English musician Terence Wilson, a founding member of UB40 known as Astro, has died following a brief undisclosed illness. He was 64.
“We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken,” read a statement on the Twitter account of Ali Campbell & Astro. “The world will never be the same without him.”
Astro, who left UB40 in 2013, performed with Campbell, the original UB40 vocalist who left the band in 2008, as UB40 featuring Ali Campell and Astro. Their new album Unprecedented is scheduled for release in February, the same month they were set to do a tour of the UK and Ireland.
Formed in 1978, UB40 went on to have success with covers of Neil Diamond’s “Red Red Wine,” Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” as well as “Falling In Love With You,” which Elvis Presley made famous in 1961.
Astro – whose stage name came from his childhood Dr Martens “Astronaut” boots – handled lead vocals on “Rat In Mi Kitchen,” which was a hit in the UK in 1987.
Astro is the second founding member of UB40 to die in just over two months. In August, Brian Travers lost his battle with cancer at 62.
“There is no job on this planet that gives you the job satisfaction that I get,” Astro told UK Music Reviews in 2016. “I live to be on stage … I never ever get tired of coming out onto the stage. It’s my chosen profession; it is what I have always wanted to do since I was a kid.”