Barry Mitchell, the second bass guitarist for Queen, has died. He played with the band for six months from August 1970 to January 1971 before they achieved stardom.
Queen's official archivist, Greg Brooks, confirmed the news in a Facebook post. Alongside a black and white photo of Mitchell from 1970, he wrote: "Terribly sad news just received that early Queen bass player, Barry Mitchell, has passed away. His anecdotes at the convention were fascinating and offered rare insight. He will be greatly missed."
Mitchell's Role in Early Queen
Before the band finalised its line-up with John Deacon on bass, alongside Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and Brian May, they had three other bass players: Mike Grose, Barry Mitchell and Doug Bogie. Mitchell had previously been part of a band called Conviction before being recommended to Roger Taylor for Queen.
In a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Mitchell recalled: "...We played quite a few concerts in England, notably in Liverpool. Since we didn't have enough original songs to last a whole show and Freddie loved classic rock & roll, we played that too."
He performed 13 gigs with the band before leaving. On his departure, he joked: "They fired me because they thought I was useless," but clarified: "In fact, it was me who wasn't enthusiastic enough about their music. This didn't necessarily go in the direction I wanted to go."
"At the time, they weren't at all the cult band you all know. I didn't see the potential. It's crazy to say this now but it's the truth," he added.
Musical Legacy and Later Career
Despite his departure, Mitchell's influence remained with the band for a while, as he had established many of the bass lines and riffs on tracks such as Liar and Son And Daughter for future bassists to emulate. John Deacon would later improvise his own variations for live performances.
After leaving Queen, Mitchell left the music industry entirely before returning in the 1990s with the band Jayne Raydio, alongside members Steve Ray, Frank Carter and Darren Claxton.
Tributes from Fans
Heartbroken fans who had encountered Mitchell at Queen fan events shared their recollections. One wrote on Facebook: "Aw, sad to hear this. We met him once at the UK Convention in 2009. He was an interesting speaker that day, and we closed the pub down that night...RIP Barry."
Another added: "RIP Barry Mitchell you will be missed. Such a lovely man xx." A third said: "Sorry to hear of Barry's passing. Only met him once but he seemed a really nice man. Condolences to his family & friends. Xx."
A fourth fan wrote: "Sad.... Spent many Conventions with Barry. Good times, good laughs along the way. Great guy, My best to all family at this time. Us Queen fans loved our Barry... RIP."
Another posted: "RIP Barry Mitchell, Lots of great memories of you at Queen conventions, a really nice fella. My thoughts are with Barry's family at this sad time."
A further fan reflected: "I want to thank you for all the music that you gave us throughout the decades and the years...godspeed and God be with you Barry Mitchell."
