R.I.P. Steve Lee

[Captain Howdy]

While the obvious grief that everyone is experiencing is the most important thing right now, you also have to think how badly this is gonna affect his fellow band members.

Not only have they lost someone who was a friend (probably closer than just friends considering the years they have worked together), but they have also lost the focal point of the band and potentially their career.

 

Those guys wont obviously be thinking of it now, but soon they will probably start to realise that Gotthard may be finished as well, as its gonna be incredibly tough for them to replace Steve, even if they wanted to that is.

 

My heart goes out to them for their loss as this is going to hit them on so many levels.

[crazynights]

It's so sad to read this bad new.

Last time I saw Gotthard in Italy, I was lucky enough to talk and take a picture with him , He was very nice with us(He spoke Italian perfectly) .

A sad day for my favorite music.

RIP Steve.

[Gringo]

Man, this totally sucks. One of my favorite bands of all time, and an incredible singer! He will be sorely missed. :-(

[metaltrekman]

A tragic loss for many many people. His voice will be missed by millions of melodic rockers!! Only 46, a real tragedy for such a stupid accident. R.I.P. Steve.

[exact3]

This is sad news indeed. He was one of my favs too.

[Mullethead]

Official from their website...

 

Dear Fans and Friends, the inconceivable is tragic reality – Steve Lee was killed in an accident yesterday

Steve was killed accidentally during a motorcycle trip in the USA on Interstate 15 between Mesquite and Las Vegas and died at the scene.

 

The GOTTHARD singer had flown to the U.S. with some biker friends just this weekend to fulfil a long-cherished dream for which he’d never had the time, due to his heavy touring schedule for many years. It was to be two weeks through the states on a Harley Davidson. The 21 Swiss bikers started their journey on Sunday on a total of 12 motorcycles. On Tuesday 5 October, about 50 miles from Las Vegas, the group had stopped at the roadside to put on their rain gear as it had started to rain. On the slippery road, the trailer of a passing truck began to skid. The driver attempted evasive action but his trailer clipped five of the motorcycles parked at the roadside; one of them hit Steve Lee. Rescue services attempted resuscitation but efforts were stopped after 20 minutes. At 16:13 local time, Steve Lee was pronounced dead.

Among the passengers were bassist Marc Lynn and Steve’s partner Brigitte Voss Balzarini. All other fellow riders were unharmed. Steve Lee was 47 years old.

 

With Steve Lee, we not only lose one of the world's best rock voices but also a good friend who due to his sensitivity and down-to-earth personality always met the people around him with respect.

 

It will take some time till we fully understand what has happened.

 

Our heartfelt thoughts are with his family.

[Geoff]

thats totally gutting.

I only got Need to believe in the post yesterday, so this is kinda eerie.

of all the rock stars that have come & gone, this one hurts the worst

Yep, I have to totally agree. Every passing of someone this young is sad and the last thing I would wish to put accross is that anyone's passing is less significant than another's, but for me personally I'd have to say this one is the saddest music-associated for me.

 

The fact that Steve was an integral and unreplaceable part of an extremely relevant and current band, still at the prime of their career and creating excellent music - imo releasing their best album yet only a couple of years ago in 'Domino Effect' - it's just devestating. There is every chance in the world they still had their best music in them. And there is no doubt at all that they still had excellent music to release. Steve's death and the realisation that Gotthard will never be the real Gotthard again... it's so sad.

 

R.I.P Steve, and thanks for all the excellent music you leave behind.

[Guest alex68]

From the Swiss Television website:

 

"Gotthard & Friends" - Unplugged Concert in Locarno, Switzerland 1997

 

I hope you enjoy it.

[Captain Howdy]

Photos of GOTTHARD singer Steve Lee's final resting place have posted at Blick.ch. The urn containing Lee's ashes was placed in a cemetery in his hometown of Porza, Ticino on October 21. The funeral was an intimate gathering, with only close friends and family in attendence, including Steve's parents (who flew in from Spain), his sister Karin Nicholls and family, Steve's girlfriend Brigitte Voss-Balzarini, the surviving members of GOTTHARD and a handful of friends and neighbors.

