Dave Holland dead at 69

David Holland

April 5, 1948 - January 16, 2018

Dave Holland, former drummer for heavy metal legends Judas Priest, died last Tuesday at Hospital Unversitario Lucas Augusti in Lugo, Spain. The news was confirmed by the Spanish newspaper El Progreso. The cause of death is unknown at this point but the newspaper has revealed that Holland's body has already been cremated. Holland was 69 year old. 

Before becoming a drummer, Holland began his musical career at the age of six taking piano lessons. By the age of 14, Holland was performing in the Drumbeats. Holland's recording career started in 1966 when he played on Pinkerton's Assorted Colours' single "Mirror Mirror." By 1968, Holland was in a band called Finders Keepers. It was in Finders Keepers that Holland met guitarist Mel Galley and bassist/singer Glenn Hughes. These three men would go on to form the band Trapeze in 1969 with  multi-instrumentalist Terry Rowley and trumpeter John Jones. The band signed to the Moody Blues'  label Threshold Records and released their self-titled debut in 1970. Jones and Rowley left following the first album, leaving the band a trio. Just months after releasing their debut, this trio would release the follow up Medusa, an album that would go on to be regarded as an overlooked hard rock gem. Hughes would leave the band in 1973 while Holland stayed until 1979. 

In 1979, Holland joined Judas Priest- replacing drummer Les Binks. For the next ten years, Holland would serve as Judas Priest's drummer. Together, the band churned out classic albums such as British Steel, Screaming for Vengeance and Defenders of the Faith. Holland left the band in 1989 an was replaced by Scott Travis, who remains the band's drummer to this day. Going into the 1990s, Holland participated in two reunions of Trapeze- first in 1991 and then in 1993. Throughout the 1990s, Holland participated playing in different bands and even giving private drumming lessons. The last 15 years of Holland's life were perhaps his most difficult. In 2004, Holland was accused of several counts of sexual assault and an attempted rape against a 17 year old learning-disabled male student of Holland's. Holland, who came out as bisexual during this time, was found guilty and sentenced to eight years in prison. This lead Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi to remove Holland from a collaborative effort with Glenn Hughes- The 1996 DEP Sessions- which was released in 2004. By June 2012, Holland was released from prison and according to the BlabberMouth, Holland had been living in Lugo, Spain ever since then. Until his death, Holland always maintained his innocence of the 2004 incident. For the rest of his life, Holland lived in Spain and kept a low profile. 

At this time, no statement has been made by the members of Judas Priest. 

Fast Eddie Clarke dead at 67

Edward Allan Clarke

October 5, 1950 - January 10, 2018

Former Motorhead guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke has died. According to sources, Clarke passed away yesterday in a hospital after a battle with pneumonia. The news of Clarke's death was confirmed by Motorhead's Facebook page in a post, also adding that Clarke passed away peacefully. Clarke was 67. 

Clarke's career began at the age of fifteen, playing in several local bands. Prior to joining Motorhead, Clarke was in and out of several bands including Curtis Knight's Zeus and Blue Goose. With each of these bands, Clarke recorded an album or two with each of them from 1974 to 1975. Clark eventually joined Motorhead in 1976 after meeting drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor. The two are said to have met when Clarke was working on refitting a houseboat. Taylor introduced Clarke to Motorhead's bassist and frontman, Lemmy Kilmister. With that, Clarke was in the group. From 1976 to 1982, this line-up of Motorhead would go on to create the band's first five studio albums (Motorhead, Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades and Iron Fist). Many fans consider this line-up of Lemmy, Taylor and Clarke to be the band's classic line-up.

Clarke left Motorhead in 1982 following the release of Iron Fist. The following year, Clarke joined Fastway- a supergroup originally formed by him and UFO bassist Pete Way. Rounding out the line-up was former Humble Pie drummer Jerry Shirley and future Flogging Molly singer Dave King. Despite the band's revolving door of members, Clarke stuck with the group until their split in 1990. Fastway would reunite in 1997 and 2007. The band's last album was 2011's Dog Eat Dog, which featured singer Toby Jepson. Clarke's last album was his one and only solo effort- 2014's Make My Day-Back to the Blues. While Clarke kept busy throughout his career, he still found time to reunite with Motorhead for one-off performances over the years.

Clarke is the fourth former member of Motorhead to pass away. He his predeceased by guitarist Wurzel (2011) and his bandmates- Phil Taylor and Lemmy Kilmister (both 2015). 

Ray Thomas dead at 76

Raymond Thomas

December 29, 1941 - January 4, 2018

Ray Thomas, co-founding member of prog rock legends the Moody Blues, has died. The news was confirmed by Thomas' label Cherry Red Records, who said the former Moody Blues flutist/singer passed away suddenly last Thursday in his home in Surrey after a long battle with prostate cancer- which Thomas had been diagnosed with since 2014. Thomas was 76 years old. 

Thomas began his career in music by joining the Birmingham Youth Choir sometime n the 1960s. Prior to the formation of the Moody Blues, Thomas was in several soul and blues groups. By 1963, Thomas was in El Riot and the Rebels with bassist John Lodge and keyboardist Mike Pinder.  The following year, The Moody Blues were formed- with Thomas, Pinder, drummer Graeme  Edge, guitarist Denny Laine and bassist Clint Warwick. The group would go through several line-up changes until 1967- when the group had found their classic line-up of Thomas, Pinder, Edge, Lodge and guitarist Justin Hayward. From 1967 to 1972, the band were at their peak with classic albums such as Days of Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord and To Our Children's Children's Children. The band were even able to nab hit singles with "Nights in White Satin" and "Question." The classic line-up came to an end in 1978 when Pinder left the band. Thomas would stay with the group until 2002 when he decided to retire due to his declinging health. Aside from his music with the Moody Blues, Thomas released two solo albums: From Mighty Oaks in 1975 and Hopes, Wishes and Dreams in 1976. Shortly before his death, it was announced that the Moody Blues would be inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame for the Class of 2018. 

Thomas is survived by his wife Lee, who he married in 2009.