THE BRAIN - REA
"John McGeoch, inventive and influential guitarist for post-punk luminaries Magazine, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Public Image Limited, passed away in his sleep on March 5th aged 48. Having met Howard Devoto in 1977 as he was departing the Buzzcocks, McGeoch became a founding member of Magazine and many memorable riffs are featured on their first three albums Real Life, Secondhand Daylight and The Correct Use of Soap. By 1980 he was moonlighting with Visage and Siouxsie and the Banshees and went on to largely affect three of the latter's most lauded albums, Kaleidoscope, Juju and Kiss In The Dream House. In late 1982 McGeoch suffered a breakdown and was subsequently hospitalized and replaced in the Banshees by The Cure's Robert Smith. In the mid-80s he formed The Armoury Show with ex-members of The Skids, appeared on two solo debuts (Peter Murphy's Should The World Fail To Fall Apart and Matthew Sweet's Inside) and, finally, joined Public Image Limited. He became their longest serving member barring John Lydon and helped to re-invent Pil into a 'rock' band with Happy?, 9 and That What Is Not. By 1993 Pil dissipated and McGeoch returned to England from Los Angeles where he continued making music in various low key or unfinished projects. In 1995 he became a qualified nurse but chose not to follow the profession and lately had been writing music for television. John McGeoch is survived by partner Sophie and daughter Emily."
