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Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM
Dave Marsh on SiriusXM's Volume Channel at the SiriusXM Studio on April 27, 2018 in New York City.
FYI
Obituaries: Bruce Springsteen Biographer Dave Marsh, China Crisis Bassist Gary Johnson & More
This week we also acknowledge the passing of noted Australian music journalist Glenn A. Baker, EMF keyboardist Derran "Derry" Brownson and Australian music and broadcasting industry pioneer Bill Armstrong.
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Editor's Note: Head here for an obituary of Nashville and Heroes star Hayden Panettiere, who has died at 36.
Dave Marsh, an influential Grammy-winning American music critic, social activist, broadcaster and a biographer of Bruce Springsteen, died on Aug. 14, at age 76, after a long illness.
Billboard reports that "Born in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1950, Marsh grew up immersed in the sounds of Detroit — Motown, R&B, and rock ‘n’ roll — inspiring a lifelong belief in the power of music. He was among the first editors of Creem magazine when it launched in 1969. He wrote extensively for Rolling Stone and other publications and authored more than two dozen books on artists including Elvis Presley, The Who and Bruce Springsteen.
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''His 1979 biography, Born to Run: The Bruce Springsteen Story, became a New York Times bestseller. In 1993, Marsh shared a Grammy for best album notes for Aretha Franklin’s Queen of Soul. He also co-founded the newsletter Rap & Rock Confidential and, in 2004, joined SiriusXM, hosting Kick Out the Jams for 19 years, along with Live from E Street Nation and Live from the Land of Hope and Dreams.
''He was married to Barbara Carr, longtime co-manager of Springsteen. Following the death of their daughter, Kristen Ann Carr, in 1993 at age 21 of sarcoma, a rare form of cancer, Marsh co-founded and served as a trustee of the The Kristen Ann Carr Fund to advance sarcoma research and support families affected by cancer.''
Bruce Springsteen paid homage to his friend, posting that ''More than anything else, I admired Dave as a man of conscience and commitment. He lived and stuck by his values come hell or high water. Wherever he is, I hope he’s receiving some of the grace, happiness and reward he’s brought into my life. God bless you Dave.”
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“Dave Marsh has always been a tireless advocate of justice, human rights and rock ’n’ roll,” wrote Tom Morello, co-founder of Rage Against the Machine, in 2023 upon the publication of an anthology of Marsh’s work titled Kick Out The Jams: Jibes, Barbs, Tributes, and Rallying Cries from 35 Years of Music Writing. “His pen and voice are an important player in the history of the music we love and the struggle for a more just and decent world,” Morello wrote.
Billboard reports that ''In 2021, a host of authors, activists and artists — including Morello, Pete Townshend, Springsteen, Nona Hendryx, Dion DiMucci, Jackson Browne and Steven Van Zandt — took part in online sessions billed as Land of Hope and Dreams: A Celebration of Dave Marsh’s Work and Vision.''
Amongst those paying tribute to Marsh was veteran Canadian music journalist Larry LeBlanc, senior writer at Celebrity Access. He forwarded this to Billboard Canada: "The herd of accomplished music journalists of the late ‘60s is thinning. Dave Marsh passing away is especially painful to former rock scribes like me who grew up with him working at Creem and Rolling Stone and with his many comprehensive rock books, especially his Bruce Springsteen bio.
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''Marsh was an articulate and thoughtful journalist unafraid to knock down many of rock’s biggest acts. Demolishing Kiss and even singling out the weaknesses of John Bonham of Led Zeppelin and Freddy Mercury of Queen. He and I, along with Sir Tim Rice and Australia’s Glenn A. Baker [who passed away on July 31] gamely competed in five annual radio specials, Rock Brains of the Universe , that aired in Canada, America, the United Kingdom in the 1970s. In recent years Dave and I lost touch with each other, but I still continue to re-read many of his fine articles. Damn he was good.”
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Gary 'Gazza' Johnson, bass player with popular '80s English new wave/synth-pop band China Crisis, died on August 12 at the age of 61. No cause of death was revealed but the news was confirmed by his younger sister Jan Hughes in a comment on a China Crisis fan page on Facebook.
Johnson was a member of Liverpudlian new wave band Hambi & the Dance who released the album Heartache in 1982. He then joined China Crisis in time for their 1983 second album Working with Fire and Steel and remained with the band until 1989, then rejoined them for a period in 1995.
