Get the latest gossip

Cult folk singer Bill Fay, writer of The Healing Day, dies aged 81

Songs by the reluctant live performer have been covered by the War on Drugs, Wilco, Pavement and Marc Almond

In a statement on Instagram, Dead Oceans said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bill Fay, who died peacefully this morning [Saturday] in London, aged 81. It continued: “For now, we remember Bill’s legacy as the ‘man in the corner of the room at the piano’, who quietly wrote heartfelt songs that touched and connected with people around the world.” Starting his career in 1967, Fay’s self-titled debut in 1970 and its follow-up, Time of the Last Persecution (1971), had limited commercial success, but his work was rediscovered in the 1990s, when the albums were reissued, and he became a cult figure.

Get the Android app