’s snarly vocals and a metronomic beat, became associated with Boston thanks to lyrics referencing the polluted Charles River, the Boston Strangler and shout outs to the city and its “lovers, muggers and thieves.” The Standells performed the song at Fenway Park during one of the Red Sox’s 2004 World Series games.
The song appeared on the band’s 1966 debut album, Dirty Water, which also featured covers of the Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” and other originals written by “Dirty Water” producer/songwriter Ed Cobb (The Four Preps).
Though the group never again scored a hit on the level with the lascivious, grungy “Dirty Water” they did land at No. 43 with their follow-up single, “Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White.” A second album, Why Pick on Me – Sometimes Good Guys Don’t Wear White, was released in 1966 while the group’s roster underwent another series of personnel changes before 1967’s The Hot Ones! cover songs album. Dodd — who died in 2013 — left in 1968 to go solo.
The Standells released two more albums, 1967’s Try It and 2013’s Bump, and continued on performing sporadically in the 1980s and 90s with a line-up featuring Tamblyn and a variety of former and new band members.
Tamblyn was not the only A-lister in his family. He was the brother of actor Russ Tamblyn (West Side Story) and uncle of actress Amber Tamblyn (Paint It Black). In addition to his work with the group, Tamblyn released an autobiography, From Squeaky Clean to Dirty Water: My Life with Sixties Garage Rock Trailblazers the Standells, in 2022. Tamblyn was inducted into the California Music Hall of Fame in 2013 by brother Russ.
Listen to “Dirty Water” below.
J.B. Moore, a key contributor to some of hip-hop’s earliest hits, died in Manhattan on March 13 of pancreatic cancer. He was 81.
Though not well-known today, Moore was instrumental in hip-hop’s early mainstream success in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when he helped produce and write records for Kurtis Blow with Robert “Rocky” Ford Jr., his friend and colleague at Billboard, where Moore worked in ad sales and Ford was a reporter. (Ford died in 2020.)
Moore, who also sometimes wrote jazz reviews for Billboard, is credited as a producer and writer on classic early hip-hop tracks like “The Breaks,” “Christmas Rappin’” and “Basketball.”
“One of the interesting things about our partnership,” Moore said of Ford in a 2001 oral history for the Museum of Pop Culture in Seattle, “is that, as Robert and I got to know each other at Billboard, we realized that he was a black guy from the middle of Hollis, Queens and I was a white guy from the North Shore of Long Island, and our record collections were virtually identical. I think we had 800 records a piece and 200 of them were different.”
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Released during the 1979 holiday season, “Christmas Rappin’” was the brainchild of Ford, who came up with the idea of writing a Christmas song because he had a kid on the way — telling Moore that “Christmas records are perennials, and therefore you get royalties ad infinitum on them,” according to Moore’s recollection for the oral history.
Moore, already familiar with the guitar, bass, and songwriting, didn’t set out to write and produce rap records. Having served in the Vietnam War, he was originally saving up money to write a novel about the conflict. “I had been saving money to leave Billboard to write a book for five years,” said Moore for the oral history. “I had about $10,000 and that got invested in making ‘Christmas Rappin.’”
Through Ford’s relationship with a then up-and-coming Russell Simmons, who was then promoting Blow, he and Moore got the young rapper to lay down the “Christman Rappin’” lyrics, which were inspired by the Clement Clarke Moore poem “The Night Before Christmas” — and the rest was history.
Ford and Moore shopped the song around to about 20 labels and were rejected until Mercury Records gave them a shot with a two-single deal that would turn into an album deal if the singles were a success, according to a 2018 blog post written by Simmons.
“We didn’t think a major label would understand a rap record,” Moore recalled in the oral history. “But they would understand a parody.” He was right.
According to Simmons’ blog post, “Christmas Rappin’” sold close to 400,000 copies while their next single, Blow’s “The Breaks,” was the first rap song to be certified gold, selling 500,000 copies. “The Breaks” also peaked at No. 87 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “Basketball,” released in 1985, peaked at No. 71 on the chart. And just like that, Moore, Ford and Blow had carved out careers in the burgeoning new genre known as rap music.
