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Rock pioneer Scott Walker dies aged 76
LONDON, March 25, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Singer-songwriter Scott Walker has
died aged 76, his record label said on Monday, after a career that took him
from 1960s pop icon to 21st-century avant-garde musician.
US-born Walker, who acquired British citizenship, was the lead singer of
the 1960s band The Walker Brothers.
The baritone vocalist began his solo career in 1967 and was credited as
an influence on top British acts over several decades including David Bowie
and Pulp.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Scott Walker,”
his label 4AD said on Twitter.
“Scott was 76 years old and is survived by his daughter, Lee, his
granddaughter, Emmi-Lee, and his partner, Beverly,” it said.
The label called Walker “a unique and challenging titan at the forefront
of British music” and “one of the most revered innovators at the sharp end of
creative music”.
The Walker Brothers scored number one hits in Britain with “Make It Easy
On Yourself” in 1965 and “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” in 1966.
Other hits included “(Baby) You Don’t Have to Tell Me” and “Another Tear
Falls” (1966), and “No Regrets” (1975).
Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke called Walker “a kind gentle outsider” and
“a huge influence on Radiohead and myself, showing me how I could use my
voice and words”.
Walker also collaborated with Pulp, producing the 2001 album “We Love
Life”.
A multi-instrumentalist, composer and record producer, Walker had solo
hits with “Jackie” (1967), “Joanna” (1968) and “Lights of Cincinnati” (1969).
At the height of his fame in the late 1960s “he retreated from the
limelight”, according to the biography on 4AD’s website.
British singer-songwriter Marc Almond said Walker was an “absolute
musical genius, existential and intellectual and a star right from the days
of the Walker Brothers”.
“So many songs will go round in my head forever. And that voice. We lost
Bowie, now we’ve lost him. There is surely a crack in the universe,” Almond
said on Instagram.
In 2017, Walker’s music was celebrated with a concert at the London’s
Royal Albert Hall.
Last year, he wrote and produced the score for the film “Vox Lux”,
starring Natalie Portman and Jude Law.
BSS/AFP/BZC/1905HRS