Phil May, lead singer and frontman of British rock band The Pretty things, has died at 75 years of age. A statement from the band’s management confirmed May passed away following complications after hip surgery.

May ended up in Kings Lynn hospital after falling off a bike earlier this week and injuring his hip. His death was not related to coronavirus.

The Pretty Things were formed in 1963 by May and Dick Taylor, formerly of The Rolling Stones. Others to join the band would go on to include John Stax, Viv Andrews and Brian Pendleton.

They were considered by many to be a key protagonist in the rise of the blues-rock scene in London, while The Pretty Things also included elements of pop and psychedelic in their music. While not receiving the critical acclaim or fame as some of their UK rock contemporaries, The Pretty Things were publicly loved by Aerosmith and David Bowie.

Bowie covered Pretty Things songs including ‘Rosalyn’ and ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ on Pin Ups, and notable wrote tribute songs ‘Oh! You Pretty Things’ and ‘The Pretty Things Are Going To Hell’.

As Pitchfork notes, their biggest hits came with ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ which reached #10 on the UK Charts in 1964, while ‘Honey I Need’ which made it to #13 and ‘Cry To Me’ cracked the Top 30 in the years that followed. Their album S. F. Sorrow is widely thought of as the first-ever rock opera.

May’s last live show took place in December of 2018 at The O2 in London.

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Tributes have been pouring in from around the world of music.

“Very sad news, he was a very talented guy and he will be sorely missed. I’m shocked,” said Kinks guitarist, Dave Davies.

Blur’s Graham Coxon tweeted a link to ‘Cries From The Midnight Circus’ by The Pretty Things.

Check out ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ by The Pretty Things:

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