Bill Fay, cult folk great, dead at 81

Bill Fay, the cult folk musician, has died at age 81. The news came via Dead Oceans, the label who released Fay’s 2012 comeback album Life is People — his first album since 1971 — and the two that followed. Their tribute:

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Bill Fay, who died peacefully this morning in London, aged 81. Bill was a gentle man and a gentleman, wise beyond our times. He was a private person with the biggest of hearts, who wrote immensely moving, meaningful songs that will continue to find people for years to come.

Bill’s first two albums, Bill Fay and Time of the Last Persecution, found a modest but loving audience upon their release at the dawn of the 1970s. While they weren’t considered commercial successes at the time, they continue to inspire devotion decades on, now known as overlooked classics from the era.

With enormous help from producer Joshua Henry, who tracked Bill down and convinced him to make another album, Bill later went on to make three more albums with Dead Oceans: Life is People (2012), his first release for forty years; Who is the Sender? (2015); and Countless Branches (2020), enjoying his cult status in real time.

Only a month before his passing, Bill was busy working on a new album. Our hope is to find a way to finish and release it, but for now, we remember Bill’s legacy as the “man in the corner of the room at the piano”, who quietly wrote heartfelt songs that touched and connected with people around the world.

Life Is People.

With love,
Bill’s friends at Dead Oceans

Rest in peace, Bill.