Brian Howe, former frontman for British rock band Bad Company, died Tuesday. He was 66.
According to a relative, Howe suffered cardiac arrest at his home in Fort Myers Beach, Florida, where he lived for more than three decades.
“Finding the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts over losing my brother has been difficult,” his sister Sandie said, in a statement. “Our family would like to thank you for your compassion and the outpouring of love we are receiving.”
Howe sang for rocker Ted Nugent – notably on 1984’s Penetrator – before being recruited in 1985 to replace Paul Rodgers in Bad Company. He spent eight years with the group and sang on four studio albums, including the successful 1990 collection Holy Water.
Howe followed with three solo albums between 1997 and 2010.
Howe had a history of heart problems and suffered a heart attack in 2017. Only days before his death he fractured ribs in a car accident.
Last year, Howe announced that he was selling his Florida home of 34 years and moving to Nashville to focus on songwriting. (According to a foreclosure lawsuit filed by Synovus Bank, he allegedly owed more than $400,000 in mortgage payments at the time.)
“I’ve done a few things in my life. I have sold millions of records and toured the world for the last 35 years,” he tweeted on April 26, “but I want to appear on Tv with #RickyGervais who in my opinion is a genius.”
Despite his infamously polarizing personality, condolences are being shared on social media.
"A great rock singer," tweeted John Lodge of The Moody Blues. "I was so pleased that he joined me on my 10000 light years album." The Rewind singer Josh Decker shared: "I always loved his work with Bad Company and to get to know him and keep in touch over the years was a real honor. I can't believe he is gone. He was the first real rock star I ever met. Thank you for giving this kid something to aspire to."