The singer and songwriter Angela McCluskey has died. died aged 64.
The star of The Wild Colonials, whose music has been featured in Grey’s Anatomy as well as movies like Rachel Getting Married and The Beat That My Heart Skipped, had a career that lasted for over 30 years.
A message on her Instagram account says: “The spark has gone but the love lives on”
‘We are devastated to tell you that our beloved Angela McCluskey has left us to be with her fellow angels.
‘Never did anyone live life more fully, love more generously, sing more… well, just… more. Angela sang just as she breathed. Her life was a song, and she was music.
‘She will be missed more than any of us can say, but our love for her and her love for her beloved Paul, her siblings Gerard, Alan and Muriel, and all her family and friends will live forever.
‘Please light a candle for our darling.’
McCluskey, who was born in Scotland and based in California, and her husband Paul Cantelon formed music ensemble the Wild Colonials alongside Scott Roewe and Shark in 1992.
They released albums Fruit of Life and This Can’t Be Life in the mid-1990s, and by 2001 she had relocated to Paris and started collaborating with Télépopmusik.
Their track Breathe made it into the Billboard Hot 100, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for best dance recording in 2004.
She released her first solo album The Things We Do that same year, with her most recent release being 2021 EP Between Ourselves.
Actress Rain Phoenix has led tributes to the late musician, hailing her as ‘a most truthful and loyal friend’.
She wrote on Instagram: ‘Rest in power deal Angela, a most truthful and loyal friend.
‘A generous no nonsense powerhouse, with effortless style, wicked humor, and a voice most beautiful – there will never be another.’
And Garbage singer Shirley Manson revealed she is ‘brokenhearted’ by the news.
She described McCluskey as ‘a Scottish treasure’ and ‘world class talent’, writing: ‘A wildly irreverent, generous, loving soul who practiced kindness at all times in all the dark places.
‘I love you. My sincere condolences to everyone who loves you. Especially your handsome prince Paul.’
