William Orbit who produced records for everyone from Madonna to Blur and Robbie Williams, has died, aged 69.
His family confirmed that he passed away at his home on July 23rd.
In a statement, they said:
“We are deeply saddened by his passing. He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music, friendship and kindness.”
One of the first to offer a tribute to him was Mel C, who he worked with on her Northern Star album.
She said it was “such an honour to have worked with this great man.”
Known for his work bringing electronica into the mainstream, it was a different William Orbit who headed to the Manchester International Festival back in 2007 to create a new piece of work for the first festival.
He composed Orchestral Suite, with no synths, but 120 musicians from the BBC Philharmonic and Manchester Chamber Choir.
At the time he said, “people will see my soul”.
During the promotion of the event he added:
“When I first became aware of Manchester was when A Certain Ratio were around. I was living in squat in London and it seemed it was all going on in Manchester.
“For me it wasn’t really punk, it was more like Joy Division who I was really into and that scene. It seems that an awful lot of comes out of Manchester and it’s just one of those hot spots. Like why Jamaica? why Manchester? There are certain places like magnets which draw creativity. And I would love to know why!”
Orbit made his name collaborating with Madonna on the 1998 album, Ray of Light. Going multi-platinum, it won Madonna 3 Grammys.
He’s also behind Blur’s 13, Pure Shores from All Saints and Feel Good Time by Pink.
A trance remix by Ferry Corsten of his electronic remix of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings reached the Top 10 in the UK.
“Today, the world has lost one of music’s true visionaries.
“I had the privilege of working with William Orbit on several occasions, but one collaboration will always mean the world to me: Barber’s Adagio For Strings. That record became a defining moment in my career in 1999 and helped open the door for a whole new generation of electronic interpretations of this timeless masterpiece. I’ll always be grateful that William trusted me with his work and gave me that opportunity.
“He had a truly unique way of looking at music. He never followed the obvious path. He constantly challenged convention, embraced the unexpected, and created sounds that felt years ahead of their time.
“Every time we worked together, I walked away inspired. Not just by his incredible talent, but by his curiosity, his openness, and the fearless way he approached creativity.
“Thank you, William, for your music, your vision, your trust, and your inspiration. You played a much bigger part in my journey than you probably ever realised.
“Rest in peace. Your music and your legacy will continue to inspire generations to come.❤️”
His career started out In his 20s, when he formed an electronic trio, Torch Song, which released 3 albums on the IRS label.
He went on to work on soundtracks, including the Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze movie, Youngblood and produce remixes.
That brought him to the attention of Madonna, who he worked with on Ray of Light, and also produced Beautiful Stranger and her cover of American Pie.
“I will always love that woman,” he said. “She made my career.”
In 1999 he transformed the sound of Blur on 13, as they moved away from Britpop. He also worked with Britney Spears and produced Queen’s There Must Be More to Life Than This, which used archive vocals by Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson.
