NEW YORK (AP) — Jack Russell, the lead singer of the bluesy ‘80s steel band Nice White whose hits included “As soon as Bitten Twice Shy” and “Rock Me” and was fronting his band the evening 100 individuals died in a 2003 nightclub fireplace in Rhode Island, has died. He was 63.
“Jack is beloved and remembered for his humorousness, distinctive zest for all times, and unshakeable contribution to rock and roll the place his legacy will eternally thrive,” stated a assertion posted Thursday to his Instagram web page. The loss of life was confirmed by Ok. L. Doty, creator of Russell’s autobiography, “The True Story of Mista Bone: A Rock + Roll Narrative.”
Russell lately stopped touring after saying he had been identified with Lewy Physique Dementia and A number of System Atrophy, which causes lack of coordination and steadiness, and adjustments in speech.
Fellow steel stars mourned Russell, with ex-Cinderella member Fred Coury writing on X: “The world misplaced 1 of the nicest guys within the enterprise & 1 of the good voices to sail throughout the airways of the 80’s.” Poison singer Bret Michaels posted: “To my pal Jack Russell, such a tremendous voice. Could you relaxation in peace.”
A distinct iteration of Nice White that Russell led — performing below the title Jack Russell’s Nice White — was concerned in some of the tragic concert events in U.S. historical past in 2003. Throughout a present at The Station nightclub in Rhode Island, the band’s pyrotechnics sparked a fast-moving blaze that induced a bottleneck as followers tried to flee. The fireplace killed 100 individuals, together with the band’s guitarist, Ty Longley, and injured greater than 200 others.
″It was a horrible tragedy,” Russell informed The Roanoke Occasions in Virginia in 2010. “I want we may return in time and erase it. I want there was one thing I may’ve performed about it. This was a type of issues the place you don’t see it coming — there’s no method you possibly can probably see it coming. You simply form of choose your self up and transfer on. You are taking what life provides you.
The one individuals criminally charged had been Jeffrey and Michael Derderian, the homeowners of The Station nightclub, and Daniel Biechele, Nice White’s tour supervisor, who set off the pyrotechnics with no allow. The three struck plea offers.
Nice White held profit concert events after the hearth to boost cash for the Station Household Fund, a charity that helped individuals who had been severely burned, youngsters who had misplaced mother and father and others. The band agreed to pay $1 million to greater than 300 individuals as a part of a settlement.
Russell was a California native who joined Nice White in 1981 and located success with its mix of blues and onerous rock, earlier than he left to report a solo album. The band break up up in 2001, and Russell reformulated a model below his personal title.
Nice White’s greatest hit was the Ian Hunter-penned music, “As soon as Bitten, Twice Shy” from its 1989 album, ”… Twice Shy,” peaking at No. 5 on the Billboard Sizzling 100, aided by a preferred MTV video. A Russell unique, “The Angel Tune,” reached No. 30 on the chart, and ”… Twice Shy” wound up promoting about 2 million copies. The band would earn a Grammy nomination in the very best onerous rock efficiency class.
The band reunited in 2007 with unique members to mark their twenty fifth anniversary, issued a brand new studio album and spent the final two months touring Europe.
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