We have a new contender in the Most Bizarre Rock-Star Death sweepstakes:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/sep/06/elo-cellist-by-killed-hay-bale
A former member of the rock group Electric Light Orchestra has been killed by a giant hay bale that crashed into his van while he was driving.
Cellist Mike Edwards died instantly when the 300kg bale landed on the front of the white van after it tumbled down a steep hill in Devon, then smashed through a hedge and on to the road. – The Guardian
It’s a “Marie Provost” kind of death. (The Nick Lowe song, “Marie Provost” can be heard here.) Once he played before millions; in the end he died so alone that the police struggled to find anyone who could identify him.
“We [the local police] have used photographs and YouTube footage to identify him but we now need help contacting his family for formal identification. We don’t believe he was ever married and we have identified an ex-girlfriend, but she is currently abroad.”
Officers were hoping to contact a man named David in the Yorkshire area who is believed to be Edward’s brother. The musician is understood to have no immediate family, but may have taught cello in Devon.
The police, who are liaising with the Heath and Safety Executive, have asked his students to contact them if they have any further information about his relations. – The Guardian
You’d think that a guy who used to play the cello with a grapefruit and who quit ELO to become a teacher of Buddhism would be someone who maintained at least a bit of notoriety, if for no other reason than that he must’ve been viewed as a pretty colorful character by the Devonshire locals.
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