Massive Attack, a British band, has announced the passing of guitarist Angelo Bruschini and expressed their deepest sorrow. This depressing news comes after the cancer diagnosis earlier, and many medical professionals sent their best wishes for his courageous battle with the disease.
Tuesday saw the official X account for Massive Attack, formerly known as Twitter, confirm Angelo Bruschini’s passing. They called him an independently gifted and eccentric man in their statement.
The band shared the same monochromatic photo of Angelo Bruschini on Instagram, along with a heartfelt statement about his passing. They expressed their appreciation for the time they had together and said it was hard to gauge his influence on the body of work produced by Massive Attack.
Bruschini’s wife, Jessica shared the news on Facebook
Angelo Bruschini’s wife, Jessica, shared the news of his passing in a Facebook post, revealing that he passed away in the early hours of October 23, 2023, at 12:15 a.m. She mentioned that the cause of his death was a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Angelo Bruschini updated his fans on his lung cancer battle via a Facebook post in July of this year. He wrote in the post that he was unsure of his condition and that he had received well wishes from hospital specialists.
As the future appeared uncertain, he also thought back on his life, the experiences he had, and the people he had met. He also gave the idea of writing a book some thought.
Remembering the Massive Attack legacy
In 1988, Massive Attack was founded as a quartet as a side project. They released an independent song called “Any Love,” which featured singer-songwriter Carlton McCarthy’s falsetto vocals. In 1990, they signed with Circa Records, where they committed to releasing six studio albums as well as a “best of” collection.
Later, Circa Records was a division of Virgin Records, which EMI eventually purchased. Both Jonny Dollar and Cameron McVey co-produced their 1991 album “Blue Lines.”
Their first manager was Cameron McVey (also known as “Booga Bear” at the time). During this time, McVey and his wife Neneh Cherry gave Massive Attack, Portishead, and Tricky a great deal of financial and logistical support for their early careers. They even paid them regular salaries through their company, Cherry Bear.
Together with their trademark sprechgesang-style vocals, Massive Attack added guest vocalists to a sound that became synonymous with a distinctly British approach to creative sampling production. Downtempo hip hop, soul, reggae, and a variety of other eclectic musical and lyrical references came together to create this distinctive sound.
Massive Attack’s debut
The single “Unfinished Sympathy,” from Massive Attack’s 1991 debut album “Blue Lines,” not only charted but also earned a place in an NME poll ranking it as the 63rd greatest song of all time.
Their 1998 album “Mezzanine”—which included the top 10 hit “Teardrop”—and 2003 album “100th Window” both peaked at number one on the UK charts. In addition, Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time includes both “Blue Lines” and “Mezzanine”.
The members of Massive Attack began to operate on their own more during the 1990s. While Andrew Vowles (Mushroom) left the group in late 1999, Adrian “Tricky” Thaws left in 1995. Grant Marshall (Daddy G), although he had initially sided with Robert Del Naja (3D) and had done a webcast together the following year, took a personal leave of absence in 2001.
Later, in 2003 and 2004, Marshall made a comeback to the band for their tours, and in 2005, he went back to work in the studio. In early 2016, Thaws also returned to Massive Attack.
Massive Attack has won multiple music awards during the course of its career, including two MTV Europe Music Awards, two Q Awards, and a Brit Award for Best British Dance Act. Over 13 million copies of their five studio albums have been sold worldwide. The organization has always supported a range of political, human rights, and environmental causes.
