Ray Majors and Sandy Dillon

July 16, 1949 – August 2022

ALTHOUGH DETAILS WERE scarce at press time, guitarist Ray Majors has passed away, together with his singer-songwriter partner Sandy Dillon.

Born on July 16, 1949, Ray played guitar first with Opal Butterf ly and then Hackensack, Mott and that band’s spin-off British Lions, and the Yardbirds associated group Box Of Frogs. He toured with John Coghlan’s Diesel Band and played on that band’s only album, Partners In Crime.

Sandy Dillon was born in Massachusetts in 1960. Her career began when she was signed by David Bowie’s former manager, Tony DeFreis, who spotted her playing Janis Joplin on Broadway. From 1995 she released several albums, the final one being Shipwrecked in 2013.

News of the pair’s deaths was announced by Majors’ son Carl Shaw, who posted on Facebook: “Ray and Sandy have never been far apart, they passed on within days of each other, and receiving the phone call about this was a heavy burden. But the one positive thing I can see is that they went together.”

Former Mott The Hoople/Mott keyboard player Morgan Fisher said: “How you both suddenly left we don’t yet know, but I miss you both terribly.”