(CelebrityAccess) — English singer-songwriter Brian Howe, formerly the frontman of Bad Company, has died. He was 66.
According to TMZ, Howe died while receiving medical attention after he suffered a cardiac arrest in Florida.
Brian’s son, Michael, told TMZ, “I feel we are all put in this world for a reason. The passion for music was my father’s, and I am so happy that his legacy will live on.”
Howe began performing with local groups but got his first big break in 1983 when Ted Nugent recruited him for lead vocals for his Penetrator album and its subsequent world tour.
After the tour, Howe left to pursue other opportunities and through Foreigner’s Mick Jones, was introduced to Mick Ralphs and Simon Kirke of Bad Company who recruited Howe to join the group in 1986, stepping into former lead vocalist Paul Rodgers’ role.
Howe recorded with the group for their 1986 album Fame and “Fortune”, its 1988 followup “Dangerous Age.” For their 1990 release “Holy Water”, Howe took on writing duties with Terry Thomas and continued in that role for their 1992 album “Here Comes Trouble” which included the single “How About That” which spent six weeks at the top of the US rock charts.
However, Howe left the group in 1994 to pursue a solo career.
“Leaving Bad Company was not a difficult decision. It had got to the point where nobody was contributing anything to songwriting and quite frankly, the band was getting very very sloppy live. I quite simply, along with Terry Thomas, got tired of doing all the work and then getting nothing but resentment for it from Mick and Simon,” Howe told Melodic Rock in a 2011 interview.
After Bad Company, Howe went on to a solo career but never was able to achieve the same level of success as he did with the group.
In 1997, he released “Tangled In Blue” and re-released the album in 2001 as “Touch” with an additional track. In 2010, he followed it up with “Circus Bar” which earned generally positive reviews from the critical press, but which gained little traction.
In 2016, he began recording acoustic versions of Bad Company material along with reworks of his solo material. He released a his final single “Hot Tin Roof” via his own label in 2017.
According to TMZ, He is survived by his sister, a son, two daughters, and three grandchildren.
