Hawkwind co-founder and saxophonist Nik Turner has died aged 82

Hawkwind

Hawkwind co-founder and saxophonist Nik Turner has died aged 82.

In a post on his Facebook page, a spokesperson for the musician revealed that he died peacefully at home on Thursday evening (November 10).

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Nik Turner – The Mighty Thunder Rider, who passed away peacefully at home on Thursday evening,” the post read.

“He has moved onto the next phase of his Cosmic Journey, guided by the love of his family, friends and fans. Watch this space for his arrangements.”

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Nik Turner – The Mighty Thunder Rider, who passed away peacefully at…

Posted by Nik Turner on Friday, November 11, 2022

Turner founded Hawkwind alongside Dave Brock, Mick Slattery, John Harrison and Terry Ollis, initially performing roadie duties with the band before officially joining as a full-time member in 1969.

He performed with the space rock pioneers until 1976, including a period with a pre-Motörhead Lemmy also in the band, before being kicked out. He then returned in 1982 for a two-year stint before leaving once again.

In the wake of Turner’s death, tributes have been pouring in online, with Motörhead’s official Twitter account writing: “We lost Lemmy’s old bandmate Nik Turner today. Play some Hawkwind nice and loud! Brainstorm here we go!”

Others to pay tribute included Anton Newcombe of The Brian Jonestown Massacre. See a range of tributes to Nik Turner below.

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