Chuck Mosley, the former frontman of seminal metal group Faith No More has died at the age of 57, according to a statement released by his family.
The statement revealed that Mosley, whose full name was Charles Henry Mosley III, died due to complications related to “the disease of addiction”.
The family statement read: “After a long period of sobriety, Charles Henry Mosley III lost his life, on 9 November 2017, due to the disease of addiction.
“We’re sharing the manner in which he passed, in the hopes that it might serve as a warning or wake up call or beacon to anyone else struggling to fight for sobriety.”
It went on to say that the family are accepting donations for funeral expenses.
He was Faith No More’s lead singer between 1984 and 1988, recording on their first two albums We Care A Lot and Introduce Yourself. The title track from We Care A Lot became one of the bands best-known tracks and was described as a “brilliantly sarcastic funk-rock response to Live Aid and We Are the World”, which Mosley co-wrote.
Mosley helped the band establish their “funk metal” sound, which was credited with melding early hip-hop, thrash and hardcore, before he was fired from the band in 1988 and replaced by Mike Patton.
“There was a rough patch the first couple of years,” Mosley said of the initial split. “We were talking in friendly terms as early as 1990. Five years ago, they invited me up onstage in San Francisco. It has all been good for a long time.”
After his time in Faith No More, Mosley continued to work in music and sang for the hardcore band Bad Brains, as well as playing in another funk metal outfit, Cement. Last year he toured playing his own solo acoustic material.
He is survived by long-term partner Pip Logan, and his two daughters, Erica and Sophie.