Andy Gill of Gang of Four passes away

Sadly, Andy Gill of Gang of Four has passed away. He was 64. He passed away after a "short respiratory illness." You can see the band's full statement below.

Reed Mullin of Corrosion of Conformity has passed away

Unfortunately, Reed Mullin of Corrosion of Conformity has passed away. He was 53. The band issued a statement: "“It’s with heavy hearts that we say goodbye to a friend, a brother and pioneer. Reed you are loved and always will be. Lets all take a moment…” The cause of death was not revealed. However, Mullin had been suffering from heart issues over the past few years. Mullin has a founding member of the band in 1982. He played with them from 1982-2001 and 2010-2020. Punknews sends our condolesnces to Mullin's family, friends, and fans.

Vinny Value passes away

Vinny Value, NY hardcore veteran drummer, has passed on. He was the back of such notable acts as Warzone, Grey Area, Kill Your Idols, and more. Kill Your Idols posted the news, see below.

The Punknews staff sends it's condolences to Vinny's family and friends.

Dave Riley of Big Black has passed away

Unfortunately, Dave Riley, bassist for Big Black, has passed away. Riley passed away after a short battle with cancer. He was 59. Rachel Brown, his housemate, issued a statement: "In late August, [Riley] developed a persistent sore throat that wasn’t responsive to antibiotics. Initially dismissed as acid reflux, further testing showed that he had a large squamous cell carcinoma in his throat that had already spread to several places in his lungs. Since treatment wouldn’t have made any difference, Dave chose to come home to die. His doctor predicted that he had about six months left, but sadly the cancer was so aggressive that he didn’t even make it an additional two.” Previously, Riley suffered a stroke in 1993, which left him confined to a wheelchair. In 2006, Riley published a book, Blurry and Disconnected: Tales of Sink-or-Swim Nihilism, which included six short stories.

Sandy Sanderson of Deviants and Pink Fairies passes away

Unfortunately, last night, bassist Duncan "Sandy" Sanderson of The Deviants and Pink Fairies passed away. His son was with him at his time of passing. Sanderson was the only member of both of those groups to be on every album (not counting the later day, USA based Mick Farren's Deviants). As a member of the Deviants and Pink Fairies, Sanderson was an important figure of psychedelic rock, and perhaps even more so, was an important figure in bridging psyche music into proto-punk and eventually punk. We send our condolences to Sandy's family, friends, and fans. Hear some of his recordings below.

Dave King, designer of Crass logo, has passed away

Unfortunately, late last week, artist Dave King, who designed the Crass logo and many other works passed away. The cause of death was not revealed. King was born in England in 1948, but more recently, resided in San Francisco.

Steve Ignorant of Crass stated: "I'm absolutely gutted to have to tell you that Dave King, who designed the Crass symbol, has died. He was a bloody good mate and I'll miss him. My thoughts and arms reach out to Dionne, his soulmate of many years. But we can all take comfort in the knowledge that a part of Dave is emblazoned on people's bodies all over the world. See you later Dave. You'll never be forgotten. Here's to you mate. Steve"

Sam Sadowski (Closet Fiends) has passed away

Unfortunately, earlier this week, Sam Sadowski, who released an EP as Closet Fiends on Fat Wreck Chords. Sadowski passed away peacefully while sleeping in Sadowski's apartment in San Francisco. The cause of death is not yet known.

Sadowski was born on May 4, 1994. in 5th or 6th grade, Sam picked up a guitar and without any warning or prep, played at a school assembly to great affect. Sadowski did a few summers of a “school of rock” camp, working on the instrument.

Following that, Sadowski had bouts of homelessness. Scott Sturgeon of Leftover Crack and Fat Mike of Nofx ran into Sadowski during one of Sadowksi's periods of homelessness, which resulted in the Closet Fiends recording.

Sturgeon reflected on meeting Sadowski: "I had met Sadowski at a drop-in center. Sadowksi and a friend told me how much they loved my music. Sadowski's friend, Alex, who’s legally blind, recognized my voice from my records and asked if I was who I am, surprisingly. They told me that Sam was a musician and I asked if there was anything that I could hear. Sam's friend let it slip that there was a song on YouTube. I think that Sam was embarrassed about it. But I found it that night and it blew me away. The lyrics, the writing, the crazy chords and above all the voice. Just an amazing performance. I called Mike and came over that night or at he next day to play him the video and I believe it was the next afternoon that we got on our bicycles and searched the tenderloin and found Sam. We brought Sam to the guitar center near the tenderloin. We got Sam to play all of the original songs that Sam could remember in the “acoustic room”. It was chilling just how good the performance was. I think we brought Sam straight to the studio that very day."

There will be a memorial for Sam in Austin at a later date. You can see the video Sturgeon showed to Mike, which was recorded while Sam was in high school, below.

Kim Shattuck has passed away

Unfortunately, Kim Shattuck of The Muffs has passed away. About an hour ago, reports broke that Kim passed away this morning after a two year battle with ALS. She was 56. Punknews sends its condolences to Kim's family, friends, and fans. This story is developing.

Barrie Masters of Eddie and the Hot Rods has passed away

Unfortunately, Barrie Masters, singer of Eddie and the Hot Rods, has passed away. He was 63. Reportedly, he passed away suddenly and no cause of death has been announce, as of yet. The band issued a statement: “It is with extreme sadness we announce the passing of the legendary Barrie Masters. As you can expect, this sudden news is a huge shock to the band and family. We welcome tributes posted to our Facebook and Twitter sites which will be passed on to Barrie's family. More news will follow.”

Larry Wallis of Pink Fairies and Motorhead has passed away

Unfortunately, on September 19, guitarist Larry Wallis passed away. Wallis played an important hand in the earliest days of punk, recording proto-punk singles with the Pink Fairies, Mick Farren, and a few solo singles. He then moved on to the first iteration of Motörhead and recorded the band's first album with Lemmy Kilmister and Phil Taylor. Those recordings were initially shelved, but were first released in 1979 as On Parole. Wallis also served as an in-house writer and producer for the iconic Stiff Records. Later in his career, he recorded with Wayne Kramer and the resurrected Pink Fairies. Our condolences go to Wallis' friends, fans, and family. Hear some of Wallis' music below.