Tony Thompson: R.I.P.

:`-(

Fuck, I didn't even know Bernard had died. RIP both of them.

Ok, hold on. I have no idea what's going on now. The person who's my contact is usually a reliable source, but I don't know what's happening because the first page I linked to on the original post is gone and I'm not seeing a link to it on the news page I was pulling it from.

I'm hoping this was premature, but still, Tony Thompson has been suffering from kidney cancer and that is a certainty, so... ack. I'm going to feel like a right fool (relieved, but a right fool) if this turns out to be premature.

btw, yes, Bernard did pass away sometime in mid - late 1997 IIRC -- it was around the time the Power Station was working on Living In Fear, I think. But yes, that is certain.

God, I'm going to feel truly foolish if this turned out to be a hack job thing. This thread on the official site quotes the news blurb as it originally was posted, so others did see this and were convinced of this. The person whom I'm chatting with now is making the supposition that maybe the news blurb was withdrawn "because the family didn't want the information released yet".

I'm going to have to check other sources. I feel so terrible now, just rushing in and posting without waiting a bit. I hope some helpful moderator being can help me out here with at least the thread title.

Oh I wouldn't have really noticed in 1997, I guess. Still, bummer.

Bernard actually died in summer '96. I remember finding out about it then--I was on my way to a friend's house, and I was pretty gutted--I was/am a HUGE Chic fan. This is really sad.

Thank you for clarifying that for me, M. I guess I just thought 1997 because that's when I found out -- you know, though, I *did* find out NOT in late '97 or anything but rather in about March of '97, after reading a newsletter from an archive I was slowly working my way around. Eek. My memory is quite crap, as you've found out.

God, guys, I am going to be so apologetic here if this turns out to not be true. I'm already feeling miserable for just rushing in and posting without getting more reliable sources to confirm.

Hi. My name is Alina. Just posting a note that I was the one Pancakes (Dee) was talking with. There was some confusion because the notice of Tony's passing posted on duranduran.com's news page was taken down for some reason. I talked with another person who knows Nile Rodgers (and hence the reference on his website), and the news is true. Why it was taken down from the dd.com news page we're still scratching our heads, but think maybe the band (andy & john in particular) wanted to do something a bit more fitting to tony.

in case anyone wonders why it hasn't made it to news wires yet, it usually takes this stuff a while to filter through to the various news agencies.

:'-(

This has upset me. Not only was I a very big Chic fan, but I regarded Tony Thompson as one of my two or three all-time favourite drummers (behind Al Jackson, somewhere on a level with Keith Moon). I shall listen to Good Times when I get home, as that may be not only his best drumming but maybe the funkiest, sexiest drumming by anyone ever.

Any further update? Very much a bummer and a half and then some.