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Jet Black, drummer with ‘The Stranglers’, has died aged 84 after years of battling illness.
His representative confirmed he had passed away peacefully on Tuesday (December 6) after he moved into his country home in Wales as his health worsened.
The musician, born Brian John Duffy, was a founder member of ‘The Stranglers’ and played on their global hits including ‘Peaches’.
The band’s bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, 70, said: “The welcoming committee has doubled. After years of ill health Jet has finally been released. He was a force of nature. An inspiration.
“‘The Stranglers’ would not have been if it wasn’t for him. The most erudite of men. A rebel with many causes.”
The group’s original guitarist and singer Hugh Cornwall, 73, also paid tribute to his old friend, saying in a statement: “It is with great sadness I have learnt that Jet Black has passed away.
“We shared a special period of our lives when we strived to become professional musicians.
“We were immediately drawn to one another, he had a singular sense of purpose that I identified with.
“He threw everything in his previous life out, to dedicate himself to our common goal. The Stranglers success was founded on his determination and drive.
“His timing was faultless. All power to him and his legacy.”
Sil Willcox, the band’s manager, added: “He was the Jet force that launched ‘The Stranglers’.
“He was the Jet force that powered the band’s determination to get heard and get noticed. Jet Black was the real deal.
“Astute in business, a talented drummer and an obsessive perfectionist. These are only a few of the talents of the man whom I was privileged to have as my mentor and my dear friend.
“I will cherish the times we planned, pranked, ate, drank and laughed on so many great nights together.”
Formed in Guildford in 1974, ‘The Stranglers’’ sound was partly defined by Jet’s playing style, helping them land 23 top 40 singles and 19 top 40 albums.
Jet, survived by his wife Ava, and two children Charlotte and Anthony, was also a skilled furniture maker and before entering the music business furniture owned a fleet of ice cream vans, which were later used to tour Britain.
He retired from performing live with ‘The Stranglers’ in 2015 due to respiratory problems he had suffered since childhood.
His death comes two years after ‘The Stranglers’’ keyboard player Dave Greenfield died at the age of 71 after he tested positive for Covid.