Akira Tsuneoka of Hi-STANDARD has passed away

Akira Tsuneoka, founding member of and drummer for Japanese punk band Hi-STANDARD, has passed away. He was 51 years old. The band announced his passing in a statement on Facebook which reads,

”Dear fans and friends,

With deep and profound sadness, we inform you of the untimely passing of our beloved friend and drummer Akria Tsuneoka of Hi-STANDARD. His music and spirit will live on in our hearts. We ask that you respect the privacy of his family and the members of Hi-STANDARD during this difficult time.”

Akira Tsuneoka formed the band in 1991 along with Akihiro Nanba and Ken Yokoyama. Hi-STANDARD released five albums during their run, the last of which was The Gift. In 2017. We send our condolences to Akira Tsuneoka’s family, friends, and fans.

Tom Verlaine of Television has passed away

Tom Verlaine, the singer, and guitarist for Television, has passed away. He was 73 and died in New York City following a brief illness on January 28. Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Patti Smith, announced his passing in a statement that reads,

”He died peacefully in New York City surrounded by close friends. His vision and his imagination will be missed.”

Television released three studio albums and a handful of live albums, the most notable being 1977's Marquee Moon . Tom Verlaine released nine solo albums (not including a compilation album) the last of which was Around in 2006. We send our condolences to Tom Verlaine’s family, friends, and fans.

Jeremiah Green, founding drummer of Modest Mouse, has passed away

Jeremiah Green, the founding drummer of Modest Mouse, has passed away. He was 45 years old and passed on December 31. He was battling stage four cancer. A statement shared by the band on social media reads,

”I don’t know a way to ease into
this: Today we lost our dear friend
Jeremiah. 
He laid down to rest
and simply faded out.
I’d like to say a bunch of pretty words right now, but it just isn’t the time. These will come later, and from many people. Please appreciate all the love you give,get, have given, and will get. 
Above all, Jeremiah was about love.

We love you.

He formed Modest Mouse along with singer Isaac Brock in 1993 and played with the band until 2003. He returned to the band in 2004. Modest Mouse released their album The Golden Casket in 2021. We send our condolences to Jeremiah Green’s family, friends, and fans.

Vivienne Westwood has passed away

Punk fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has passed away. She was 81 and passed away in her home in London on Thursday, December 29. A statement released on her official Instagram page reads,

”29th December 2022. Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London.

Vivienne continued to do the things she loved, up until the last moment, designing, working on her art, writing her book, and changing the world for the better. She led an amazing life. Her innovation and impact over the last 60 years has been immense and will continue into the future.

Vivienne considered herself a Taoist. She wrote, “Tao spiritual system. There was never more need for the Tao today. Tao gives you a feeling that you belong to the cosmos and gives purpose to your life; it gives you such a sense of identity and strength to know you’re living the life you can live and therefore ought to be living: make full use of your character and full use of your life on earth.”

The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better.

We send our condolences to Vivienne Westwood’s family and friends.

Terry Hall of the Specials has passed away

sadly, Terry Hall of the specials has passed away. He was 63. The cause of death was an unspecified illness. The band issued a statement:

"Terry was a wonderful husband and father and one of the kindest, funniest, and most genuine of souls. His music and his performances encapsulated the very essence of life… the joy, the pain, the humour, the fight for justice, but mostly the love. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him and leaves behind the gift of his remarkable music and profound humanity."

Jet Black, founding drummer of The Stranglers, has passed away

Jet Black (aka Brian Duffy), drummer and founding member of The Stranglers, has passed away. He was 84 years old and passed away at his home in Wales on December 6 following “years of ill health”. The band announced his passing in a statement that reads In part,

”It is with heavy hearts we announce the passing of our dear friend, colleague and band elder statesman Jet Black. Jet died peacefully at home surrounded by his family. Fond adieu, fly straight JB.x”

The Stranglers formed in 1974 and Jet Black retired from performing live with the band in 2015 due to declining health. He played on 19 out of 20 Stranglers albums with the last one he played on being 2012’s Giants. We send our condolences to his family, friends, and fans. Read tributes from the band members below.

Keith Levene, founding member of The Clash and Public Image Limited, has passed away

Keith Levene, the co-founding member and guitarist of both The Clash and Public Image Limited, has passed away. He passed away at his home in Norfolk at the age of 65. He had been battling liver cancer. Author Adam Hammond released a statement on Twitter that reads,

"It is with great sadness I report that my close friend and legendary Public Image Limited guitarist Keith Levene passed away on Friday 11th November. There is no doubt that Keith was one of the most innovative, audacious and influential guitarists of all time. Keith sought to create a new paradigm in music and with willing collaborators John Lydon and Jah Wobble succeeded in doing just that. His guitar work over the nine minutes of 'Theme', the first track on the first PiL album, defined what alternative music should be. As well as helping to make PiL the most important band of the age, Keith also founded The Clash with Mick Jones and had a major influence on their early sound. So much of what we listen to today owes much to Keith's work, some of it acknowledged, most of it not. Our thoughts and love go out to his partner Kate, sister Jill and all of Keith's family and friends. The world is a darker place without his genius. Mine will be darker without my mate."

Keith Levene had just finished co-writing a book about Public Image Ltd with Adam Hammond and was working on new music. We send our condolences to Keith Levene's family, friends, and fans.

Nik Turner of Hawkwind has passed away

Sadly, Nik Turner of Hawkwind, Inner City Unit, and many other projects has passed away. He was 82. His social media platform released a statement: "We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Nik Turner - The Might Thunder Rider, who passed away peacefully at home on Thursday evening. He has moved onto the next phase of his Cosmic Journey, guided by the love of his family, friends and fans. Watch this space for his arrangements."

Turner was an incredibly influential member of the music community. He co-founded seminal space rock band Hawkwind with Dave Brock in 1969 and went on to write and/or co-write some the bands biggest hits including "Master of the Universe." After leaving Hawkwind, he formed Inner City Unit, a band that merged Hawkwind's spaciness with new wave and punk. In the 90s and 2000s, he completed many collaborations, including works with Jello Biafra, Genesis P-orridge of Psychic Tv, Helios Creed of Chrome, and Nicky Garrett of Uk Subs. We send our condolences to Turner's Family, Friends, and Fans.

DH Peligro (1959-2022)

Sadly, DH Peligro of Dead Kennedys has passed away. He was 63. The cause of death was due to an accidental fall, which was confirmed by the DK's instagram. We send our condolences to DH's family, friends, and fans.

Jerry Lee Lewis has passed away

Sadly, Jerry Lee Lewis has passed away. The rock pioneer was 87. We send our condolences to Lewis' Family, friends, and fans.

Chris Carey of Poison Idea has passed away

Chris Carey, the bassist for Poison Idea and Burning Leather and the guitarist for Religious War and Dead Conspiracy, has passed away. He was 51 years old. Frankie Delmane released a statement that reads,

"I am beyond devastated by this loss. I am still processing this and am an emotional junkyard right now. I have no words to give other than extreme sorrow. Chris Carey was my best friend, my right hand man, the one who no matter what- always connected. We never fought, we never hated each other, we rarely disagreed. He was one of the most well loved people I have ever known, and his absence is so enormous and painful for me It's hard for me to stop from falling apart. I simply cannot fathom a world without my brother, my best man, my partner in music and life. He meant so much to all who knew him, and meant even more to me. Missed will never be the word. And I will never recover from this. I don't think I can. I will move on like everyone else, but with what purpose will remain to be seen in the coming months. I knew it would be difficult to write anything- and it is- but it also helps the pain a bit. No one is to blame, either. We all made every effort in every way to make sure Chris knew he was needed and wanted and loved and cherished. He really did know that. He just had demons on his back that I am afraid he could never shake. Good night sweet prince.

We send our condolences to Chirs Carey's family, friends, and fans.

Bassist Darryl Hunt of The Pogues passes away

Sadly, Darryl Hunt of The Pogues has passed away. He was 72. You can see the band's post below. We send our condolences to Hunt's family, friends and fans.