Cockney Rebel tragedies – star dies penniless in | UK News

Recently the death of Steve Harley rocked the music world as a legend was misplaced. He was the frontman of Cockney Rebel – an English rock band who shaped in the early Seventies in London.

However, a number of members of the enduring band misplaced their lives before him, with some dying in completely devastating circumstances. In 1972, the unique Cockney Rebel band was shaped as Harley hooked up with his former people music accomplice, John Crocker, and then they marketed and auditioned drummer Stuart Elliott, bassist Paul Jeffreys, and guitarist Nick Jones. But out of the unique members, three of them met their demise in very tragic circumstances. From battling grave sicknesses to being concerned in a horrific terrorist assault, we take a look at the tragedy that struck the band.

Frontman Steve Harley’s heartbreaking cancer battle

Steve Harley, the frontman of British rock band Cockney Rebel, died at the age of 73 in March 2024. At the time, his household stated Harley had “passed away peacefully at home”, including: “We know he will be desperately missed by people all over the world.” It was reported that he had remedy for cancer before his death and was compelled to cancel a quantity of exhibits due to his sickness.

In December, before his death, Harley wrote on his official web site that he was “fighting a nasty cancer” for which he was receiving remedy. He stated the first half of 2023 had been “magical” as he acquired to tour in Europe with his band members, including: “Out there, on the road, that’s where I come alive”.

But the second half had been “heartbreaking” as the band was compelled to cancel reside show dates after his diagnosis. “It’s tiresome, and tiring. But the fight is on,” he wrote. “And thankfully the cursed intruder is not affecting the voice. I sing and play most evenings.”

Guitarist Nick Jones died ‘penniless’

Guitarist Nick Jones reportedly died without a penny to his identify. His sister Liz Jones admitted to The Mail on Sunday that her brother died aged 62 after changing into a “recluse”, dying a “penniless failure in a council flat”, despite discovering fame with the enduring 70s rock band.

At the time, she stated: “It might have been different […] had the lead singer of [Cockney Rebel] been nicer and allowed Nick to dine off royalties from Cockney Rebel’s huge 1975 hit Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me), one of the most played records of all time. Alas, Nick and Steve had fallen out and my brother, bitter and unfulfilled, always called him a ‘c**k’ who had ruined his career.”

Lockerbie tragedy

Another member of the band who have been struck by tragedy was bassist Paul Jeffreys. He and his new spouse, Rachel Jones, have been devastatingly caught up in the worst terrorist airline assault of the twentieth century. On December 21, 1988, a bomb aboard Pan Am Flight 103 exploded in the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 243 passengers, 16 crew and 11 people on the ground – including the musician and his partner.

The couple have been flying to the States for their honeymoon when catastrophe struck. He appeared on Cockney Rebel’s first two albums in 1973 and 1974, before shifting on to Be Bop Deluxe for a 12 months and then becoming a member of a quantity of different bands.