Alongside bandmates Gary Daly, Eddie Lundon and Kevin Wilkinson, Johnson saw 10 singles enter the UK Top 50 chart, with 5 of those reaching the Top 40.
The debut China Crisis studio album, Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, Some People Think It's Fun to Entertain came out in Nov. 1982 and featured their first Top 20 UK hit, ''Christian.'' The album peaked at No. 21 in the UK Albums Chart and during this period the band toured supporting Simple Minds on their New Gold Dream tour ,augmented by Johnson.
A year later, their second album Working with Fire and Steel – Possible Pop Songs Volume Two, was released . The title track single reached number 48 in the UK, was a hit on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart at number 27 and it fared well in Canada.
In early 1984, the single "Wishful Thinking" peaked at number 9 on the UK Singles Chart, making it their first and only UK top 10 hit single. The song was also a top 10 hit in Ireland and a top 20 hit in several European countries.
The album itself was a top 20 success in the UK, also reaching the top 40 in several other countries (including Spain, Australia, Canada and more), and China Crisis spent 1984 and 1985 making their biggest chart run. They toured internationally, including Canadian dates supporting Simple Minds.
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The group's third studio album, Flaunt the Imperfection, was produced by Walter Becker of Steely Dan and reached No. 9 on the UK Albums Chart in May 1985. Johnson was now credited as co-writer with Daly and Lundon. Two singles from the record, "Black Man Ray" and "King in a Catholic Style," made the UK Top 20, but future singles and albums couldn't duplicate that success.
By 1994, China Crisis were functioning as the duo of Daly and Lundon, although Johnson was amongst the session musicians employed in the recording of the album Warped by Success. In 1995, they released a live unplugged album and video entitled Acoustically Yours, and this also saw a brief return for Johnson and two other former bandmates.
A seventh studio album , Autumn in the Neighbourhood announced for release in 2014., but Johnson was absent. The focus since then has been on performance, with Daly and Lundon still at the helm. They have frequently played shows in Canada in recent years.
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Lead vocalist Gary Daly released his solo debut studio album Gone from Here in May 2019, and Gary Johnson is featured on that record.
Glenn A. Baker, a familiar name in Australian media for his work as a music historian, author, presenter and pundit, and a long-time Billboard correspondent, died July 31, at age 74.
“Glenn’s contribution to the Australian rock ’n’ roll music landscape was immense, but his family remembers him as a loving father of six and grandfather of thirteen,” reads a statement posted on his official social channels.
Billboard reports that ''Born in Sydney, New South Wales, the eldest of four children, Baker left school aged 15 to support his family and was “galvanized” by seeing the Beatles on TV.
''In the mid-‘70s, Baker launched his radio career as part of a research team whose work led to the creation of 2JJ, which would became triple j, the national youth network within the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
''Baker always cut a flamboyant figure on TV, which was often, in the 1970s through to recent times. A true music allrounder, Baker managed the band Ol’55 and, in 1979, co-founded the Australian record label Raven Records. He topped the BBC’s Rock Brain of the Universe [a show also featuring Canadian music scribe Larry LeBlanc] on three occasions during the 1980s, and won the Australian Travel Writer of the Year Award twice (1995 and 2000).
''A prolific writer, Baker penned 17 books, sleeve notes for more than 600 albums, and served as Billboard’s Australia correspondent for over 20 years. His knowledge of music was as vast as his collection of records. In 2024, Baker, through Lloyds Auctions, put his immense haul under the hammer. Over 80,000 items were put up for sale, including over 50,000 LPs 'primarily representing rock’n’roll and popular music of the second half of the 20th century,' the listing stated.''
Australian rock stars paying tribute to Baker on social media included Jimmy Barnes, Marcia Hines and Iva Davies of Icehouse.
Bill Armstrong, a pioneering Australian recording engineer, studio owner, producer and broadcaster who helped establish the country’s modern recording industry, died on Aug. 7, aged 97.
An extensive Noise11 obituary reported that ''Bill Armstrong spent more than seven decades working across recording, broadcasting, studio technology and music preservation. His career began with primitive recording equipment in post-war Melbourne and extended through the development of Armstrong Studios, the launch of Australia’s first commercial FM radio station and decades devoted to preserving Australian jazz.
