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Barry Mitchell, who served as Queen's second bassist, has died.
Greg Brooks, the band's official archivist, confirmed Mitchell's death through a post on Facebook.
"Terribly sad news just received that early Queen bass player, Barry Mitchell, has passed away," he wrote, sharing a vintage black-and-white image of Mitchell. "His anecdotes at the convention were fascinating and offered rare insight. He will be greatly missed."
No details about Mitchell's age or the circumstances surrounding his death have been made public.
Mitchell took over from Queen's first bassist Mike Grose in 1970, although his stint with the band lasted only a few months. Between August 1970 and January 1971, he played 13 shows with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor.
Following Mitchell's exit, the three musicians brought in Doug Bogie for two performances before John Deacon became their bassist in February 1971, forming the iconic line-up behind the We Will Rock You group.
Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2018, Mitchell was questioned about his decision to leave Queen. He initially responded humorously, saying he was "fired because they thought I was useless".
He later acknowledged that he "wasn't enthusiastic enough about their music" at the beginning of Queen's career.
"This didn't necessarily go in the direction I wanted to go," he said. "At the time, they weren't at all the cult band you all know. I didn't see the potential. It's crazy to say this now but it's the truth."
Before becoming part of Queen's early history, Mitchell was a member of Crushed Butler, a group that was eventually renamed Tiger.
According to his Facebook page, Mitchell is survived by his two daughters.
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Beabadoobee, Jorja Smith and Nemzzz are heading back to the places where their careers started for a collection of intimate Spotify concerts.
Titled Hometown, the three part project will begin next month when Smith performs near Birmingham in her native Walsall on Sept. 6. Nemzzz will take the stage in Manchester on Sept. 12, before Beabadoobee concludes the series in London on Sept. 17. The locations for the concerts have not yet been revealed.
Each performance will allow the artists to reconnect with the cities that helped shape their early musical ambitions. Their most dedicated Spotify listeners will receive invitations to attend, while recordings of the concerts will later become exclusive films. Spotify is also working alongside the musicians to help community projects in their hometowns, with contributions going to organisations supporting young people.
Smith is releasing her third album, What Are The Odds, this Friday, Aug. 21. Reflecting on her connection to the city in an official statement, she said, “Walsall is where I first started writing and recording music as a teenager.” She continued, “It’s where my love of music began and the people, experiences and sense of community there continue to influence my creativity today. It’s home, home is where my heart is and home is where I found my voice! I hope it’s a moment that inspires the next generation to believe that big things really can come from Walsall.”
Nemzzz, a rapper from Manchester, is preparing to release his latest record, Locked In, on Sept. 4. Discussing his involvement in the project, he said, “I’ve always made a point of celebrating Manchester and representing where I’m from, so getting to do Hometown with Spotify feels like a natural extension of that.”
“There’s a pride that comes with doing it at home, around the people and places that have been there from the beginning. No matter where this takes me, I’ll always find a way to bring it back home.”
Beabadoobee’s upcoming album, Pylon, will arrive on Sept. 18 and follows her 2024 record, This Is How Tomorrow Moves, which earned two BRIT nominations. Her Hometown appearance will also benefit The Avenues, a west London charity providing specialist social care.
Explaining why the event means so much to her, she said, “London has always felt like home to me, it’s where I started finding my people, making music, playing tiny shows and figuring out what I wanted to do, so Hometown feels really special.”
“It’s also really cool that we’re also able to give something back to the community with [west London social care charity] The Avenues and support young people locally, that part feels really important to me.”
Hometown builds upon Spotify’s recent live programming, which has brought British musicians closer to their strongest supporters through smaller performances. The platform hosted Skye Newman at Hackney Church in May for a concert marking her SE9 project, with footage from the evening later shared as an exclusive film.
During an interview with Billboard U.K, Andy Sloan-Vincent, Spotify’s managing director for the U.K., Ireland and Netherlands, discussed how the streaming service uses concerts to champion British talent. “Skye is a [Spotify] Radar artist in the U.K., which means we’ve made the commitment to develop her. She has an incredible voice; when you go into the room with her, everyone wants her to win,” he said.
“I think the reason we want to get behind artists like that is because we want the artist to win. That’s our outlook on things.”
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