Barclay James Harvests' Woolly Wolstenholme Dies

Barclay James Harvest founding member Stuart "Woolly” Wolstenholme has sadly passed away.

The vocalist / keyboardist met John Lees at Oxford School Of Art where they, along with Les Holroyd and Mel Pritchard, formed Barclay James Harvest.

Wolstenholme taught himself keyboards, first the Mellotron and then adapting to organ, piano and synthesizers. He remained with BJH until 1979 when he left the band due to artistic differences.

As well as writing music for TV and films he forged a solo career throughout the 80s before reconnecting with John Lees in 1998 to rejoin Lees’ version of Barclay James Harvest.

He toured and recorded with John Lees’ BJH for much of the rest of his life, as well as recording and performing with his own project Maestro.

However in recent years he has been afflicted with mental health problems, and tragically on Monday he took his own life.

A statement on his website read:

"It is with profound sorrow that we have to announce the passing of Woolly Wolstenholme. In recent weeks Woolly's mental health had taken a turn for the worse and sadly he took his own life on Monday 13th December 2010. In this difficult time our thoughts are with Woolly's partner, Sue. We would ask all of Woolly's fans to remember his incredible contribution to popular music and his unique presence on stage."

RIP Woolly, 1947 - 2010