Ex-Whitesnake Guitarist RIP

Mel Galley, the former guitarist and backing vocalist for Whitesnake in its early-'80s incarnation, has died at the age of 60, the band confirmed on its website.

Galley passed away on Tuesday at his home in Staffordshire, England, after battling cancer of the esophagus, according to British media reports.

Frontman David Coverdale told the BBC that he "treasures the memory of knowing [Galley] and working together with him."

Galley played for the hard-charging, Led Zeppelin - influenced group from 1982 to 1984, joining shortly after the band recorded Saints And Sinners, which made the U.K. top 10 and contained the eventual megahit "Here I Go Again."

The band rerecorded that signature song for 1987's self-titled LP, which became Whitesnake's breakthrough in the U.S.

But by then Galley had already left the group after sustaining an injury to his arm followed by a bungled operation that caused nerve damage. After major rehabilitation, he was able to pick up the guitar again for such bands as Phenomena and MGM, the latter reuniting him with former 'Snakers Bernie Marsden and Neil Murray.

On Feb. 7, Galley posted a message on his MySpace blog announcing he had terminal cancer and expressing his love for his wife and two sons.

"I have enjoyed a great life," he wrote, "traveled the world having some amazing experiences, met all sorts of people and played with some of the best musicians there are."

Thanks for the report to E! Online.

Comments

[CrowLord]

RIP Indeed

[punk_mike_88]

RIP man.

[lexaah]

rip

[ctb]

[lurch_276]

rip and thank you

[Guitar93!]

R.I.P.

[shreddin_frets]

Man. One more band to erase on my "I want to see" list

RIP Brother, my condolences to your wife and kids

[xxxFMDxxx]

Thats a shame
RIP

[FearBefore]

yet another tragic loss. RIP

[limefan913]

RIP man.

[guitarlegend123]

RIP

[DevilsDance76]

one of the signature guitarist of the hair metal era R.I.P

[Detonation]

Wow this sucks. RIP man

[Sylvanus]

R.I.P.

[C-C Beatroot]

that's so sad

[Gibson Phoney]

rip

[Polystant]

R.I.P.

[Stratguy67]

R.I.P Mel,we'll miss you and cherish the music you gave us.

[superjoint2112]

if it wasnt for the song here i go again I'd have nothing to get drunk and yell...r.i.p man

[DimebagRob]

another rock n roll death, RIP I guess.

[DimebagRob]

DimebagRob wrote:

another rock n roll death, RIP I guess.

shame too, he wasnt even that old.

[blasphemus666]

damn. here i go again was the only glam song i actually liked. kudos to him for writing it. R.I.P.

(is it just me or duz he look like a young clint eastwood in that pic??)

[tuwyci]

rip. pretty sure he was in the is this love video. people always say it was steve vai.

[Sean-Man]

shreddin_frets wrote:

Man. One more band to erase on my "I want to see" list

RIP Brother, my condolences to your wife and kids

rip, but i believe vivian campbell is playing guitar wiht whitesnake right now, so u could still see them

[deadlyMETAL]

RIP....

[Jackolas]

Another one to shred it up in heaven, RIP!

[Thewolf_and_man]

Could be steve vai

[Themaddoctor]

Sean-Man wrote:

shreddin_frets wrote:

Man. One more band to erase on my "I want to see" list

RIP Brother, my condolences to your wife and kids

rip, but i believe vivian campbell is playing guitar wiht whitesnake right now, so u could still see them

Vivian Campbell is playing for Def Leppard now.

[kramer4ever]

RIP

[RetroAmericana]

RIP.

[edbert]

Jackolas wrote:
Another one to shred it up in heaven, RIP!

+1

that really sucks, Whitesnake was and is awesome

RIP

[|\puto_rodas/|]

R.I.P. dude, and WhiteSnake are coming to Portugal in August

[Tubyboulin]

Shame, 60 isnt even that young. Cancer ftl

[syds-sanity]

r.i.p

everyones mentioning here i go again but from the article it seems he didn't even play on that song?

