Read More

Jon Stewart of Sleeper dropped in on W♥M Radio. Guitarist Jon, along with singer/guitarist Louise Wener, drummer Andy Macclure and bassist Diid Osman formed Sleeper in 1993.…

A couple of death news this week.

The first is the shocking news of the Swedish DJ and musician Avicii on April 20th. He was only 28. Oman’s police officially ruled out any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Fans speculate that Avicii’s death is likely attributed to his constant life of partying and drinking. Avicii said that he was forced to stop drinking when he got his first pancreatitis attack at the age of 21… but TMZ showed a photo of Avicii holding what appears to be a drink the day before his death.

Dale Winton and Sleeper

If you live outside of the UK, you probably have never heard of English radio DJ and television presenter Dale Winton. He died on April 18th, as confirmed by his long-term agent Jan Kennedy said.

Winton started his career as a DJ in London, before landing a gig on local radio. He joined BBC Bristol in 1986, and his big break came when he became the host of Supermarket Sweep from 1993 to 2001. If you’re a Britpop fan – you may know him from a brief cameo on Trainspotting, and also as the star of Sleeper’s “Inbetweener” UK music video.

Finally, Prince’s two year anniversary of his death was this week. Authority announced that they were unable to arrest anyone in the matter of his death. His family also released Prince’s recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U”. The song was relatively obscure, until Sinead O’Connor made it famous in 1990.

Verne Troyer and Cole Aldrich

Also, not a musician, but I just wanted to note that actor Verne Troyer has died at the age of 49. He was best known as “Mini-Me” from the Austin Powers movies. We saw him in person last year and was shocked to see how truly small he was.

Below are more deaths for the month of April – for the full death list: Musicians who died in 2018.

April (32)

[22 Apr 2018] Balantrapu Rajanikanta Rao (Indian writer, composer and musicologist), 98

[21 Apr 2018] Graciela Agudelo (Mexican pianist and composer), 72

[21 Apr 2018] Guggi Löwinger (Austrian singer and actress), 79

[20 Apr 2018] Avicii (Swedish musician and DJ), 28

[20 Apr 2018] Brian Henry Hooper (Australian bassist for Beasts of Bourbon), 55, lung cancer

[20 Apr 2018] Robbee Mariano (German bassist for Söhne Mannheims), 47

[19 Apr 2018] Stuart Colman (English musician, record producer and broadcaster), 73, cancer

[18 Apr 2018] Dale Winton (English radio DJ and television presenter for Dale’s Supermarket Sweep), 62

[17 Apr 2018] John Amirante (American anthem singer for New York Rangers), 83

[17 Apr 2018] Big Tom (Irish country music singer), 81

[17 Apr 2018] Randy Scruggs (American music producer, songwriter and guitarist, multiple Grammy winner), 64

[16 Apr 2018] Jim Caine (British jazz pianist and radio presenter), 91

[16 Apr 2018] Dona Ivone Lara (Brazilian singer and composer), 97

[16 Apr 2018] Sax Man (American street saxophonist), 65

[15 Apr 2018] Boki Milošević (Serbian clarinetist), 86

[14 Apr 2018] Stan Reynolds (British jazz musician), 92

[14 Apr 2018] Milan Škampa (Czech violist), 89

[14 Apr 2018] Jean-Claude Malgoire (French conductor), 77

[12 Apr 2018] Gyula Babos (Hungarian jazz guitarist), 68

[12 Apr 2018] Irwin Gage (American pianist), 78

[12 Apr 2018] Brij Bhushan Kabra (Indian classical slide guitar player), 81

[12 Apr 2018] Samina Samoon (Pakistani singer), 24, murdered

[11 Apr 2018] Timmy Matley (Irish singer for The Overtones), 36, skin cancer

[10 Apr 2018] Viliam Karmažin (Slovak composer and conductor, enlisted in Guinness World Records as a person with the longest career as a conductor), 95

[10 Apr 2018] Yvonne Staples (American soul singer for The Staple Singers), 80

[06 Apr 2018] Jacques Higelin (French pop singer), 77

[05 Apr 2018] Cecil Taylor (American jazz pianist), 89

[03 Apr 2018] Ron Dunbar (American songwriter), 77

[03 Apr 2018] Lill-Babs (Swedish singer and actress), 80, cancer and heart failure

[02 Apr 2018] Ahmed Janka Nabay (Sierra Leonean musician), 54

[01 Apr 2018] Audrey Morris (American jazz singer and pianist), 89

[01 Apr 2018] Ron Shaw (American singer-songwriter of the folk duo The Shaw Brothers), 77

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com)
♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic