Bernard Joseph Tormey (Bernie Tormé)

guitarist, singer

18.03.1952 - 17.03.2019

Bernie Tormé was an Irish rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner. Tormé is best known for his work with Gillan, as well as his brief stints with Ozzy Osbourne's backing band and Atomic Rooster.

Richard Anthony Monsour (Dick Dale)

guitarist, singer

04.05.1937 - 16.03.2019

Richard Anthony Monsour, known professionally as Dick Dale, was an American rock guitarist. He was a pioneer of surf music, drawing on Middle Eastern music scales and experimenting with reverberation. Dale was known as "The King of the Surf Guitar", which was also the title given to his second studio album.

Dale worked closely with the manufacturer Fender to produce custom-made amplifiers including the first-ever 100-watt guitar amplifier. He pushed the limits of electric amplification technology, helping to develop equipment that was capable of producing a louder guitar sound without sacrificing reliability.

Harold Simon Belsky (Hal Blaine)

drummer

05.02.1929 - 11.03.2019

Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky was an American drummer and session musician estimated to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the history of the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. His drumming is featured on 150 US top 10 hits, 40 of which went to number one, as well as many film and television soundtracks.

Born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, Blaine moved with his family to California in 1943 and subsequently began playing jazz and big band music before taking up rock and roll session work. He became one of the regular players in Phil Spector's de facto house band, which Blaine nicknamed "the Wrecking Crew". Some of the records Blaine played on include the Ronettes' single "Be My Baby" (1963), which contained a drum beat that became widely imitated, as well as works by popular artists such as Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, and the Byrds.

Blaine's workload declined from the 1980s onwards as recording and musical practices changed. In 2000, he was among the inaugural "sidemen" inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2018 he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Alexander Daniel 'Danny' Kustow

guitarist

1955 - 11.03.2019

Danny Kustow was an English rock guitarist from the late 1970s and 1980s, known for his dynamic performance style and work with the Tom Robinson Band. He also collaborated with Tom Robinson in writing some of the group's pieces.

George Benson

saxophonist

26.02.1929 - 09.03.2019

George "Sax" Benson was a Detroit-based jazz alto and tenor saxophonist, session musician and educator. One of the reasons that George isn’t a household name in America’s music history is because he was never interested in the spotlight. In 1988, he received the "National Association of Jazz Educators' Outstanding Service to Jazz Education" Award.

Edward Taylor (Eddie Taylor Jr.)

guitarist, singer

27.03.1972 - 08.03.2019

Edward Taylor, better known as Eddie Taylor Jr., was an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He released six studio albums on the European-based label, Wolf Records. Among the musicians who worked in Taylor's backing band was his fellow guitar player Johnny B. Moore. Taylor also supported other musicians including Moore, Little Arthur Duncan, Willie Kent and Hubert Sumlin, plus Buddy Guy, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, and Billy Gibbons.

Stephan Ellis

bassist

? - 01.03.2019

Stephan Ellis was an American bass guitarist. He joined the hard rock band Survivor in 1981, before leaving in 1987. He rejoined in 1996 and left for the second and final time in 1999. Ellis did however fill in once for the band in 2005.

He had his own band named Ellis and released two albums in 1972 and 1973. In 2005 Ellis produced Samantha Fox's album Angel with an Attitude.

Paul William Yarlett (Paul Williams)

singer, bassist, keyboarder, percussionist

1940 - 01.03.2019

Paul Williams (born Paul William Yarlett) was an English blues and rock singer and musician. During his early career he joined Zoot Money's Big Roll Band on bass and vocals, alongside the guitarist Andy Summers. He then replaced John McVie in John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, while also recording with Aynsley Dunbar and Dick Heckstall-Smith. In 1970 he joined the band Juicy Lucy as lead vocalist and recorded the album Lie Back and Enjoy It. This band included future Whitesnake guitarist Micky Moody and featured in the 1971 film Bread. Williams later collaborated with Moody on the album Smokestacks, Broomdusters and Hoochie Coochie Men in 2002.

In 1973 he joined the progressive rock group Tempest, led by Jon Hiseman on drums with Mark Clarke on bass and Allan Holdsworth on guitar. After relocating to the United States, he joined Holdsworth in the group known as I.O.U. and recorded the three critically acclaimed albums I.O.U., Road Games and Metal Fatigue.

His most recent touring band had been Blue Thunder, with release in collaboration with David Hentschel in 2018 of Blue Thunder 2.