<Archive Obituary> James Honeyman-Scott (June 15th 1982)

[Bill Schenley]

British Rock Star Dies

Photo:
http://www.dantzig.com/hamerhist/artist_image/pretenders_001.jpg

FROM: The Associated Press (June 17th 1982) ~

James Honeyman-Scott, 25-year-old British guitarist with the
Pretenders rock band, has been found dead in a friend's
apartment in the Notting Hill district of West London, WEA
Records spokeswoman Moira Bellas said today.

She said Honeyman-Scott, a founding member of one of
Britain's top bands, "died in his sleep early Wednesday
morning and the cause of death is not yet known."

An autopsy was conducted.

Honeyman-Scott, a former guitar salesman, died a few hours
after the four-member Pretenders had played at a charity
show in London's Venue Club to aid victims of multiple
sclerosis.

"He left the club in great spirits and appeared to be in
perfect health," Ms. Bellas said.

The band's singer, Chrissie Hynde, an American from Ohio,
said she was "shocked" but declined further comment.

Honeyman-Scott's American wife, Peggy Sue, a 23-year-old
model, was scheduled to fly to London today from her family
home in Austin, Tex. The couple married less than a year
ago.

Honeyman-Scott returned to London Sunday from a two-month
vacation in the United States with his wife.

The Pretenders have had a string of hits since the band was
formed in 1978. One of the biggest, "Brass In Pocket," was
co-written by Honeyman-Scott and Ms. Hynde.

Ironically, their latest single was titled "I Go To Sleep."

The band, nominated for three Grammys by the National
Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences last year, recently
completed a U.S. tour, and was to start work soon on a
fourth album.
---
Photo:

(The Pretenders)
http://www.cathedralstone.net/Pics/ThePretenders.jpg

[Bill Schenley]

CORRECTION: DoD was June 16th 1982.

[sf37...@gmail.com]

Hi,

JHS was married a little over a year to his wife. Also, I'm not sure that the entire Pretenders band played at the MS benefit.

Thanks!

[1800nof...@gmail.com]

Actually I understood that he had gone to watch the show and then engaged in some hard partying with a female "friend". He did not die at his home in London and in fact the exact location of where he did die has never been publicly stated.

[michelle]

Thnaks for responding. I did not see your response until now, so I apologize for my delay. Yes, I also heard from people who were with him that he was "partying hard" with a girl who was not his wife, and that he died in her apartment later that night. Her name, as far as I know, was never released, and I guess rightly so. Just as an aside, I also heard through the grapevine, so to speak, that his wife was staying with a male friend in Austin when her husband was also in Austin- the world of Rock and Roll is unkind to long-term relationships.
--
michelle