All Saints, Blur and celebrity DJ Fat Tony are among the stars who have paid tribute to acclaimed producer William Orbit, remembered as a “treasure in the music industry” after his death.
Death confirmed
The London-born musician died aged 69 on July 23, his family and friends confirmed in a statement to Instagram, saying he will be “greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched”.
Career highlights
Orbit worked with many artists throughout his career such as British girl group All Saints, and produced number one hits such as Black Coffee and Pure Shores for their chart-topping record Saints & Sinners. The acclaimed producer also collaborated with them in 2018 for After All, which featured on their fifth studio album Testament.
On Friday, members of All Saints paid tribute on Instagram to Orbit, with Natalie Appleton writing that “it was an honour and privilege to work with him, and play too”. Her sister and fellow singer Nicole Appleton said she was “so very sad” to hear about the death of Orbit as she paid tribute.
The star shared a photo of herself and her bandmates in the studio with Orbit, and wrote: “I absolutely love the music he made with Madonna and felt so lucky when he worked with All Saints. We were fortunate enough to work with him on many occasions and on many songs. In the studio, he made me feel so confident, comfortable and always brought the best out in me. He was a treasure in the music industry and we had the most amazing times in the studio and socially. We will forever celebrate him as a music icon.”
Fellow All Saints star Melanie Blatt joined the tributes, remembering Orbit as “such an important part of our success and history”.
More tributes
Celebrity DJ Fat Tony, born Tony Marnach, shared a photo of the Grammy-winner and wrote: “This really hurts. Goodbye you amazing man, what an incredible career. Such a loss @WilliamOrbit, big love and condolences to your entire family.”
With Blur, Orbit produced the 1999 album 13, which produced singles such as Tender, Coffee & TV and No Distance Left To Run, and worked on their track Sweet Song from 2003’s Think Tank album. The band honoured the producer by sharing the cover art of the album in a post on Instagram with a heartbroken emoji and “William Orbit” written in the caption.
Musician and DJ Stuart Price, famed for his collaborations with Madonna, shared a lengthy tribute to Instagram praising Orbit as “kind to me, inquisitive, encouraging, deferential, suggestive”. “I always felt he was limited to be labelled wizard, boffin, even genius, because what he also was, is sensitive, tender, passionate, auteuristic, and infinitely inspiring,” he added.
The post received thousands of likes including from US singer Madonna – who collaborated with Orbit on multiple occasions including on her award-winning 1998 album Ray Of Light. Orbit also worked on her 2000 record Music and co-wrote and performed on her 1999 UK number two single Beautiful Stranger, which appeared in the film Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. The track also won Orbit one of his many Grammy Awards, for best song written for visual media.
He also worked on Mel C’s 1999 debut solo album Northern Star, and the former Spice Girls singer posted on Instagram: “Such an honour to have worked with this great man. Sending all my love.”
Welsh musician Kelly Lee Owens shared a message to X thanking Orbit for “all the beauty you poured into the world”, and recounted how she has “loved and admired his work my whole life”. BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong remembered Orbit as “an outlier, a musical genius” who “created unique soundscapes and special feelings”, whilst Dutch musician Ferry Corsten remembered him as “one of music’s true visionaries”.
Orbit also worked with artists including Britney Spears, Will.i.am, Pink, Robbie Williams and Irish rock band U2 – with whom he produced two songs, Electrical Storm and The Hands That Built America. He had a solo career which produced 12 studio albums, largely of electronic music, and was also a member of the groups Bassomatic and Torch Song.
