Garry Roberts, popularly known for being the guitarist and one of the founding members of Boomtown Rats, has passed away at the age of 72.
According to Yahoo!, the Irish rock band confirmed the tragic news by issuing a statement, saying surviving members: frontman Bob Geldof, Simon Crowe, and Pete Briquette, as well as Darren and Al, extend their deepest sympathy to his close friends and family.
As of this writing, the musician's cause of death remains a mystery as neither one of the band members nor his family has confirmed any information why he passed away.
Looking back on their fond memories together, Roberts was described as the person who "summed up the sense" of who the Boomtown Rats are.
They also recalled how he got into the group decades ago, saying the guitarist was in a pub in Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, in 1975, where he became "THE founding member of what turned out to be a great rock 'n' roll band, driven largeley by that sound of his." (via The BBC)
The sound of his guitar was described as a storm of massive noise that blasted out from amplifiers.
"We have known Garry since we were children and so we feel strangely adrift without him tonight. Safe travels Gaz. Thanks for everything mate," they concluded.
The statement was signed by all surviving members.
Garry Roberts' Life and Career
After becoming the lead guitarist of Boomtown Rats for two decades, the band disbanded in 1986.
Despite not getting back together with his bandmates, he was able to work with other music acts like the Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Simply Red, and Flesh For Lulu as a sound engineer whenever they tour around the United Kingdom and the United States.
According to Daily Mail UK, the guitarist threatened to leave the band unless they change their name from The Nightlife Thugs. The frontman later decided to replace it with Boomtown Rats.
There was a point in his career where he stopped playing guitar publicly for over 10 years until he was paired up with Simon Crowe.
To venture out into other forms of careers, Roberts became an independent financial advisor for 15 years; he also became a central heating engineer.
Then finally, in 2013, four members of the group made a comeback and went on a tour across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
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