Blow paid tribute to Moore on Instagram with a lengthy caption, writing in part, “Moore was a key figure in the early commercialization of Hip Hop. His productions helped bridge the gap between Hip Hop and mainstream audiences in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.” He concluded by writing, “Rest in power to a friend, teacher, pioneer who helped lay the foundation for what Hip Hop became. Thank you, JB, I learned so much.”
As a songwriting and production duo, Moore and Ford worked on Blow’s first four albums, helped produced three albums for Full Force, and even had a hand in Rodney Dangerfield’s classic parody rap song “Rappin Rodney,” which hit No. 83 on the Hot 100 in 1984.
Moore does not have any known immediate survivors.
Veteran record label executive Joe McFadden, who worked for decades at companies including EMI Music and Capitol Records, died March 11 following a long illness. He was 77.
McFadden launched his career at EMI in 1975 and later worked at Capitol Records as senior vp of sales and field marketing. While at the latter label, he worked with acts including Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt, Bob Seger, Megadeth, Duran Duran, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, Foo Fighters, Coldplay and Iron Maiden.
In 2007, McFadden departed Capitol to open an independent consultancy, The Hammer LLC, where he worked with Punch Andrews and Mike Boila as a sales and marketing consultant for Seger. From 2007 to 2008, McFadden was also in charge of sales, marketing and promotions for Coldplay’s Viva La Vida album and world tour.
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McFadden joined Better Noise Music in 2008 as chief commercial officer. In that role, he oversaw operations, strategic planning and artist development for acts including Five Finger Death Punch, Mötley Crüe, Papa Roach, The Hu and Buckcherry.
Prior to entering the major label system, McFadden received an education in the music business through his father, Jack McFadden, with whom he worked to manage artists including Buck Owens and Merle Haggard from their home base in Bakersfield, Calif. He went on to earn a business administration and management degree from Fresno State University.
“Joe McFadden was more than just a colleague; he was a dear friend and an invaluable partner in our journey together since we first met in 1987,” said Better Noise Music founder Allen Kovac, who worked with McFadden in various capacities for more than 30 years.
Kovac added, “Joe admired my clarity in marketing, but what I valued most was his unwavering honesty and practical thinking. Together, we navigated the challenging waters of the music industry, working on projects like Richard [Marx] and Duran Duran. At times when many doubted, Joe stood firmly by my side as a label executive, always ready to open doors and create opportunities for us to succeed.” (Kovac’s full tribute is below.)
McFadden is survived by his wife Ellen McFadden; his sister Lana Waltman; his sons Jonathan McFadden, Jeffrey McFadden and David Torello; his daughter Sara Torello Hart; and grandchildren Jeffrey McFadden Jr., Maci McFadden Stanford, Vivian Hart and Elijah Hart.
A service will be held Saturday (March 22) at 1:15 p.m. at Church of the Recession at Forest Lawn in Glendale, Calif. The live stream can be viewed here. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in McFadden’s honor to St. Jude’s Hospital, which he supported throughout his life.
Allen Kovac tribute:
Joe McFadden was more than just a colleague; he was a dear friend and an invaluable partner in our journey together since we first met in 1987.
I still vividly recall that day in the bleachers of a gym in Philadelphia. I was a relatively unknown manager on the rise, working with Richard Marx, while Joe was with CEMA Distribution, quietly making his mark. As we listened to Richard perform, something remarkable happened. Joe, who initially struck me as understated, became animated and vocal, pointing at Richard and proclaiming, “That kid is going to be a star.” From that moment on, a bond was forged between us—two believers in the power of music and vision.
Joe admired my clarity in marketing, but what I valued most was his unwavering honesty and practical thinking. Together, we navigated the challenging waters of the music industry, working on projects like Richard and Duran Duran. At times when many doubted, Joe stood firmly by my side as a label executive, always ready to open doors and create opportunities for us to succeed.
When I took the leap to start my own record company, one of my first hires was, without question, Joe. He was not just an employee; he was the foundation upon which we built our dreams. At our retreats, where new ideas were often met with skepticism, Joe would be the voice of reason, encouraging everyone to listen to my vision and reminding them that I saw possibilities they might have missed. His confidence in me gave me strength, and I will forever be grateful for that.
