Joe Egan, Stealers Wheel singer, dead at 77
Scotland-born musician Joe Egan, who fronted the folk-rock band Stealers Wheel with Gerry Rafferty, has sadly passed away aged 77.
While no cause of death has been revealed at this stage, news of the Scottish singer’s passing has been confirmed by the Facebook page of Rafferty, who died himself in 2011. His account is now ran by his daughter, Martha, who shared the sad news and an array of images showing the two musicians together over the years.
Martha captioned the post: “Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him. I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace.”
The band were best known for their hit track, ‘Stuck In The Middle With You’, which was released as their debut single in 1973. Although it charted originally, it received an unlikely cultural renaissance two decades later when Quentin Tarantino used the track during a pivotal scene in his cinematic classic, Reservoir Dogs.
While Rafferty briefly quit the band, he returned to the fold following the success of their breakout single, and Stealers Wheel went on to make two further albums before calling it a day in 1975 after being unable to recapture the success of their debut.
After the group disbanded, their careers took off in two separate directions. Notably, Rafferty had further success with ‘Baker Street’ and established a highly-acclaimed solo career, but Egan’s path was less paved with gold.
Egan released two solo albums, 1979’s Out of Nowhere and 1981’s Map, but both records failed to make him a star, with him drifting out of the limelight before waving goodbye to the music business. According to the band’s website, Egan ran a publishing company after leaving the industry. Although Stealers Wheel reunited in 2008, neither Egan or Rafferty were involved.
However, the duo remained close friends until the end. During an interview in 2013 with local newspaper, the Paisley Daily Express, Egan expressed his devastation of losing his former songwriting partner and revealed how they stayed in regular contact despite living in opposite ends of the United Kingdom.
“Gerry’s death has already left a huge gap in my life. We lived in each other’s pockets for so long and, latterly, would speak regularly on the phone,” he recalled.
Egan continued: “Like everyone else I suppose we had our fallouts because we spent so much time living in each others’ pockets. But we were still in touch until very recently. In fact, I’d be sitting at home in Paisley with a glass in my hand and Gerry would be the same down south. We would talk on the phone for hours and reminisce about the old days.”
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