Kinks Keyboardist Ian Gibbons Dies At Age 67
By Saige Miller on August 2, 2019
Time to be kind to a Kinks fan because former keyboardist Ian Gibbons has died at age 67.
Co-founding guitarist Dave Davies took to Twitter on Thursday to break the news.
Totally devastated by the sudden loss @Kinks keyboardist Ian Gibbons
— Dave Davies (@davedavieskinks) August 1, 2019
Gibbons death was confirmed on the website Kast Off Kinks.
“It is with great sadness that we have to report the sudden death of Ian Gibbons. Deepest sympathy to Nadia and all Ian’s friends and family,” the announcement said.
“To simply say Ian will be missed would be an understatement,” Ray Davies said in a statement, according to Ultimate Classic Rock. “When he auditioned for the band, he only played a few chords before I knew he was the right guy to have on keyboard, he seemed to know the right voicing to musically slot in between the other members of the band. And with the Kinks, that took some doing!”
Ray Davies remembers Gibbons as a talented musician “willingly try out the most random musical idea I would throw at him. Being in a band is like being in a family and today it is as though we have lost family member. Right now I’m thinking of his smile, his cheeky chappie sense of humor and generous grin that made you feel it was ok, even though there was an eight hour bus ride ahead after a long show and the air conditioning has broken down.”
Dave Davies said, “Apart from being a great professional, Ian always had a positive attitude to being on the road and recording. In the many years he worked with the Kinks, he added great color and dimension to the Kinks’ music and he was a good friend. I’ll miss him greatly. Lots of love to his family and friends at this difficult time.”
The co-founding guitarist later posted a photo of the Kinks with a heart around Gibbons’s face.
Ian Gibbons auditioned to be the keyboardist for the Kinks in 1979 and stayed in the band until 1989. However, Gibbons couldn’t let go of the Kinks lifestyle and rejoined the group in 1993. Before his death, Gibbons was a member of Kast Of Kinks, a band made up of former bandmates.
Mick Avory, former Kinks drummer and fellow member of Kast Off Kinks, said Gibbons is “a good friend and great musician. I will miss him so much especially as we were still working together. It’s so sad he had to go so quickly before anyone could say goodbye.”
The cause of death is unknown at this time.