Every morning at our retreats, Joe would be the first to rise and greet the day. He would come down to breakfast with a smile, often sharing his fondness for the wonderful pillows in my master guest bedroom. He always got that room because of the deep respect I had for him, just as I cherished ending each night with my best scotch, a tradition we shared and enjoyed together.
Joe’s spirit, enthusiasm, and unwavering support have left an indelible mark on all of us. He was a true champion for those he believed in, and today, as we remember him, let us carry forward his legacy of belief, honesty, and camaraderie in our own lives and work.
Joe, thank you for being my partner, my friend, and a guiding light in our industry. You will be profoundly missed, but your influence will live on through each of us.
Rest in peace.
Long-time indie music distributor Sam Wesley Phillips passed away in Jackson, Miss., on Feb. 28 after facing multiple health issues over the last few years. He was 74.
Better known to long-time Billboard readers by his nickname, Skip, Phillips worked his entire life, beginning at age 9, for his family company, Select-O-Hits, the 65-year-old independent music distributor based in Memphis. He was the third son of Lucile and Tom Phillips, who, together with Tom’s brother Sam Phillips — the Sun Records founder — started Select-O-Hits in 1960. Tom eventually bought out Sam’s uncle, the elder Sam Phillips, in the early 1970s.
Sam Wesley Phillips began working at Select-O-Hits first as a janitor/stockboy, then a salesman, followed by a role as studio engineer/producer. Sometime in the 1980s, he and his brother Johnny bought out their father, upon which Sam became the president of the company, which is still going strong as a music distributor today.
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Phillips’ family provided the below remembrance to Billboard.
Sam was born February 20, 1951, in Mobile, Alabama, to Lucile and Tom Phillips…Sam always had that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Whether it was at school or working at the Record Shop on Chelsea, he found ways to enjoy life his way, but no one worked harder during those sixty-five years than he did.
Sam met his high school sweetheart and love of his life, Debby, at Frayser High School in 1967. Debby and Sam were married in 1969 and were the loving parents to five children, Tiffany (Tommy) Couch of Jackson, MS, Lesle (Matthew) Heinz of Memphis, Ashlee Phillips (Will Brewer) of Memphis, Courtney (Stephen) Smith of Frisco, TX and Wes (Lauren) Phillips of Memphis.
Sam lived his life with humor, kindness, strength, honesty, a passionate love for music and even more passionate love for his family. He was most happy in a home filled with his family laughing and loving loudly; his children and grandchildren were his greatest treasures.
Sam was preceded in death by his wife Debby, his son Wes, his parents and brother Tom. Left to cherish his memory in addition to his daughters are his siblings Johnny (Sandra) Phillips, Melinda Snipes, Irene Barg, Kathy (Harry) Gordon; Jennifer (Brad) Cullison; grandchildren John Thomas (Jordan) and Peyton Couch; Carter (Meghan) and Sam Heinz; Coby and Presley Bennett; Ethan and Aidan Phillips; Addison, Graham and Sadie Smith and Liam and Eden Cullison, his great granddaughter Vivian, loving cousins, nieces, nephews, sister-in-law, brother-in-law and too many friends to count.
We will miss his laugh and his kind, funny, strong spirit every single day but are thankful knowing that he’s now at peace, with no more pain and with his one true love, Debby, and their son, Wes.
The family requests that memorials in his honor be made to Wounded Warrior Project.
American Idol contestant Doug Kiker has died at age 32. The singer’s sister, Angela Evans, shared the news with a Facebook post on Wednesday, writing, “It is with a heavy heart that we have to announce the passing of my brother Douglas Kiker.” “He was sooo loved and will be missed by so many!” she […]
K-pop singer and songwriter Wheesung (born Choi Whee-sung), was found dead in his home in Seoul, South Korea on Monday night (March 10). According to The Hollywood Reporter, no cause of death has been determined yet and foul play is not suspected, with Seoul police saying a “substantial” amount of time appeared to have passed before the singer’s body was discovered.
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“The artist Wheesung has left us. He was found in cardiac arrest at his residence and was later pronounced dead,” his agency, Tajoy Entertainment, said in a statement. The singer’s mother reportedly discovered his body and called emergency services.
