Died On This Date (April 18, 2013) Storm Thorgerson / Created Several Iconic Album Covers

Storm Thorgerson
February 28, 1944 – April 18, 2013

storm-thorgersonStorm Thorgerson was a renowned graphic artist whose catalog includes some of rock music’s most famous album covers. Born in Middlesex, England, Thorgerson went to high school with Syd Barrett and Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame.  He eventually joined a graphic arts collective called Hipgnosis which created many popular album cover designs until closing shop in 1983.  He then went on to form his own design house, Storm Studios.  Arguably, Thorgerson’s most famous cover is the one he designed for Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.  Often surreal in nature, his canon of work includes the covers of most of the Pink Floyd albums; the Cult‘s Electric; Led Zeppelin‘s Presence and In Through the Out Door; Peter Gabriel‘s three self-titled albums; as well as visually stunning covers for Muse, Phish, Megadeth, Catherine Wheel, Black Sabbath, the Cranberries, Genesis, Alan Parsons and many more.  Thorgerson also directed popular videos by the likes of Bruce Dickinson, Nik Kershaw, Paul Young, David Gilmour, and of course, Pink Floyd.  He suffered a stroke in 2003 but recovered and went back to work.  Sometime later, he was diagnosed with cancer and ultimately died from it on April 18, 2013.  Storm Thorgerson was 69 when he passed away.

Thanks to Bruce Kilgour at Slipped Disc Entertainment for the assist.

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Died On This Date (February 18, 2013) Kevin Ayers / Influential English Singer-Songwriter; Soft Machine

Kevin Ayers
August 16, 1944 – February 18, 2013

kevin-ayersKevin Ayers was an English musician who was largely responsible for the birth of the British psychedelic movement of the ’60s.  Born in Kent, Ayers was in college when he immersed himself in the storied Canterbury scene where a collective of progressive rock, avant-garde and free jazz commingled to create something new and exciting.  He soon found himself playing alongside Robert Wyatt in the Wilde Flowers.  In 1966, the band morphed into Soft Machine with Ayers starting out on bass and shared vocals but later switching to guitar.  Soft Machine quickly grew a strong local following, often performing with Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd.  In early 1967, they released their first single, “Love Makes Sweet Music” b/w “Feelin’ Reelin’ Squeelin’,” making it one of the first British psychedelic singles ever released.  It pre-dated Pink Floyd’s debut single by a month.  Soft Machine followed with their self-titled debut in December of 1968, and although the Chas Chandler/Tom Wislon produced effort is widely considered a classic, it failed to excite more than die-hard fans of the movement until many years later.  After an extensive U.S. tour supporting Jimi Hendrix, Ayers sold his guitar to Noel Redding and planned to retire to the beaches of Ibiza forever.  Before leaving however, Hendrix gave him an acoustic guitar and made him promise to not give up songwriting.  Whether it was the beautiful locale or the guitar, Ayers found fast inspiration for songs that would make up his solo debut, Joy of a Toy.  The album was released in 1969 on Harvest Records, also home to Pink Floyd at the time.  His follow-up album, Shooting at the Moon, included future star in his own right, Mike Oldfield, on bass.  Ayers continued to perform and record until once again retreating to seclusion during the late ’70s.  He briefly resurfaced to record and release 1988’s Falling Up which trumpeted his “comeback” with mostly glowing reviews only to see him go underground again soon thereafter.  By the late ’90s, he was living a reclusive life in southern France, but in 2005, he began to create music again, and with the encouragement upon learning that young bands like the Go-Betweens and Teenage Fanclub were enthusiastically citing him as an influence, he completed and released The Unfairground in 2007.  Members of Roxy Music, Teenage Fanclub, and Neutral Milk Hotel, among others, appear on the album.  It was another critical triumph.  Kevin Ayers was 68 when he passed away on February 18, 2013.  Cause of death was not immediately released.

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Died On This Date (May 9, 2012) Clive Welham / Early Bandmate Of Syd Barrett and David Gilmour

Clive Welham
DOB Unknown – May 9, 2012

Clive Welham was an English drummer whose brush with fame came during the early ’60s,when he played with pre-Pink Floyd Syd Barrett and then, David Gilmour.  In 1962, Welham was playing alongside Barrett in a band called Geoff Mott and the Mottoes.  Within a couple of years, Barrett went off to join what was to become Pink Floyd, while Welham and Gilmour moved on to play in the Ramblers, the Four Posters and ultimately, Jokers Wild before Gilmour was hired to replace Barrett in Pink Floyd.   Clive Welham passed away on May 9, 2012 following a long illness.

Thanks to Harold Lepidus for the assist.



Died On This Date (July 7, 2006) Syd Barrett / Pink Floyd

Roger “Syd” Barrett
January 6, 1946 – July 7, 2006

Syd Barrett was, most famously, a founding member and singer of Pink Floyd. Though only active in music for about seven years and heard on just two Pink Floyd albums, Barrett left an indelible mark on rock music and influenced countless followers. Even such contemporaries as Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Marc Bolan and David Bowie have acknowledged much respect for his work. Post-Barrett Pink Floyd albums, Wish You Were Here and Dark Side Of The Moon paid tribute to the man. Barrett left Pink Floyd in 1968 for what many believe was mental illness (perhaps schizophrenia) worsened by heavy drug use. After two solo albums, Barrett retired to a quiet and mostly secluded life of painting and gardening. In fact many were surprised to learn that was still alive when his passing was announced in 2006. Syd Barrett died of pancreatic cancer on July 7, 2006.

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The Piper At the Gates of Dawn (40th Anniversary Complete Edition) - Pink Floyd

Died On This Date (June 7, 2009) Hugh Hopper / Bassist For Soft Machine

Hugh Hopper
April 29, 1949 – June 7, 2009

583058Hugh Hopper was a fusion bassist who is most famous for playing in British psychedelic rock band,  Soft Machine from 1968 to 1972.  Starting out as the band’s road manager Hopper was asked to join the band in time to record their second album.  Hopper also did session work for ex-Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett.  Hopper left Soft Machine in 1972, but continued to stay very active with various groups until he was diagnosed with leukemia in June of 2008.  He died as a result of the disease at the age of 64.

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Third - Soft Machine