adminLONDON. – Cancer has devoured some of the greatest musicians of our time, including probably the greatest of them all.
Bob Marley changed lives and inspired the world of music, long after his death at just 36.
Bob died from an acral lentiginous melanoma – a form of skin cancer which had been diagnosed in 1977, spreading from under a nail of his toe.
Bob first discovered the melanoma during a game of football in 1977, when a foot injury seemed unusually bad, and worsened over time. When doctors discovered the cancer, he was advised to have his toe amputated, but refused as his Rastafarian faith considers it a sin to have a part of the body “temple” removed.
He did consent to a skin graft but this didn’t stop the disease spreading throughout his body by the summer of 1980.
Bob died at the Cedars Of Lebanon Hospital on May 11, 1981.
l George Harrison
Guitarist of the Beatles, George Harrison lived a very successful life, musically. He was dogged with cancer for a large portion of his latter years and publicly blamed his smoking habit for the disease. After battling cancer through many different treatments for many years, Harrison lost his battle in 2001.
l Ray Charles
The famous Jazz musician had successful hip replacement surgery but his health began to falter under other ailments. Suffering from acute Liver Cancer, Charles passed away in 2004 at the age of 73 surrounded by his family and friends.
l Johnny Ramone
After an infamous five-year battle with Prostate Cancer, Johnny Ramone passed away at the age of just 55. In 2004, Johnny and his wife, Linda, supervised the erection of his bronze statue in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery where the service of his funeral would later be held.
l David Bowie
The star man himself lost his battle with cancer. Though he kept it quiet, his latest album suggested that death was only impending. He lost his battle on the 11th January, 2016.
l Linda McCartney
A member of The Wings, and wife to former Beatle, Paul McCartney, Linda McCartney was no stranger to fame, or the strange world of Rock ‘n’ Roll. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, but matters worsened when the cancer spread to her liver. She died at the age of 56 in 1998 on the family ranch in Tucson, Arizona.
People of rock that mourned her death at the funeral in London, were George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Billy Joel, Elton John, David Gilmour and Peter Gabriel.
l Carl Wilson
Being a smoker since the age of 13, Wilson was diagnosed with Lung Cancer in early 1997. Ignoring the fact he was severely ill, Wilson continued to perform on The Beach Boys tour which was due to end in the Autumn of 1997. During his chemotherapy, Carl would sit on a stool when performing but stand for the track ‘God Only Knows’. – The Sun/neonnettle.com
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter