Apologies for a morbid topic, and maybe this subject has already been covered on the forum before..Don't want any of those run-of-the-mill heroin overdoses, plane crashes and suicides....Looking for strange and freakish ways that resulted in the deaths of musicians...I will start off with this one... In 2010, Mike Edwards, who was in ELO in their early years, was killed by a hay bale...A large cylindrical bale of hay, weighing 600kg, rolled down a hillside and collided with the van he was driving...He was 62 years old. Does anyone know of any other peculiar ways in which musicians met their maker?
Not sure how long this thread will last but... Didn't the guitarist from Slayer die of an infected spider bite? That's quite a 'Metal' way to go...
My first thought was Keith Relf playing a non-grounded guitar in his basement. This always struck me as strange. The Day Yardbirds Singer Keith Relf Was Electrocuted by a Guitar
Another musician that was killed by electrocution was Leslie Harvey from the band 'Stone the Crows', he died on stage, in 1972, when he touched a microphone that hadn't been earthed. He was the brother of Alex Harvey..Alex passed away 10 years later of heart failure. He died in the Belgian port town of Zeebrugge whilst waiting for a cross channel ferry to the UK.
There's also Stiv Bators. He got hit by a car and taken to the hospital, but left before he was seen by a doctor because he felt he was OK (and didn't want to wait any longer). He died in his sleep that night.
French mega-star Claude François died from electrocution in his bath, when he stood up to readjust a light fixture on the wall.
Terry Kath was odd. Cleaning his gun, then pointing it at his own head to prove it was not loaded. Really?
Joe Meek, one of the best producers ever, was desperate and depressed. He ended up pulling his own plug on the 8th anniversary of Buddy Holly’s death (Holly was Meek's idol and he was obsessed with him). On February 3, 1967, he shot his landlady and then turned the gun on himself.
Wasn't there a rumour that Stiv had enough illicit narcotics in his system that his body didn't feel the full effects of the injuries sustained?
And it gets even more twisted. Meek was regarded as the British Phil Spector and there were some similarities between what they did, working independently, creating their own unique sounds and being hot tempered. Noticed the date when Lana Clarkson met her demise? February 3rd 2003.
I forget the whole story, but Bobby Fuller's death was pretty bizarre. Found in a car, beaten and doused in gasoline.
Anton Webern's death was pretty bizarre On 15 September 1945, back at his home during the Allied occupation of Austria, Webern was shot and killed by an American Army soldier following the arrest of his son-in-law for black market activities. This incident occurred when, three-quarters of an hour before a curfew was to have gone into effect, he stepped outside the house so as not to disturb his sleeping grandchildren, to enjoy a few draws on a cigar given to him that evening by his son-in-law. The soldier responsible for his death was U. S. Army cook PFC Raymond Norwood Bell of North Carolina, who was overcome by remorse and died of alcoholism in 1955
There was that poor band that all died a few years ago when their car drove off a bridge, what were they called?
That's what I first read. I read it in a Mick Farren column in Trouser Press in 1981 titled "The Unknown Rock Star." But other sources since then say drugs.
Another one who was killed the same way was John Rostill, bassist with The Shadows... he was working alone in his home studio and next morning was discovered by his old bandmate Bruce Welch slumped against the door, bass in hand wearing headphones, having suffered a fatal electric shock.
The story goes that Took had just received a royalty check and treated himself to a fresh supply of drugs and got so stoned, he was incapable of realising he was in danger, so had he not done the drugs he might have lived.
Never forgetting that long list of all those Spinal Tap drummers that died in extraordinary circumstances,,,A bizarre gardening accident, spontaneously combusting on stage, choking on someone else's vomit, devoured by a pet python LOL
Jazz trombonist, Frank Rosolino - shot both his sons (one died, the other was blinded), then turned the gun on himself.
Blaze Foley had a strange death, shot by the son of his friend who apparently shook him down for his social security cheque. I think he got off on self defence, it’s a bizarre story.
Randy California from the band Spirit drowned in a rip current in Hawaii..He had successfully rescued his 12 year old son from the rip current by pushing him to shore but he was unable to save himself.
Glenn Miller, after his plane, which was en-route to Paris, disappeared over the English Channel. Current best guess is that the plane's carburetor iced up, causing its engines to fail.
And before that, in 2003, the Exploding Hearts… almost the same story… three of the four band members died.