Terence Wilson, one of the earliest members of the British reggae pop band UB40, has died after a short illness. He was known to friends and fans as Astro—a nickname he picked up wearing Doc Martens Astronaut boots. Astro joined UB40 in 1979, before they started cranking out number one hits. He left to rejoin founding member Ali Campbell’s new version of the group in 2013, the BBC reports. That band confirmed his death on its official Twitter page. “We are absolutely devastated and completely heartbroken to have to tell you that our beloved Astro has today passed away after a very short illness. The world will never be the same without him. We ask you to please respect his family’s privacy at this incredibly difficult time,” the band tweeted.

The other UB40 lineup tweeted their condolences, too. They lost founding member Brian Travers to brain cancer this summer.

UB40's Astro Dead at 64
The British performer helped bring reggae to the mainstream (Newser.com)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-11-08 20:11 by bv.

Very sad news.

Comes from my home town and was a big supporter of my football team, used to bump into him at some away games.

Really decent guy and had no air or graces, despite his job & kept to his roots.

RIP Astro

RIP

Oh no. I regret not seeing him. I have a live recording on cassette and love it.

Saw them a few times and it was always fun. He added so much to the music. Loved his vocal breaks and accents. He was as much a part of the original sound as Ali was. An all around fun band…as Astro would say, just tell it like it is