John Gosling, Former Keyboardist for The Kinks, Dies at 75

John Gosling, former keyboardist for British rock band The Kinks, has died at the age of 75. The news was confirmed by the band on their official Instagram account.

The band shared a video of Gosling and captioned it, “We are deeply saddened by the news of the passing of John Gosling. We are sending our condolences to John’s wife and family.” Each member of The Kinks also included his own message in memoriam.

Ray and Dave Davies founded the band in the 1960s and brought Gosling on board in 1970. Ray said of Gosling, “Condolences to his wife, Theresa, and family. Rest in peace dearest John.”

Dave added, “I’m dismayed, deeply upset by John Gosling’s passing. He has been a friend and important contributor to the Kinks’ music during his time with us. Deepest sympathies to his wife and family. I will hold deep affection and love for him in my heart always. Great musician and a great man.”

Mick Avory, drummer for The Kinks, also commented, “Today we lost a dear friend and colleague, he was a great musician and had a fantastic sense of humour … which made him a popular member of the band, he leaves us with some happy memories. God bless him.”

According to The Guardian, Gosling eventually left the group and was replaced by Gordon Edwards, then Ian Gibbons. In the 1990s, Gosling was one of the founding members of Kast Off Kinks, which included other former members of The Kinks: Avory, Jim Redford, and Jon Dalton.

Gosling later explained that his departure from The Kinks wasn’t entirely spontaneous, yet not fully planned. As he put it, “It was both, if that sounds strange. There is an old saying that negativity breeds negativity. I had been planning to leave for some time, and forming the band with Andy provided the means. It was also a chance to try out some of my own musical ideas.”

Gosling continued, “We got a publishing deal and wrote and recorded an album for Phonogram Records. We had some great musicians in that band at various times. We rehearsed and held auditions at The Bridge House pub in Canning Town (which also had its own record label) and also gigged there a few times. It was exhilarating — like starting over. But Ray somehow found out and started giving me a hard time during my last overdub session for Misfits. We had a row and I walked out.”

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