Cancer The Creative Killer: 9 Musicians Who Succumbed To Cancer

Cancer has taken many musical lives over recent years. Of late two legends in the forms of rock god Lemmy and bohemian creative mastermind, David Bowie. Sadly, they aren’t the first to be taken. A long list of greats have been defeated by the disease and now there will be the great band in the sky, playing the greatest gig up there.

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On the 28^th December 2015, the frontman of Mötorhead, Lemmy, was pronounced dead. He was given two-six months to live after being diagnosed with an “extremely aggressive cancer”. Before he could make it public and a press release be drafted he died.

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In 1990, Zappa was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. Even though he was nearing his last days he still managed to record and release an album, ‘Civilisation, Phaze |||’. His last album was a major Synclavier piece that he had been working on in the 80s. In 1993 Zappa was pronounced dead with his wife and children by his side.

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Sterling Morrison was one of the founding members of the legendary rock band, The Velvet Underground. He was on tour when he was diagnosed with non-hodgkins Lymphoma, and died a year later on 30^th August, one day after his 53^rd birthday.

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Being a smoker since the age of 13, Wilson was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in early 1997. Ignoring the fact he was severely ill, Wilson continued to perform on The Beach Boys tour which was due to end in the Autumn of 1997. During his chemotherapy, Carl would sit on a stool when performing but stand for the track ‘God Only Knows’

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A member of The Wings, and wife to former Beatle, Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney was no stranger to fame, or the strange world of Rock ‘n’ Roll. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, but matters worsened when the cancer spread to her liver. She died at the age of 56 in 1998 on the family ranch in Tucson, Arizona. People of rock that mourned her death at the funeral in London, were George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Billy Joel, Elton John, David Gilmour and Peter Gabriel.

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Guitarist of the Beatles, George Harrison lived a very successful life, musically. He was dogged with cancer for a large portion of his latter years and publically blamed his smoking habit for the disease. After battling cancer through many different treatments for many years, Harrison lost his battle in 2001.

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The famous Jazz musician had successful hip replacement surgery but his health begun to falter under other ailments. Suffering from acute Liver Cancer, Charles passed away in 2004 at the age of 73 surrounded by his family and friends.

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After an infamous five-year battle with Prostate Cancer, Johnny Ramone passed away at the age of just 55. In 2004, Johnny and his wife, Linda, supervised the erection of his bronze statue in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where the service of his funeral would later be held.

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Most recently, the star man himself has lost his battle with cancer. Though he kept it quiet, his latest album suggested that the death was only impending. He lost his battle on the 11^th January.