Formed in Guildford, Jet Black was a founding member of the Stranglers and drummed on all their biggest hits since they stormed into the UK charts in 1977…
OBITUARY by Ian Woolley
Jet Black (far right) with the Stranglers
Formed in 1974, Black’s unique drumming style saw the Surrey band achieve 23 top 40 singles and 19 top 40 albums.
Since his childhood, Black had suffered respiratory health problems and in 2015, he decided to officially retire from playing live with the band.
Back in 2014, he told The Independent, “People say I should retire. I have actually, with ill health, reached this situation where I can’t do everything I used to do, but I still want to come on and do what I can. And judging by the audience’s reactions, they seem to like it.”
“When you get up in the evening and see all those people, all you can think about for the next one and a half hours is delivering your best, and if you do, they’ll thank you for it. It is the most satisfying thing.”
Sadly the musician, whose real name was Brian Duffy, had been living in his country home in north Wales close to his friends and family as his health issues became more debilitating. A statement from his representative confirmed that he passed away “peacefully” on Tuesday 6 December.
His death comes two years after the Stranglers’ keyboardist, Dave Greenfield, died at the age of 71 after testing positive for coronavirus.
Only recently, the Beat interviewed former Strangler Hugh Cornwell which was published in our October issue. Yesterday he released this statement –
“It is with great sadness I have learnt that Jet Black has died. 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 into his previous life out, to dedicate himself to our common goal.”
“Our birthdays were 2 days apart, so we were quite similar.”
“The Strangler’s success was founded on his determination and drive. His timing was faultless. All power to him and his legacy”
Black leaves behind his wife, Ava, and his two children, Charlotte and Anthony. He was 84 years of age.