T Rex Percussionist Mickey Finn Dead at 55

Yet another death in what has become a very sad and strange couple of days:

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=entertainmentNews&storyID=2033430

T Rex Percussionist Mickey Finn Dead at 55
Mon January 13, 2003 07:43 AM ET
By Sinead O'Hanlon

LONDON (Reuters) - British glam rock star Mickey Finn, a percussionist with 1970s band T.Rex, has died in hospital aged 55, his manager said Sunday.

Barry Newby said Finn died in hospital in Croydon, south of London, Saturday night after an illness.

"Mickey had been having health problems for a while," Newby told Reuters.

Newby said Finn was believed to have died of kidney and liver problems, but the exact cause of death had not been announced yet.

Finn's death came within a few hours of that of his musical contemporary, Bee Gees member Maurice Gibb, 53, who died in Miami after undergoing an abdominal operation.

Formed by flamboyant lead singer Marc Bolan in 1967, T.Rex shot to fame with hits such as "Get it On," "Hot Love" and "Children of the Revolution" in the early 1970s.

The band was originally called Tyrannosaurus Rex but the name was shortened to T.Rex in 1970 after Finn joined, replacing original member Steve Took.

The band achieved a huge following in Britain -- sparking a period of "T.Rextacy" among devoted fans -- but achieved more limited popularity in the United States and elsewhere.

Credited with introducing the phenomenon of "glam rock" to pop music and influencing artists such as David Bowie, the band played to crowds of up to 100,000 and sold 39 million albums, according to Rolling Stone music magazine.

But by 1975, their heyday was all but over with T.Rex's demise fueled by internal feuds and bickering.

The band has been dogged by premature deaths. Bolan, the most famous member of the band, died when the car he was a passenger in hit a tree in 1979.

Former member Took also died in a car crash a year later while bass player Steve Currie choked to death in 1981.

In later years, Finn revived the band as Mickey Finn's T-Rex, which last performed in Germany on December 28, Newby said.

 

Very sad. T.Rex was always one of my favorite bands.

 

Dear God:
Do we need any more proof that only the good die young? I'm convinced. The point has been made. Can ya ease up a little now?

 

This leaves, if I am not mistaken, drummer Will Legend as the only surviving member of the T. Rex band. Sad....boy, it does appear that most rockers are not going to make it past their 50's.

 

This might be the worst week in the history of rock music, excepting only these:

Buddy Holly, J.P. Richardson and Richard Valens others died in that plane (Feb 3 1959)

Kids crushed outside the Who concert (1979)

Altamont (1969)

 

yes, What is going on? Makes me sad. R.I.P.