Steve Mackey, bassist for Pulp during his greatest hits era, died Thursday at the age of 56, announced the rock and "
Britpop
" group, which is preparing to reform this year for a tour.
Originally from Sheffield, in the north of England, Steve Mackey had joined Pulp, formed in 1978 and then little known, in 1989 and had participated in the albums
Separations, Different Class
and
His 'n' Hers,
which marked the peak of the band, with hits like
Common People
.
Read alsoThe group Pulp is reforming once again for a series of concerts
The rock group on its official Instagram account, captioning a photo of a musician climbing a mountain in the Andes during a tour of South America in 2012, "
a magical experience
", publicly shared of his sadness: “
Our friend and beloved bassist Steve Mackey passed away this morning.
Steve was someone who made things happen, in his life and for the band, and we'd like to think he's back in those mountains for the next leg of his adventure
."
His wife, stylist Katie Grand, said on the bassist's Instagram account that he died "
after three months in the hospital fighting with strength and determination
".
Pulp live in 2021
After his career with Pulp, whose last album dates back to 2013, he helped produce artists like Florence + the Machine or Arcade Fire.
While the leader of Pulp Jarvis Cocker had recently announced a new tour for festivals next summer, Steve Mackey had indicated that he did not intend to participate, explaining that he wanted to "continue
projects in music, cinema and photography
".