Delays Frontman Greg Gilbert Dies at 44

Greg Gilbert, who fronted the UK indie rock group Delays, has died at the age of 44, The Guardian reports. Gilbert had been diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016. His brother and bandmate Aaron announced the news of Greg’s death earlier today (September 30). “This afternoon at 2:22; we walked my brother back home to somewhere out there in the ether,” he wrote. “Greg died surrounded in the endless love that us & all of you have given him on this journey.” You can find his full tribute below.

Greg and Aaron formed Delays in Southampton in the early 2000s. Though they went through a few name changes (first they were called Corky, then Idoru), the band’s debut full-length Faded Seaside Glamour arrived in 2004 under the Delays moniker. They issued three more albums as a group: You See Colours (2005), Everything’s the Rush (2008), and Star Tiger Star Ariel (2010).

After Gilbert was diagnosed with bowel cancer (which eventually spread to his lungs), he began focusing on the calmer practices of sketching and writing poetry. Gilbert had studied at Winchester Art School prior to his tenure in Delays, and he drew almost every day following his diagnosis. His work was eventually shown at Southampton City Art Gallery, while some of his poetry was selected for publication by Carol Ann Duffy as part of her Laureate’s Choice series.

In his statement, Aaron Gilbert added that he’s been “so lucky to have had a brother to carve out such impossibly beautiful moments with, and to show [him] the true meaning of grace, courage and strength.” Gilbert continued: “He is, & always will be in our melodies, & in all the breaths in between, he's is in every brush stroke and every piece of art that his mind gave light to.”