Nigel Benjamin has died, aged 64. A troubled soul, satisfaction was never part of his agenda – be it in personal life or on-stage – but he had a huge heart. The singer used to rant about many things in later years and seemed to be on the verge of paranoia, blaming outside world for his issues, but always sought refuge in music – something that brought Nigel to the heart of fans.
Born in England and settled in America, Benjamin’s most famous for his involvement in two bands out of a few he fronted: MOTT, when THE HOOPLE fell off and the line-up changed, and LONDON, the MÖTLEY CRÜE precursor. Nigel didn’t stay long enough with the former, because Overend Watts couldn’t accomodate the vocalist’s songs into their repertoire, so 1975’s “Drive On” and “Shouting And Pointing” from the following year became the ensemble’s only albums; and the frictions with the erratic Nikki Sixx resulted in him leaving the latter – whom Nigel joined when the group were looking for a frontman influenced by him.
Later on, other projects came in, but Benjamin couldn’t really commit to any of those, taking on different roles and even branching out into cinema. Until recently, he – an atheltic man – also performed jobs which required hard labor, and as usual ran into problems with other people. Nigel was happy to get a dog last year, thinking he finally found a companion, yet the dog cause the veteran grief as well, and he sank into depression again. Still, although the singer mentioned his deteriorating health sometimes, nothing signaled his untimely end.
Rest In Peace, Nigel.
