Queen drummer Roger Taylor has paid tribute to the band's former bass player Barry Mitchell following his death at the age of 77 on Thursday, August 20. Taking to his Instagram account, he posted a black and white picture of Barry from 1970, around the same period he was in the band. He simply captioned it: "RIP Barry."
Barry's time with Queen
Barry was the second bassist for Queen, remaining with the group for six months from August 1970 to January 1971 before they found fame. Roger was instrumental to his hiring, as he recalled in a 2018 interview with Rolling Stone: "A friend of mine...met Roger Taylor. He was looking for a bassist for his band in London, and my friend recommended me...I called Roger...and he suggested I meet the band, which consisted of Roger, Brian, and Freddie....They showed me the chords, and I just picked it up. Then we had a jam session of blues tunes that everyone knew, and at the end, they said, 'That's it, we'll take you.'"
Before the group settled on John Deacon to complete the legendary line-up, they had three other bass players - Mike Grose, Barry and Doug Bogie. Barry played 13 gigs with the band before his exit, which he said was because he didn't have a lot of faith in their music. "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 reflected.
Musical legacy and later career
Despite this, his DNA was imprinted on the music, as he had already laid down many of the bass lines and riffs on songs such as Liar and Son And Daughter for future bassists to follow, although John Deacon would improvise his own variations for stage performances. After leaving Queen, he abandoned the music business entirely before returning in the 1990s in the band Jayne Raydio alongside members Steve Ray, Frank Carter, and Darren Claxton. He was also a regular guest at worldwide Queen fan events.
Confirmation of death
His death was confirmed by the band's official archivist, Greg Brooks, in a Facebook post. Alongside the same black and white image shared by Roger, he penned: "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."
