Phil May lead singer of the English rock band Pretty Things , has died at the age of 75, reports the BBC .
May died last Friday, the 15th, due to complications from emergency hip surgery, after falling from her bicycle earlier in the week.
The band released 12 albums between 1965 and 2015, achieving success in the United Kingdom and reaching the Billboard 2000 with the albums Silk Torpedo in 1974 and Savage Eye in 1976. The Pretty Things' last tour was announced in 2018.
On the Pretty Things' official website, the band wrote about the artist:
"At 7 a.m., Phil May, lead singer of The Pretty Things, died in hospital after surgery to replace his hip joint, in Norfolk, where he was staying with his family.".
If you're reading this, you'll already know what a remarkable singer Phil was throughout the 55 years and more that he fronted the Pretty Things, and you'll probably also be aware of his prodigious talent as a writer, lyricist, and innovator, with numerous musical "firsts" to his name.
But he was so much more than that. To those of us who knew him intimately and loved him personally, he was a remarkable, mercurial, influential, and irreplaceable human being, and the best and most honorable human being I have ever known.
He was funny, creative, quick-witted, decent, insightful, extremely talented in many ways, irritating, straightforward, and unwaveringly loyal, in an industry rife with fraud, and honest, even painfully so. This idol had no feet of clay. His work over 55 years encompasses some of the true high points of rock music from its earliest R&B roots to the present day. He will never see the release of what will now be Pretty Things' final album – the raw, rootsy, acoustic blues of 'Bare As Bone, Bright As Blood' – which is due out later this year. So sad, it was hard work for him to complete, but it was worth every moment of toil.
He will probably be remembered in history as 'the man with the longest hair in Britain', something he literally fought for, to defend his opinion. But that was just the tip of his particular iceberg. His art, work and performance defined him far more completely than any 'headliner' ever could, as anyone who has heard 'SF Sorrow' or been lucky enough to attend a sold-out Phil show worldwide in his 70s, with the last great and beautiful electric line of Pretty Things, will confirm.
He was a unique man, consistently challenging and creative, who was never ready to give up his freedom to be who he chose to be, for money or even fame. He and his longtime partner on stage and in recording, Dick Taylor , always danced to a different drummer, and one with a mesmerizing beat.
So, we hope that he will be remembered by you as the great, unique, and original mold-breaking artist he always was, and not just a silly pop star with nothing to say and too much time to say it. Phil was different. We will all remember him with love, affection, and sadness; not a day will go by without him being in my personal thoughts and in my heart. He was my friend, my artist, my burden, my blessing, my soulmate, and my hero. I have never met anyone like him and I never will again. We loved Phil, as many of you did… The king is dead. We won’t find another… Goodbye, Phil. We will miss you every day and remember you fondly and with a smile.”
Check out the track “Rosalyn” by Pretty Things below:
