Dexys Midnight Runners star Andy Leek, 66, tragically dies after Parkinson’s battle
Dexys Midnight Runners member Andy Leek has sadly passed away aged 66 following his near two-decade experience with Parkinson's disease. Andy was a pianist in the band, rising to fame in the mid 1980s and known for their smash hit Come On Eileen.
Andy's partner of over 30 years, Deborah Smith Lawrence, shared the news on Facebook as she detailed her heartbreak at the 'unimaginable' loss. "My beautiful Andy left us on Sunday 3rd November. Mercifully he was held safe at Goscote Hospice, which is the most peaceful place I have known in my entire life. He received truly compassionate and loving care from people there. I was with him, by his side in those most fragile last moments and he died as he lived, courageously," she began in the post.
"Andy had lived with Parkinson’s for the best part of two decades. He was a phenomenal person; by turns strong and gentle, funny and vulnerable, freedom-loving, fiercely creative, passionate and intelligent yet always so immensely loving, generous and authentic. His response to his diagnosis? To play music and to craft song. The album Waking Up the World was written in that maelstrom.
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"I am grateful beyond words for the team at Derby who are exemplary in every way. Fiona, Caroline, Clare, Suzanne, Louise, Rob, Kaanthan… all of you, I pray you know how much your care meant to us both and that Andy loved you all."
Despite being in a relationship for over three decades, Andy and Deborah only decided to tie the knot in October - marrying just a week before his death. She continued: "As people in our world hear the news, they tell me how much they loved him, that he was a real character and that they were inspired by the way he faced down his condition with consummate grace and grit. Naturally they tell me they are listening to his music and this he would treasure.
"We were together for 35 years and being the bohemian souls we are, felt no need for the convention of marriage. Yet recently we wanted to wed and we were planning a Christmas Wedding. Tragically this was not to be and we were married on 30th October at Walsall Manor. I cannot convey how bittersweet this is, to have married and to have lost the love of my life within one week.
"Equally I have no words to convey the shock and the sorrow I feel, yet I have the enduring love and a lifetime of the most amazing memories of being with such an exquisite man. My soulmate, my husband and my best friend. Andy’s incredible talent and musical legacy as a poet, songwriter, musician and a world class singer will endure."
Concluding the emotional post, Deborah shared links where friends and fans could listen to his music, and signed off: "I am heartbroken but honoured to have been your woman, your best friend and your wife."
