Alice In Chains’ bass player Mike Starr has been found dead after suffering a drugs overdose.
Alice In Chains were often tagged as a grunge group, but in reality the band had little in common with the scene bar geography. Formed in Seattle, the group shared a love of fuzzed up riffs but were in reality an unreconstructed metal group.
Breaking through in 1992 with their album ‘Dirt’ the band enjoyed massive success. However Alice In Chains were always dogged by personal problems, including a lengthy history of drug abuse.
Bass player Mike Starr departed the band shortly after the release of ‘Dirt’ and became a cult figure to fans. Drifting out of the music industry, Starr became one of the great lost talents of the grunge era.
The group carried on without him, enjoying even greater success. However in 2002 Alice In Chains were left devastated after singer Layne Staley was found dead in an apartment in his native Seattle.
Re-emerging some time after, Mike Starr took part in a controversial reality TV show. Broadcast on VH1, the bass player revealed much about his decade long struggle to free himself from drug addiction.
Arrested three weeks ago on an outstanding warrant, it was immediately apparent that drugs were still a problem in Mike Starr’s life. Now living in Salt Lake City, the bass player was found dead in his apartment.
Just 44 years old, the news broke on TMZ. Police have confirmed the death, with Mike Starr’s father commenting only to say: “It’s a terrible shock and tragedy.”
The death is thought to be a drug overdose. “There is nothing to indicate that this was foul play by another individual,” police said.
The remaining members of Alice In Chains have yet to comment on the news.
