Music icon dies as heartbroken fans pay tribute to 'formidable talent'
Music fans have paid tribute to Stealers Wheel co-founder Joe Egan following the news that he has died at the age of 77.
The Scottish singer-songwriter, who co-founded rock band Stealers Wheel alongside bandmate Gerry Rafferty, co-wrote the group’s 1973 song Stuck In The Middle With You which features in Quentin Tarantino‘s hit film Reservoir Dogs and peaked at number eight in the UK Official Chart.
A social media post uploaded to the official Gerry Rafferty Facebook page, which is run by a family member of Gerry’s, confirmed the news on Sunday, 7 July and described Joe as being a “sweet and gentle soul”.
The post read: “Very sad news that the other half of Stealers Wheel, Joe Egan, passed away peacefully yesterday afternoon with his nearest and dearest around him. I will always remember him as a sweet and gentle soul. May he rest in peace.”
In response to the heartbreaking announcement, music lovers paid tribute to Joe as they filled the comments section with messages of condolence.
“Rest in peace Joe.. another talented chunk of Scotland’s musical history now gone to heaven.. Where hopefully he will be reunited with his old partner. The music remains on this planet.. So keep playing it everyone, it deserves to be heard,” wrote one social media user.
“Two great talents, now gone but we have their work to remember them by. RIP Joe, now you’re home with Gerry,” another added. Meanwhile a third wrote: “A greatly underrated songster in his own right. Joe’s solo work is amongst my favourite music. I’m really saddened to hear this news. His music lives on x.”
A fourth commented: “A couple of years ago, at a mutual friend's house, I had the pleasure of meeting and sitting with Joe. We played and sang some of his songs, something I'll never forget. What a gentleman.”
Another added: “What a formidable talent they had. You and we are all the luckier from hearing their music.”
In addition to being behind the hit Stuck in the Middle With You, Stealers Wheel released three albums including Ferguslie Park and Right Or Wrong before they split up in 1975. Following his time in the band, Joe released two solo albums, Out Of Nowhere and Map, before retiring from music.
Despite never returning to the world of music as Stealers Wheel, Joe and Gerry remained in contact until Gerry’s passing in 2011.
