Agadoo singer Colin Gibb dies aged 70 days after the Black Lace star announced his retirement
3 June 2024, 09:30 | Updated: 3 June 2024, 09:32
Black Lace singer and 'Agadoo' hitmaker Colin Gibb has died, aged 70 just days after announcing his retirement.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
A longstanding member of the group, Black Lace became a household name in the 1980s following the release of a string of popular novelty songs, including Agadoo, Do the Conga, Superman, Hokey Cokey and I Am the Music Man.
His death comes days after the singer announced his retirement, saying: "All good things must come to an end."
The group rose to fame after representing the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 with their song, Mary Ann, eventually finishing seventh at the event, which was won by Israeli group Milk & Honey.
Breaking the news to fans online, the singer's wife, Sue Kelly, told fans of his passing on Sunday.
‘It is with heartbreaking news that I am letting you all know my dearest husband Colin Gibb died this afternoon,’ she wrote on Facebook.
Read more: 'Shut up, alright?': Adele slams heckler who shouted 'Pride sucks' at Las Vegas show
Black Lace led the tributes to their "great friend."
On the band's official Facebook page a statement read: "It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our great friend Colin Gibb.
"Colin was one of the founder members of Black Lace, together with Alan Barton, and will be truly missed by everyone who knew him.
"We’d like to send his family and friends all our love and support at this extremely difficult time."
Black Lace released novelty hit songs like Superman, Hokey Cokey, Wig-Wam Bam and I Am The Music Man.
But Agadoo was their biggest success, with the tracking hitting the number two spot.
Black Lace had many line-up changes but Colin was with the band the longest until he retired in May.
In 2015, Colin, celebrating 40 years since Black Lace was formed, teamed up with guitarist and vocalist Gordon King for live shows. Colin's final performance was at the San Eugenio Villa Adeje Beach Hotel in Spain.
Agadoo, which was accompanied by a silly dance, was only held off the number one slot by George Michael's Careless Whisper.
Alan - who was killed in a bus crash in 1995 - once said of the song: "It was a good party song, I'm not going to knock it."
