Ian Gibbons

July 18, 1952 – August 1, 2019

Sir Ray Davies, Dave Davies and Mick Avory of The Kinks have paid tribute to their former bandmate following his death from bladder cancer at the age of 67. Keyboard player and accordion player Gibbons was a part of The Kinks from 1979 until 1989, returning in 1993 before leaving in 1996, and performed on such staples as Come Dancing, State Of Confusion, Better Things, Don’t Forget To Dance, Destroyer, Living On A Thin Line and Do It Again.

Sir Ray remembered Gibbons’s audition for the band: “He only played a few chords before I knew he was the right guy, with the voicing, to musically slot in between the other members of the band, and with The Kinks that took some doing.”

Dave Davies described Gibbons as “a great professional [with] a positive attitude to being on the road and recording”, while Avory rued: “It’s so sad he had to go so quickly before anyone could say goodbye.” As well as spells with the Nashville Teens and the Love Affair, Gibbons also played with artists including Ian Hunter, Sweet, Suzi Quatro, Roger Chapman, Ken Hensley, Samson, Dr Feelgood, Randy California, Chris Farlowe and Maggie Bell.