 

Lee was killed on October 5 in what has been described as a freak road accident in Nevada.

 

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

 

Steve, who had a British father and Swiss mother, was 47 years old.

 

Last Sunday, the official funeral service for the GOTTHARD frontman was held at the top of the Gotthard mountain. In spite of the freezing temperatures, more than 3,000 people came to pay their last respects to Steve Lee. Among them were all the surviving GOTTHARD bandmembers, Lee's girlfriend Brigitte Voss-Balzarini and his sister as well as all GOTTHARD business associates, such as technicians, crew, and representatives from the group's management, label and promotion.

 

In the memorial tent, mourners could place candles and flowers and say goodbye to Steve to the sound of Native Indian music - the same music that Steve avidly listened to while visiting a camp of the Indian Shoshone tribe just one day before his death in the USA. At 1:00 p.m. the eulogy was held in Italian and German by two monks of the Gotthard hospice.

 

In Swiss history the term "Gotthard" has always stood for the uniting of the south, north, east and west and therefore would have a very special status for all, the monks said. Yet it also represents an "onward journey" and "stopover." The speech ended with a performance of the song "One Life One Soul" as a duet with opera diva Montserrat Caballé.

 

Lee's tragic death has triggered a record demand for GOTTHARD albums in the band's native country of Switzerland. For the first time in the history of the Swiss chart, 13 albums from one artist - representing all the LPs that GOTTHARD has released so far in its career - simultaneously appear in the Top 100. The Swiss single charts were also affected, with "Heaven" making it to the top of the chart and "One Life One Soul" at No. 4. In total, nine GOTTHARD singles can currently be found on the chart.

 

Formed in 1990, GOTTHARD's last 11 albums all charted at No. 1 in Switzerland. The band's latest CD, "Need To Believe", was certified platinum in the group's home country for sales in excess of 30,000 copies.

 

GOTTHARD was presented with the platinum-award plaques on January 9, 2010 at the "Swiss Awards 2009", which also included the TV premiere of the band's radio single, "Don't Let Me Down".

 

"Need To Believe" was released on September 4, 2009 via Nuclear Blast Records.

[manicego]

Been listening to a lot of Gotthard the past few days ... I remember seeing them play at the Foundations Forum conference back in 1992, I think it was. They blew the roof off that place and I was pretty convinced that they were gonna do pretty big business in the States but, nope, RCA didn't see it that way, choosing not to sign the band over here.

 

Steve was a complete rockstar, the total package ... and when he got off stage, the nicest guy you could ever hope to meet. I only got to speak to him for a few minutes but he left a great impression.

[heaven&hell]

I just picked up most of the Gotthard back catalogue that I was missing and have been playing them the last few days. It sure is astonishing how different these guys sounded album to album. Even the first three discs that most consider their best all kind of have a different sound from each other.

 

It's a shame that these guys weren't signed in the states and given a chance to be successful here.

[Geoff]

I just picked up most of the Gotthard back catalogue that I was missing and have been playing them the last few days. It sure is astonishing how different these guys sounded album to album. Even the first three discs that most consider their best all kind of have a different sound from each other.

 

It's a shame that these guys weren't signed in the states and given a chance to be successful here.

Of the 'Homerun' disc, I used to make tapes and compilations of the "current" bands I listened to at the time that was released. These comps were pretty much 100% modern stuff that I could play in the car with other people, but I always squeezed on a few songs from 'Homerun' as I truly believe that album had legitimate radio potential given the right push, especially 'Everything Can Change.' Truly a sin of mankind that they never got a shot.

[fireforce]

R.I.P. Steve Lee, as I always say, another star in Rock N' Roll Heaven

[Ali Rock]

R.I.P. Steve. I was nearly in tears when I heard the news. I was really stunned. For me Steve was one of the best singer of our time in the melodic rock scene. I will miss him greatly. I'm glad I saw him on stage three times. He was fantastic on stage. Lipservice has got many spins in the cd-player lately.