Wheesung rose to prominence in the early 2000s with his soulful vocals and smooth R&B style in a career cut short by a drug-use scandal.
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Born on Feb. 5, 1982, Wheesung made his performance debut in 1999 with the K-pop boy band A4. After a short stint in the group, Wheesung broke solo in 2000 and released his debut single, the emotional R&B ballad “Can’t We?” in 2002, followed by his R&B/soul-inspired debut solo album, Like a Movie.
After winning best new artist at the 2002 Golden Disc Awards, he dropped his sophomore effort, It’s Real, in 2003, expanding his sound to include hip-hop and pop vibes. Several more albums followed in 2004 (For the Moment), 2005 (Love… Love… ? Love… !) and 2007 (Eternal Essence of Music); his most recent release was the 2018 EP In Space.
Wheesung bounced between a number of different management companies in the ensuing years and a decade into his solo run reverted to his early career stage name, Realslow. His career went into a downswing in 2013 when he was accused of using the surgical anesthetic propofol — the drug that contributed to Michael Jackson’s death — for several years for what he said was treatment for a herniated disk and hair loss.
Within days in March and April in 2020, Wheesung was found passed out in public bathrooms near syringes and vials containing etomidate, another sleep-inducing drug similar to propofol, according to BBC News. Following those incidents, his agency at the time, Real Slow Company, issued a statement in which it said, “He has been going through an incredibly difficult period due to the sudden passing of his father and close friends. He has been suffering from depression and panic disorder and has been receiving psychiatric treatment,” according to the Korea Herald.
In 2021, Wheesung got a two-year suspended sentence for abusing propofol.
The singer, who was also a well-respected producer and songwriter, also worked with a number of other K-pop artists, including the girl groups Twice, T-ara and Orange Caramel, as well as Younha, G. NA and Ailee. He was scheduled to co-headline a show with singer KCM dubbed “The Story,” in Daegu, South Korea at EXCO Auditorium on Saturday (March 15); that show has been cancelled.
Brian James, founding member of English punk-rock band The Damned, died Thursday (March 6). The guitarist was 70.
The news was shared with fans via a post on James’ Facebook page on the day of his death. “It is with great sadness that we announce the death of one of the true pioneers of music, guitarist, songwriter and true gentleman, Brian James,” it read.
The message added that the musician was surrounded by family when he “passed peacefully.”
James formed The Damned in 1976 with bandmates Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian and Rat Scabies. That year, they released what is considered the first-ever British punk single: “New Rose.”
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The guitarist would work on two albums with the foursome before leaving the group: 1977’s Damned Damned Damned and Music for Pleasure.
Captain Sensible honored his late bandmate with a post on X Thursday, sharing a photo of himself with James and writing, “We’re shocked to hear that creator of @thedamned, our great chum Brian James has sadly gone.”
“A lovely bloke that I feel so lucky to have met all those years ago and for some reason chose me to help in his quest for the music revolution that became known as punk,” he added. “Cheers BJ!”
After leaving The Damned, James would form short-lived group Tanz Der Youth before starting The Lords of the New Church with Stiv Bators. The latter group released three studio albums: 1983’s Is Nothing Sacred?, 1984’s The Method to Our Madness and 1988’s Killer Lords. James also created The Dripping Lips and the Brian James Gang as well as released a plethora of solo music throughout his six-decade career.
His career came full circle in 2022 when James reunited with The Damned for a string of U.K. live shows. Five years prior, his former bandmates emphasized how important he’d been not only to the band, but to developing the English punk scene, in a 2017 interview with Rolling Stone.
“With the Damned, it was always about the music,” Vanian told the publication at the time. “Brian was a fantastic guitarist.”
“We used to call Brian the riff-meister,” Captain Sensible recalled. “That’s why Jimmy Page was such a fan of the band at the time. There are photographs of him and Robert Plant backstage at our gig at the Roxy. Jimmy Page saw something special in Brian’s guitar style and writing, as did I, since I was a guitar player before The Damned and switched to bass to play with Brian.”
James is survived by his wife, Minna, his son, Charlie, and his daughter-in-law, Alicia.