MUSIC legend Gerry Rafferty has died after a long illness aged 63.
He had been battling alcoholism for years and had suffered kidney problems
He collapsed at home in November with multi-organ failure. Relatives were told he had little chance of survival but he was taken off life support at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital when doctors said his kidneys were working again.
He died peacefully at home with daughter Martha by his side yesterday. Gerry was one of the biggest stars of the 70s and wrote classic tracks that continued to earn him a fortune. His most famous, Baker Street, still brought him £80,000 a year three decades after its release in 1978.
His Stealers Wheel song Stuck in the Middle With You was used in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 film Reservoir Dogs. Gerry was born in Paisley, near Glasgow. He started playing the guitar and formed the folk band The Humblebums with Billy Connolly. But his career was marred by contract battles and drinking.
In 2008 he “disappeared” for six months but then checked into St Thomas’ hospital, Central London, with liver failure. He left, abandoning his belongings and reappeared when he trashed a hotel room. He later said that he had been living in Tuscany.
Musician and broadcaster Tom Robinson led the tributes saying: “His early work with Stealers Wheel was an inspiration to a whole generation of songwriters, including me. “He will be greatly missed.”
