Zaheera Blake
Monday, October 20, 2014
Veteran reggae star and lovers rock pioneer John Holt has died in a London hospital, aged 67.
News of the Jamaican singer’s death came on 19 October from Copeland Forbes, Holt’s manager since 2006, who confirmed his death to Jamaica Observer Online. “John died at 2:40am English time. His [John’s] nephew informed [us] of his death.” The cause of Holt’s death has yet to be confirmed.
Holt had been ill for a while now. He collapsed on stage at the One Love Concert in in Springfield on August 16, after which he underwent a surgical operation and remained in London for recovery.
It is not known what caused the Jamaican singer to collapse, but many believe he returned to the stage too soon after his operation.
"I just think he went back to performing too early,” Frankie Campbell, chairman of the Jamaica Association of Vintage Artistes and Affiliates (JAVAA), said. “We don't want to lose anybody else at this point in Jamaican music - certainly, not Holt."
"John has been extensively touring and we want him to continue spreading the music," he said.
The singer, full name John Kenneth Holt, came to prominence as lead singer of the group The Paragons before leaving to focus on his solo career in the 1970s.
As a member of The Paragons in the 1960s, Holt wrote The Tide Is High, the song rose to prominence in the 1980s with Blondie’s cover.
His song Stick by Me, was perhaps Holt's biggest success, and in 1972, it went on to become the biggest selling Jamaican record for that year.
