Kinks bassist fell to his death after all-night TV binge
KINKS guitarist Jim Rodford died when he fell down stairs at his home after watching TV through the night to cope with jet lag, an inquest heard yesterday.
The 76- year- old had just returned from a US tour and had been drinking before he was found by his wife Jean.
He was wearing his dressing gown with his head against a wall on the bend of the stairs.
Mr Rodford played with The Kinks for 18 years until they split in 1996.
He had previously been a founder member of the rock band Argent and was later in The Swinging Blue Jeans. The bassist had just been on a US tour with The Zombies after joining the reunited group in 2004.
His family told the coroner that he would deal with jet leg by watching sports on television, sometimes through the night.
When his body was found at his home in St Albans, Hertfordshire, the bassist had two small cuts as well as bruising and fractures to the back of his skull.
PC Holly Bird, who was sent to the scene on January 20, described how a doctor examined him.
‘We turned him over, the doctor said she could feel the fractures on the back of his head and she had a small amount of blood on her gloves,’ she said.
A toxicology report revealed Mr Rodford was more than twice the drink-drive limit. He had 239 milligrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood while the limit is 80.
One of his relatives told the hearing: ‘He was very fit. It would be fair to say that he would get up and read or watch sports on TV if he was jet-lagged.
‘He would probably have a couple of drinks with it as well. He had been playing concerts just a few days before.’
Coroner Geoffrey Sullivan recorded a conclusion of accidental death, saying that it was most likely the musician had simply slipped on the stairs.
At the hearing in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, he said: ‘On Friday January 19 Mr Rodford’s wife went to bed as usual at around midnight.
‘The following morning she woke up to find Mr Rodford lying deceased on the bend of the stairs.
‘His head was against the wall and his legs pointed to the top of the stairs. The injuries he sustained were consistent with him hitting his head.
‘The house was secure and there was nothing other than the head injury found on him and there does not appear to be anything suspicious about the death.
‘He was jet-lagged and had been watching the telly and had had a few drinks.
‘Sadly he had some sort of slip or trip and fell and sadly sustained this head injury which led to his death.’
A post- mortem examination found the cause of death was heart failure in his left ventricle caused by the head injuries combined with alcohol intoxication. Paying tribute after his death, the band’s frontman Ray Davies had said: ‘Jim helped the unit. He was part of the engine of The Kinks. And he’ll be greatly missed.’
Four months before he died, Mr Rodford, whose full name was Walter James Rodford, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree at the University of Hertfordshire.
‘Watched sports if he was jet-lagged ’