Chris Acland
September 7, 1966 – October 17, 1996
Chris Acland was the founding drummer for ’90s British shoegaze band, Lush. Formed in 1987, the band released a series of increasingly popular EPs and albums. Critics like them as well, drawing positive comparisons to Cocteau Twins. Following the band’s 1996 tour, 30-year-old Chris Acland took his own life by hanging himself at his parents home.
Doug Bennett
October 31, 1951 – October 16, 2004
Doug Bennett was the founder and lead singer of Canadian new wave band, Doug & the Slugs, whose biggest hit, “Too Bad,” appeared on their 1980 debut album, Cognac and Bologna. That song found a second life when it was featured as the theme song in comedian Norm MacDonald’s 1999 sitcom, The Norm Show. Doug & the Slugs’ brand of bar room pop had been likened to those of such bands as Huey Lewis & the News. Although very popular in their home country and having released a half-dozen albums, four of which reaching gold status, they never got much beyond their one-almost-hit-wonder status in the U.S. Outside of the band, Bennett produced and directed several music videos by such Canadian bands as Trooper, Zappacosta and Headpins. Bennett had been suffering from a long term, though publicly unknown, illness when he fell into a coma after being admitted to a local hospital. He never regained consciousness and passed away at the age of 52.
Ricky Wilson
March 19, 1953 – October 12, 1985
Ricky Wilson was the founding guitarist for popular ’80s pop band, The B-52s. He, along with his sister, Cindy Wilson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, and Kate Pierson were responsible for some of the most fun and popular songs of the era. Their hits included “Rock Lobster,” “Dance This Mess Around,” “Planet Claire,” and “Private Idaho.” Ricky Wilson died from complications related to AIDS at the age of 32.
Dickie Peterson
1948 – October 12, 2009
Born into a musical family, Dickie Peterson knew from an early age that he wanted to be a professional musician, so he picked up the bass at thirteen and never looked back. In 1966, he helped form Blue Cheer, a San Francisco based psychedelic blues rock band that is considered by many to to be the first “heavy metal” band. Peterson played bass and sang lead in the band. In 1968, they released a heavy electric blues version of Eddie Cochran’s “Summertime Blues.” It has been called the very first heavy metal song. The song made it into the top 15 on the Billboard singles chart, making it their only hit. The band stayed together, all be it in different configurations, into the ’90s, with Peterson being a constant figure. They parted ways in 1994, reunited in 1999, and have been together ever since. Dickie Peterson died of liver cancer on October 12, 2009. He was 61 years old.
Gidget Gein (Born Bradley Stewart)
September 11, 1969 – October 9, 2008
Gidget Gein is best remembered for his time as bassist in Marilyn Manson’s band. Just as the band started to make some noise, Gein’s addiction to heroin and other erratic behavior lead to his being fired just as they began working with Trent Reznor who was producing their first album. After recovering from the shock of being kicked out of the band couple with a heroin overdose, Gein moved to New York and became enveloped by the underground art scene. He formed a band, the Dali Gaggers and recorded one album, Confessions of a Spooky Kid. But the underbelly of the scene began taking its toll on Gein, so he moved back home to Florida to sober up. While back in Florida, he went to work for a coroner, cleaning up after the dead. That experience seemed to fuel his artistic demons, so he moved to Hollywood where he began to make a name for himself with his sculptures, clothing and music. Apparently clean for a few years, the 39-year-old Gidget Gein died of a heroin overdose at a friend’s home.
Thanks to Craig Rosen at Number1Albums for the assist.
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