Ivan Král, the Czech guitarist and producer who collaborated with some of the biggest punk artists of the day, has died aged 71.
David Gaydecka of the Metronome festival in Prague revealed the news that Kral had died on 2 February, Reuters reports.
“We worked together since 2016, but the grand finale, which we have prepared, never came,” he said.
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Edd Byrnes played smooth-talking dance contest host Vince Fontaine in 1978 musical ‘Grease’. He died suddenly on 8 January.
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David McNew/Getty Images
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Getty Images
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17/22 Joseph Shabalala
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AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek
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Caroline Flack died on 15 February, aged 40. The presenter was best known for presenting Love Island.
Getty
19/22 Nikita Pearl Galigwa
Child star Nikita Pearl Waligwa, who appeared in Disney film Queen of Katwe, died aged 15 on 16 February.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture
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Former child star Jason Davis, who voiced Recess character Mikey Blumberg, died aged 35 on 16 February.
Getty Images
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John Barrett
22/22 Esther Scott
The actor Esther Scott died on 18 February aged 66 after suffering a heart attack.
She’s remembered for her roles in Boyz n the Hood, Hart of Dixie, and many other programmes including Beverly Hills, 90210, Full House, Melrose Place, The King of Queens, Sister, Sister, 7th Heaven, and ER.
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for Sundance Film Festival
Král’s wife confirmed his death in a statement that was shared on Twitter, revealing he had died of cancer at his home in Michigan. It was also announced that his album, Smile, will be released on 28 February.
Král co-wrote a number of songs with Patti Smith, including “Dancing Barefoot”, from the 1979 album Wave. He also wrote and performed for her 1975 debut, Horses; Radio Ethiopia (1976); Easter (1978) and Exodus (1994).
Král played briefly with Blondie in the mid-Seventies and also wrote songs that were performed by Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Eastern Bloc and others. He released a documentary in 1976 about the New York Punk scene, using footage of Blondie, Richard Hell, Talking Heads, Ramones and more, titled The Blank Generation.