At 72 years of age
British musician John Miles has died
John Miles 2018 at the start of the “Night of the Proms” tour in Hamburg. The musician died at the age of 72. Photo: Georg Wendt / dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Miles created a monument for himself with his declaration of love for music with the song “Music”. Although he was never able to build on the great success of 1976, he was still successful on stage.
Music is not only his first love, but will also be his last, John Miles once sang in his world hit “Music”. Now the Briton has died. This was confirmed by his management on Monday at the request of the German Press Agency in London.
He fell asleep peacefully with his family on Sunday after a short illness in his hometown of Newcastle, said manager Cliff Cooper of the Orange Electronic Music Company.
The musician, born in 1949 as John Errington, owes his fame primarily to the rock ballad “Music” (“Music was my first love”) from 1976. In a message from his family on Facebook, based on the first line of the song, it said: “ You were our first love and will be our last. ” («You were our first love and will be our last.»)
With the song, which also made it into the top ten of the charts in Germany, Miles created a musical monument. And although he was unable to build on this success later, he remained loyal to music for the rest of his life. He played in several bands and released a total of eight solo albums. Among the highlights of his career was the role as musical director and lead guitarist in Tina Turner’s band.
With Miles, the United Kingdom has lost “one of the country’s most talented musicians”, Cooper paid tribute to the singer, songwriter, guitarist and keyboardist.
Since the mid-1980s Miles has also appeared regularly on the “Night Of The Proms” tour, including in Germany. The tour, on which pop and rock musicians perform with a classical orchestra and where “music” was always one of the highlights of the show, had to be postponed for the second time this year due to the corona pandemic.
Miles created “unforgettable musical moments” with artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Anastacia, Zucchero and others, according to a message from the organizers of the concert series, which was inspired by the BBC’s classical concerts known as “Proms” at the Royal Albert Hall in London , officially but has nothing to do with it.
For many, John Miles was not only a participating artist at the “Night Of The Proms”, but “a good friend and the soul of the tour,” the message continues. His hit «Music» has become the concert anthem. He will be sorely missed.
Miles leaves behind his wife, to whom he was married for nearly 50 years, as well as two children and two grandchildren. “He will live on forever in our hearts and with the wonderful musical legacy he has left,” wrote his family.