''Born in Melbourne, Armstrong developed an interest in electronics, radio and jazz while still young. He began recording friends’ bands using wire recording equipment before turning the emerging technology into a professional service. His early work included recording court proceedings, civil ceremonies and public events, as well as live jazz performances. Among the historic events he recorded was the 1949 Australian Jazz Convention.''
In 1949, he established Bill Armstrong Sound. During the early 1950s he released Australian jazz recordings through independent labels including Paramount, Magnasound and Danceland. He also worked in radio production for the ABC and was responsible for the public address system at the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.
Armstrong subsequently worked with W&G Records, recording artists including Graeme Bell and The Seekers, as well as commercial jingles. In 1965, he established Armstrong Studios with English recording engineer Roger Savage. The studio would become one of the most important recording facilities in Australian music. Russell Morris, Daddy Cool, John Farnham, Skyhooks and Graham Kennedy were among the artists whose recordings passed through the studio.
At its peak, Armstrong Studios was credited with recording a substantial proportion of the Australian commercial music charts. The studio also became an important training ground for Australian recording engineers, producers and technicians.
Noise11 notes that ''Armstrong’s influence then moved from the recording studio into broadcasting. In the late 1970s, he became involved in the establishment of new radio services, including providing technical and operational support for Melbourne’s multilingual station 3EA, which later became part of SBS. He was also part of the consortium that successfully applied for one of Melbourne’s first commercial FM radio licences.
That licence produced EON-FM, which began broadcasting on 92.3 FM in Melbourne on 11 July 1980. EON-FM was Australia’s first commercial FM radio station. Armstrong served as managing director from its launch until the station was sold to the interests behind Sydney’s Triple M in 1986. The station represented a significant change in Australian radio, introducing commercial FM broadcasting at a time when AM radio dominated the market.
Armstrong was later appointed to the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, where he served for two years. He subsequently returned increasingly to his first passion, recording and preserving jazz. Through Bilarm Music, Armstrong worked on restoring historic recordings, including material originally issued on 78 rpm discs. His work with archivists and collaborators helped preserve recordings from an earlier era of Australian music that might otherwise have remained inaccessible.
In 2015, Armstrong acquired Swaggie Records, further extending his involvement in Australian jazz preservation. He remained active in recording and publishing for decades, including projects that brought older recordings into the digital era.
He received many major Australian industry honours. In 1995 he received the Advance Australia Award, the Audio Engineering Society Australian chapter Lifetime Achievement Award and an Australian Sound Recording Association award for outstanding service to the Australian recording industry. He received the ARIA Special Achievement Award in 1999 and APRA’s Ted Albert Award for Outstanding Services to Australian Music in 2006.
In 2011, the National Film and Sound Archive presented Armstrong with the Cochrane-Smith Award for Sound Heritage, recognising his contribution to Australia’s recorded sound history. In 2015 he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the commercial recording and broadcast media sectors, and was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall of Fame.
Derran "Derry" Brownson, original keyboardist of British rock band EMF, died on Aug. 13 following a brain tumour diagnosis. He was 55.
A BBC obituary notes that ''Derry spoke to the BBC about his diagnosis in July 2025, the month he and his bandmates returned to their hometown of Cinderford to play at Cindyfest, which he said was 'very, very special.' The band were also honoured with a blue plaque in the town in May 2025
Ian Dench, Derry's bandmate, said: "I can't think of anyone who embodied lust for life like Derry did. I mean, he was beautiful inside out.' In the early days of EMF, Gloucester-born Ian Dench said it was "fun-loving" Derry that made him feel at home in the Forest of Dean as an outsider.' Ian said Derry performed for the last time in May at a show in Frome, and he had still been 'making jokes' when the pair were texting a few weeks ago.''
EMF made an impact at the beginning of the 1990s. Brownson had been in a band called Flowerdrum but left to join bass guitarist Zac Foley, drummer Marc Decloedt, DJ Milf, and singer James Atkin as EMF.
During their initial eight-year run, from 1989 to 1997, the band released three studio albums before a very long hiatus. In April 2022, EMF released their first album of new material in 27 years, Go Go Sapiens.
The band is best known for their international hit, ''Unbelievable.'' Their first single, it reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart,[1] and was a number 1 hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their debut album, Schubert Dip, went to number 3 on the UK Albums Chart.
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