Cult-beloved '70s folk musician Bill Fay has died. He was 81.
The news was confirmed over the weekend by Dead Oceans, the label through which the singer-songwriter released his last three studio albums.
"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bill Fay, who died peacefully this morning in London, aged 81," reads the statement posted on Saturday (February 22). "Bill was a gentle man and a gentleman, wise beyond our times. He was a private person with the biggest of hearts, who wrote immensely moving, meaningful songs that will continue to find people for years to come."
No cause of death has been given at this time, but Dead Oceans noted that Fay was working on a new album just a month before his death — which the label intends to finish and release at a later date.
Born in London, where the British artist would spend his life, Fay released his first single, "Some Good Advice" / "Screams in the Ears" on Deram Records in 1967, followed by a self-titled debut LP in 1970 and sophomore record Time of the Last Persecution the year after.
Deram dropped Fay after the albums were not commercially successful, and the singer-songwriter proceeded to go decades without recording music — with the exception of the efforts between 1978 and 1981 to produce a third LP, which was eventually released as Bill Fay Group's Tomorrow Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
However, a 1998 reissue of Bill Fay saw both of Fay's albums widely regarded as overlooked classics from the era. The renewed interest in Fay's work prompted producer Joshua Henry to track down the musician and convince him to get back into the studio. Fay made his Dead Oceans debut in 2012 with Life Is People, followed by 2015's Who Is the Sender? and 2020's Countless Branches.