“Big” John Harte Died: What Was His Cause Of Death?

Bodyguard “Big” John Harte, known for guarding the likes of KISS, Iron Maiden and Prince, passed away last Friday, the 11th, at the age of 70.

Harte had a dream of becoming a rock musician, but the band he played drums and percussion for didn’t last long ( Facebook ). His luck changed after a stint as a bouncer at a Grateful Dead show, where he says he was noticed for being “big, wearing denim and black, looking tough with my biker mustache, and knowing how to handle a rebellious crowd.”

Richie Faulkner, the guitarist for Judas Priest, was surprised by revealing that he is producing a solo album and is in the process of signing a contract with a record label.

“I haven’t really talked much about it publicly, but there’s something I’ve been working on during the COVID period. I mean, I know we’re still going through it, but there’s been a lot of downtimes. So I’ve used that time to put together some songs that I’ve been working on, put them together, polish them, bring together some people that I respect in the music business, and record some stuff. It’s in the process of being finalized and we’re looking at deals and stuff. We’re looking at record labels, so I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself.”

Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and the official KISS social media account made a point of honoring John Harte and offering their condolences. The cause of death has not yet been confirmed.

 

When asked if the album will feature guest musicians or be presented as a full solo effort, Richie said, “Well, I’ve always liked the band. It’s never been like RICHIE FAULKNER’S RAINBOW or anything like that. I’ve always been in the band, with the band name and the four or five guys or girls instead of a solo project. But also, when I joined PRIEST, I didn’t want to be a part of the concerts and immediately, ‘Oh, now listen to my solo song. PRIEST, they welcomed me, they gave me a voice, they gave me an opinion and I felt like this was my band. They made me part of it and I gave them a thousand percent back. So I didn’t. I want to do my thing and take advantage of that opportunity if you know what I mean. But after 10 or 11 years, I feel like the fans know that I’m not going to abuse that opportunity. I’ve given 10, 11, almost 12 years [until PRIEST] now, so I felt like, with the pandemic as well, with a little bit of downtime, maybe I put something into it.”

As for the musical direction of his solo album, Faulkner said, “Style-wise, it’s always hard to say, really. You just do what you do. You can hear where the roots are, from PRIEST, but I think it’s different.” enough to be his own monster. And then hopefully someone else will interpret it his way and hear something completely different than what I hear, hopefully.”

Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.

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