John entwistle death photos

English musician; bassist for The Who (1944–2002)

For the English cyclist, see John Entwistle (cyclist). For the English Member of Parliament, see John Entwistle (politician).

Musical artist

John Alec Entwistle (9 October 1944 – 27 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member with formal musical training and also provided backing and occasional lead vocals. Entwistle was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Who in 1990.

Renowned for his musical abilities, Entwistle is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rock bass guitarists of all time. His instrumental approach utilized pentatonic lead lines and a then-unusual treble-rich sound ("full treble, full volume"). He was voted as the greatest bass guitar player ever in a 2011 Rolling Stone readers' poll and, in 2020, the same magazine ranked him number three in its list of the "50 Greatest Bassists of All Time".

Early life

John Alec Entwistle was born on 9 October 1944 at Queen Charlotte's Hospital in Hammersmith, London, and brought up in Chiswick, Middlesex, which is now part of London. He was an only child. His father, Herbert (1915 - 2003), played the trumpet and his mother, Maud (née Lee) (29 November 1922 – 4 March 2011), played the piano. His parents' marriage failed soon after he was born, and he was mostly raised by his mother at his grandparents' house in South Acton. Divorce was uncommon in the 1940s, and this contributed to Entwistle becoming reserved and socialising little.

His musical career began at age 7, when he started taking piano lessons. He did not enjoy the experience and after joining Acton County Grammar School aged 11, switched to the trumpet, mov

On This Day, June 27, 2002 …

One day before the start of The Who’s U.S. tour, bassist John “The Ox” Entwistle died of a cocaine-induced heart attack. He was found dead in his room at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas by the groupie and stripper he had spent the night with.

He was 57.

“The Ox has left the building—we’ve lost another great friend,” The Who’s Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend shared in a tribute after Entwistle’s death. “Thanks for your support and love. Pete and Roger.”

The Who decided to go on with their tour and resumed their shows on July 1 with bassist Pino Palladino taking Entwistle’s place.

In addition to his time with The Who, Entwistle released several solo albums, which were the subject of a new box set, The Ox Box Set, released in May. A compilation of rarities, Rarities Oxhumed – Volume Two, is due out in August.

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For the greater part of the last six years of his life, John Entwistle appeared to be thoroughly content with his lot. He entered into a new relationship with his friend Joe Walsh’s former girlfriend, Lisa Pritchett-Johnson. When not working he could often be found frequenting the pubs or pottering about the antique shops of Stow-on-the-Wold, a small market town close to Quarwood. He even paid for a new roof for the Stow Cricket Club pavilion. 

Now, though, he was not the Ox of days gone by. His hearing was all but shot and he suffered from high blood pressure. His wan appearance at The Who’s show at the Albert Hall in February 2002 alarmed friends, but he passed a medical required for insurance purposes for the American tour lined up for that summer.

One Tuesday morning that June, Chris Entwistle drove his father to the airport to catch a flight to Las Vegas to begin that tour.

“I gave him a kiss goodbye, as I always did,” he recalls. “He turned around when he got to the door of the terminal, we waved to each other and that was the last time I saw him.”

John Entwistle spent the evening of June 27, 2002 with friends, among them Alyeen Rose, an exotic dancer he knew from previous visits to Vegas. He took Rose to his room at the Hard Rock Hotel, where he did a line of coke and they had sex. Some time during that night, he had a heart attack and died in his sleep.

“It turned out that one of his arteries was a hundred per cent blocked, and another seventy-five per cent,” reveals Chris Entwistle. “High blood pressure is a family trait. His mother had it, as do I, but we had no idea about the problems with his heart, and nor did he. We were told they would only have been found out with an electrocardiogram, which he never had because it hadn’t seemed necessary. He was very rarely ill.

“You know what, though? It wasn’t the worst