Nicky Moore dead: Samson lead singer was in his 70s

Samson lead singer and heavy metal pioneer Nicky Moore has died (pictured above, far left). It was believed he was in his seventies.

Moore’s death was confirmed on his official Facebook page, which said he died Wednesday morning. According to rock website Louder, he had been living with Parkinson’s disease.

“It is with great sadness and an almost unbearably heavy heart that we must announce to you all that Nicky – a man larger than life in body and spirit – sadly passed away this morning,” the statement read. “A man who has lived a thousand lifetimes in one has decided he needs a break. Farewell, dear friend. We will all miss you x”

Moore was born on June 21, 1947 in Devon, UK. He began his musical career as a choirboy before moving on to rock and eventually heavy metal. He co-founded the band Hackensack in the early 1970s before joining Tiger and, most famously, Samson in 1981 as lead singer. Moore replaced Bruce Dickinson, who had left the band to join Iron Maiden.

By the late 1980s, Moore had also left the band before rejoining in the following decade. He also formed another band in the 1990s, Nicky Moore and the Blues Corporation, which was voted Best Live Blues Band by BBC Radio 2 listeners in 2000.

In addition to his own music, Moore has worked as a vocal coach and appeared in the 1998 BBC docu-soup Lakesiders, in which he presented his vocal work. He also wrote jingles and did voice work for brands like the BBC.

The singer famously once performed after a car accident that left him with two broken ribs. “People pay money to come to you, you don’t let them down, and if there’s a way I can sing, whether it’s with two broken ribs or a fallen arm, or if I have the flu or whatever always have – if I can sing, I won’t let them down,” he said in an interview. “I think people have known this for years – you can count on one hand the number of gigs I’ve had to miss over the last few years. I tried as hard as I could to make it.”

Among those paying tribute to the singer was director Jonas Akerlund, who posted “RIP” on Instagram in 1982 alongside a photo of Moore at the Marquee Club in London with Dickinson and Frederick Melander of Swedish black metal band Bathory.

Moore is survived by his sons, Nick Jr. and Timmy.