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  1. The Stranglers’ statement, which is far more eloquent than my brief tribute above,

    David Paul Greenfield (29/03/49-03/05/20)

    We are deeply and profoundly saddened to announce the untimely passing of keyboard legend Dave Greenfield on the evening of 3rd May 2020. Following a stay in hospital for heart problems, Dave tested positive for the Covid-19 virus last Sunday but he sadly lost his battle last night. Dave had been an ever present in the band since joining in late 1975 and his keyboard wizardry was world-renowned over his 45 year career in The Stranglers. Dave was a lovable, friendly and eccentric character who always had time to chat.

    We have received the following tributes from Dave’s fellow band members JJ, Jet and Baz as well as Sil the band’s manager:

    “On the evening of Sunday May 3rd my great friend and longstanding colleague of 45 years, the musical genius that was Dave Greenfield, passed away as one of the victims of the Great Pandemic of 2020. All of us in the worldwide Stranglers’ family grieve and send our sincerest condolences to Pam.” – JJ Burnel

    “We have just lost a dear friend and music genius, and so has the whole world. Dave was a complete natural in music. Together, we toured the globe endlessly and it was clear he was adored by millions. A huge talent, a great loss, he is dearly missed.” – Jet Black

    “We lost a true innovator, musical legend, and one of my dearest friends today. The word genius is bandied around far too easily in this day and age, but Dave Greenfield certainly was one. We stood together on the same side of the stage for 20 years, laughed, joked and shared our lives in the way that only band mates can. I’ll miss him forever. Our thoughts and hearts are with his wife Pam, and to the millions of fans who worshipped at his altar, he’ll never be equalled.” – Baz Warne

    “We are all in shock, Dave was a kind, generous soul who had time for anyone and everyone and it has been my privilege to have known him as both a close friend, his tech and manager for over 40 years. Our thoughts are with Pam at this sad time” – Sil Willcox

    He is survived by his wife Pam and we ask you to respect Pam’s privacy at this very sad time.

    Fly straight Mr G, fond adieu xx

    Please leave any messages of condolences below and we will pass them on….

  4. Really shocked by this one. He made the band different, and even after being around for so many years they have always been a great band to see live. The way he would play a one-handed keyboard solo with a beer held in the other, and then downed in one, will be a fond memory.

  5. Oh poo – I got tickets for their tour in November. Doubt it’ll be happening now. Billed as The Final Tour, it may have come to and sooner than anyone was expecting.
    Key part of their sound – Hugh’s snarling vocal, JJs thundering bass, Jets thumping drum, and Dave’s melodic keyboard stabs.
    Saw the last year – Dave had his racks of keyboards, and a special holder for his beer. The bottles were constantly refreshed. He even played one solo one handed as he was caught mid-swig.

      • It’s always been my contention that this was as much a cover of Light My Fire as it was Walk On By.

        I had a mate at Uni who recorded this from my copy on to a cassette. The record (1st track on an EP that was part of the package of the Black And White album) actually ran at 33. He taped it at 45 and didn’t notice the difference.

  10. I was somewhat stunned when I checked the news just now. I had been bracing myself for bad news regarding Jet for some time, as he’s knocking on and hasn’t been well, but this took me totally by surprise. Very sad news.

    Someone mentioned some time back that they considered themself a big Stranglers fan, despite not having heard anything from the band post-Hugh, and this stands for me too (I have since given the later stuff a try, but it’s not the same). They were a big part of my teenage years and I bought every album up to Ten, finally getting to see them on that tour. They are one of the bands that I have never stopped listening to and my favourite Stranglers songs playlist is a regular accompaniment to my washing up duties, turned up loud (to drown out my singing).

  11. I saw the Stranglers twice. Once during the ‘La Folie’ tour and once after the success of ‘Golden Brown’. Hugh was pissed off that so many people were in the audience that weren’t before. (Showbiz)

    The stranglers though were great fun for a kid who was just a smidge too young to fully understand ‘Punk’. Johnny rotten scared the hell out of me as did those Diamond Dogs posters on my cousins bedroom walls 10 years earlier. The Stranglers though, sang songs about Vikings and Genetics and bordellos. I was hooked at age 12. So thank you Mr. Greenfield for making that happen.

  12. I was just listening to the latest Word podcast and they were musing about the Stranglers. Apparently JJ Burnel hated Golden Brown and didn’t play on it but did accept taking a songwriting credit from which no doubt he still gets a decent income. Greenfield was the magic ingredient in the band and in hindsight adds to the knocking down of the myth that punk/new wave was a revolution – in reality it was as much evolution. Johnny Rotten was secretly listening to Van De Graaf Generator and Dave Greenfield was playing prog style keyboards.

    • Whatever Rotten was listening to (and there was a wide range of things), the Sex Pistols had little in common with previous bands (Except maybe New York Dolls), it wasn’t really evolution it was completely different.

      I remember at the time that The Stranglers were never really considered punk because they were a) too old and b) good musicians. They were also disliked by the music press because of perceived misogyny.

    • Very sad news. A phenomenal player in a great band. He cited his influences as Jon Lord and Rick Wakeman, funnily enough, and not so much Manzarek.

    • Reminds me of the first time I heard ‘Golden Brown,’ on Radio One’s Round Table, and host Richard Skinner (I think it was him) wouldn’t tell the panel who it was. I certainly didn’t twig it was The Stranglers, even though the vocals sounded familiar.

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