For Against vocalist Jeffrey Runnings dead at 61
Jeffrey Runnings, the bassist and vocalist with post-punk band For Against, has died aged 61 following a battle with cancer.
Last year, it was revealed that Runnings had been diagnosed with stage four cancer, which sadly took his life. His death was confirmed by Independent Project Records founder and co-owner Bruce Licher, who said in a statement, “Jeffrey Runnings was not only a good friend and an outstanding musician and songwriter, but someone whose life revolved around music.”
Licher continued: “Jeff was always enthusiastically sharing music that he thought his friends would enjoy, and for years he would send me handwritten letters often accompanied by records he thought I should have, or a mixtape he’d made that he thought I should hear.”
His poignant statement concluded: “Even now, in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century, when he sent me his new album to hear for the first time, it was on a cassette tape that he mailed through the post. I couldn’t have asked for anything more special. His unique voice will be missed on so many levels.”
Runnings co-founded the Nebraska-based group in 1984, initially starting as their keyboardist before shifting to the bass and vocals with Harry Dingman III on guitar and Gregory Hill on drums.
They found a home with Independent Project Records, which released their debut album, Echelons, in 1987 and their next three albums, December, In the Marshes, and Aperture. They continued to make albums and play live with their final record, Never Been, arriving in 2007.
Additionally, Runnings recorded a solo album in 2024, titled Piqued, which has yet to be released but is expected to be shared posthumously through IPR. Earlier this year, Runnings shared the single, ‘Batman Forever’, which is the first taste of the solo record.
Runnings is survived by his husband, Sean.
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