George Michael and Wham!’s longtime bassist, Deon Estus, has died.
The late music legend’s long-serving band member during his stint in the ‘Club Tropicana’ group and solo career sadly passed away aged 65 on Monday (11.10.21).
A statement on Deon’s Twitter page read: “It is with real sadness I post that Deon Estus passed away This Morning. Deon was mostly known as the third member of Wham! Deon was passionate about music and loved interacting with his loyal fans.”
As well as being an exceptional bassist, Deon co-wrote the song ‘Heaven Help Me’ with George, with his iconic vocals featured on the track, and the hit made the top 5 in 1989 in the US.
Deon also played bass for music legends including Tina Turner, Frank Zappa, George Clinton, Annie Lennox, and Sir Elton John.
Tributes have poured in for the musician, with Wham! backing singer Shirlie Kemp tweeting: “Shocked to hear the passing of such a lovely man. Spent so many years with Deon touring with Wham. God Bless..RIP
@DeonEstus (sic)”
Deon started his career in the R&B band Brainstorm as a teenager, and they went on to have a hit with ‘Popcorn’.
He then turned down the chance to appear on Marvin Gaye’s 1982 album ‘Midnight Love’.
After touring with Wham!, Deon released the solo album ‘Spell’ in 1989, with many of the tracks produced by George.
He continued playing for the ‘Careless Whisper’ singer until his death in December 2016 aged 53.
Reacting to the devastating news of the ‘Freedom’ hitmaker’s passing, Deon said at the time: “I’m still in shock. It hasn’t quite hit me yet, but it helps to talk about it and to think about all those fantastic tours, all those records, all the people he’s helped and all the things he’s done, which is a lot. I was blessed to have known him.”