FOLK music legend Bill Fay has died, aged 81.
The singer-songwriter’s label, Dead Oceans, said in a statement he had died “peacefully” in London on Saturday morning (February 22).
Mathew Parri ThomasBill Fay has died aged 81[/caption]
He was previously diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“Bill was a gentle man and a gentleman, wise beyond our times,” the statement said.
“He was a private person with the biggest of hearts, who wrote immensely moving, meaningful songs that will continue to find people for years to come.”
The label also revealed Fay had been working on a new album at the time of his death.
It said: “Our hope is to find a way to finish and release it.
“But for now, we remember Bill’s legacy as the ‘man in the corner of the room at the piano’, who quietly wrote heartfelt songs that touched and connected with people around the world.”
DISCOVERY BY TERRY NOON
Fay was born in North London in 1943 and began writing songs and recording demos while at university – before being noticed by former Van Morrison drummer Terry Noon.
Noon helped him sign to Decca Records subsidiary Dream, where he released two albums Bill Fay in 1970, and Time of the Last Persecution the following year.
However, low sales for the latter saw him dropped and he seemingly retired from music for good.
But in 1998, a small UK label reissued his music before it was discovered by producer Jim O’Rourke.
He played Fay’s music to Jeff Tweedy while he was recording Yankee Hotel Foxtrot – leading to him covering Be Not So Fearful during live shows with his band Wilco.
Fay later performed with the band in 2007 and 2010.
Speaking about Fay’s music in 2024, Tweedy told The Guardian: “There’s a simplicity and an elegance to it.
“You immediately recognise this is something uncut by ambition and fashion; it’s just somebody humbly adding their voice to contribute some beauty in, and maybe make peace with, the world.”
He went on to release a compilation album called Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow in 2005 with help from David Tibet of Current 93.
The album included studio recordings between 1978 and 1981.
Record producer Joshua Henry then discovered Fay and he was signed to Dead Oceans.
Fay found cult status with three subsequent new albums – Life Is People (2012), Who Is the Sender? (2015) and Countless Branches (2020).
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