MAGNUM’s Tony Clarkin and the Scorpions’ James Kottak have both died on a dark day for rock and metal.
Clarkin, a guitarist, songwriter and founder of the English ‘pomp-rock’ masters, had been diagnosed late last year with rare spinal disorder and died on January 7 aged 77. Kottak, an American drummer who also served in Kingdom Come, The Cult, Warrant, Dio and Wild Horses among other groups, was 61 when he died yesterday.
Clarkin, from Birmingham, was Magnum’s sole songwriter across 22 studio albums. “It is with profound sadness that daughter Dionne is sharing the news of the passing of Tony Clarkin,” the band said.
Kottak was a headline-grabbing wild man drummer in the best eighties tradition, most famously being arrested in Dubai in 2014 for insulting Islam, raising his middle finger and being intoxicated in transit at Dubai airport.
As we reported, he wrote a book while incarcerated which remains unreleased. Metal Sludge reported that Kottak died in Louisville of cardiac arrest.
The Scorpions described Kottak as “a wonderful human being, a great musician and loving family man”.
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