Skid Row singer Johnny Solinger dead at 55

Former Skid Row vocalist Johnny Solinger, who fronted the pioneering metal act for 15 years, has died age 55.

Solinger passed away following a battle with liver failure. The musician revealed last month that he was recieving treatment for the condition in hospital.  “It is with a heavy heart I must let everyone know what’s going on with me and my health. I have been hospitalised for over the last month,” he wrote in a Facebook post on May 8th.

“I have been diagnosed with liver failure. And prognosis is not so good. As with most musicians I do not have health insurance and it’s very difficult to get proper care without it.”

In a statement, Solinger’s former Skid Row bandmates released a statement, confirming his death. “We are saddened to hear the news of our brother Johnny Solinger,” the band wrote on.“Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fans. Godspeed Singo. Say hello to Scrappy for us.”

Solinger fronted Skid Row following Sebastian Bach’s departure from the band in 1996. He sang on the band’s two most recent records, 2003’s Thickskin, and 2006’s Revolutions Per Minute. His tenure as vocalist was the longest in Skid Row’s 35-year history. He left the band in 2015.

“The past 15 years has been a great experience and I have appreciated the opportunity to be the lead singer in one of the most prominent bands of the 1990s and share stages with the likes of Aerosmith, Bon Jovi and Kiss, performing in front of millions throughout the world,” Solinger said at the time of his departure.

“A good man with a good soul taken way too soon. Thank you Johnny for everything you gave us. God bless you and your family,” Skid Row’s Dave “Snake” Sabo tweeted Sunday morning.

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