Ferry left ‘saddened and shocked’ after his ex-wife Lucy dies aged 58

Bryan Ferry has said he is “saddened and shocked” by the death of his former wife Lucy Birley at the age of 58.

The former model and society heiress died on holiday in Ireland on Monday.

The Roxy Music frontman wrote on Twitter: “I’m much saddened and shocked by this tragic news of Lucy’s death. The family request that our privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

A statement on behalf of Birley’s husband Robin Birley and her children with Ferry said: “On Monday Lucy Birley (nee Helmore) passed away whilst on holiday in Ireland, surrounded by her beloved dogs, Daisy, Peg and Daphne.

“Her husband Robin, and her sons – Otis, Isaac, Tara and Merlin – are understandably devastated and request that their privacy be respected during this difficult time.”

No further comment will be given, a family spokesman said.

Birley and Ferry married in 1982 and were divorced in 2003.

Birley married businessman Robin, who is the son of Lady Annabel Goldsmith and nightclub owner Mark Birley, in 2006. In 2011, she told The Guardian that she retreated from public life following the breakdown of her 21-year marriage to Ferry and for other personal reasons, including the furore around their son Otis’s storming of the Commons chambers to protest against the fox hunting ban.

She said: “My family’s attitude to the press and publicity was very much that it was frowned upon.

“That affected me when I got married to Bryan. I didn’t want to reveal myself.”

Lucy Birley died while on holiday in Ireland.