Gary Dwyer, a veteran drummer and founding member of the influential Liverpool ‘80s post-punk outfit The Teardrop Explodes, has passed away after a battle with leukemia.
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The Teardrop Explodes keyboardist David Balfe shared the sad news in a statement on Facebook.
“It is with enormous sadness that I must pass on the news that my wonderful friend of nearly fifty years, Gary Dwyer, Teardrop Explodes drummer and very special man, passed away last night. He’d been fighting Leukaemia for nearly two years,” Balfe wrote next to a throwback shot with Dwyer.
The Teardrop Explodes formed in 1978 and enjoyed mainstream success in the 1980s, with their single “Reward” being a hit in the UK. Dwyer remained part of the band’s lineup for years to come.
“We’d stayed in touch and met often over the decades,” Balfe continued. “I saw him last in Liverpool just a few weeks ago, over breakfast in Bold St. He was going through a good patch in his roller-coaster medical battle. We laughed often. Even when I spoke to him last on the phone about ten days ago, he was still in high spirits. Though his body was slowly giving up and he knew he was approaching the end. One advantage of the last couple of years was that it had allowed him the time to come to peaceful terms with the inevitable outcome.”
“I could write about his extraordinary personality and sense of humour for hours, but I’m too sad to do so now. Maybe soon,” Balfe concluded.
Tributes Pour in for The Teardrop Explodes Drummer Gary Dwyer
Tributes poured in for Dwyer as news of this death spread.
“We are so very sad to have heard about the passing of Gary Dwyer,” Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, post-punk contemporaries of The Teardrop Explodes, wrote. “He was the drum Colossus of The Teardrop Explodes and one of the original Eric’s regulars. Our condolences to all of his family and friends.”
Film director Peyton Reed also paid tribute to the prolific drummer in a heartfelt Instagram post.
“The great Gary Dwyer has passed on,” the Ant-Man director wrote alongside a shot of Dwyer’s drum kit. “His drumming with The Teardrop Explodes, on Julian Cope’s first solo record, and briefly with The Colourfield has always inspired me. Such power, precision, and sheer groove. Rest In Peace.”
Dwyer was 66.