[syds-sanity]

wow i just read up a bit on him and found out he played in Trapeze, i found one of there albums "you are the music, we're just the band" in my dads vinyl collection years ago, its very good.

cant believe it his time in this band wasnt mntioned in the article

[GuitarSymphony]

RIP.
You made some of the heaviest classic 80's rock of that decade. Still of the Night is still heavy sounding today.

Way to rock.

[ZamoraZ]

Your body may have passed away but your soul and your music will remain. R.I.P.

[Lil Macker]

syds-sanity wrote:

r.i.p

everyones mentioning here i go again but from the article it seems he didn't even play on that song?

He didn't, but, he played on tour for them when the original one came out.

Yup, there's two versions.

[Lil Macker]

Oh and, I am really shocked! I dreamt of playing with him someday

Damn this world!

[Les Paul Ell]

Damn, this sucks. I'm starting to really love Whitesnake now as well. I hope he went peacefully and what not.

[Smeak]

Such a shame to lose an amazing guitarist like Mel. RIP, you will be missed.

[Dead_End]

R.I.P. man
what a shame :[

[Billy Picken]

RIP.

[nds711d]

RIP

[StraightxXxEdge]

RIP one of the great conjurers of the age of good times.

[Robin_OldSchool]

I saw Whitesnake last week at graspop they were great, can't believe the guy is gone at 60 years old... what a age, RIP !

[hendriko]

RIP man!

[metvettefreak]

RIP man

[SoftParade1967]

=[
R.I.P. Man! Rock out in heaven with all the greats man!

[worton]

what a legend! rip

[MegaRon]

Not a Whitesnake fan, but a damn shame to see any musician pass. Rest in peace, sir.

[littlebigmatt]

RIP

[Jastul]

this sucks, I always hate reading of the death of good guitarists, even if I'm not that big on their work, whitesnake's always fun to listen, I feel bad for his family

[Hamburger89]

Whitesnake's not really my music, but good musicians shouldn't die this young. I would have liked to see them live.

[FVD]

syds-sanity wrote:

r.i.p

everyones mentioning here i go again but from the article it seems he didn't even play on that song?

He actually did as he featured on the Saints and Sinners album which featured the original version of Here I Go Again.

RIP Melville. Glenn Hughes must be really devastated. Trapeze wasn't even mentioned in the article which is disappointing.

[Black Revolver]

R.I.P

checked.

[KoRnyKenny]

RIP.

[Sp00nman94]

RIP

[InTheFlesh!]

RIP dude, he was great

[sjaxemaster07]

R.I.P to the guitarist who played on one of the greatest songs ever written "Here I Go Again"

[Regression]

Wow, that sucks.

Saw the current line up in March. They were great.

RIP.

[Kornholic]

He's now up there jamming with dimebag and hendrix rest in peace.

[slashrock94]

RIP

[##_Guitar-newb]

i saw whitesnake and Def leppard two weeks ago. They are currently touring together.

[Guitar_Jester]

That's sad.

R.I.P.

[NiCKLESS]

=/
RIP

[GreekRockr9]

Sad news.

However, I feel that UG should really start putting the deceased musicians' names in the headlines, instead of their positions in groups. I read this and thought it was Steve Vai for a second (although I'm sure they'd recognize him as more than just a Whitesnake guitarist).

[GreekRockr9]

Sad news.

However, I feel that UG should really start putting the deceased musicians' names in the headlines, instead of their positions in groups. I read this and thought it was Steve Vai for a second (although I'm sure they'd recognize him as more than just a Whitesnake guitarist).

[Kriske11]

don't now you
but you're a gitarist rip!!!

[Shredy_Mc_shred]

RIP

[!.PTH.!]

R.I.P

[DukeFame]

RIP. his guitar work is underrated , dont smoke cigarettes dudes.

[leonkaz0822]

Kriske11 wrote:

don't now you
but you're a gitarist rip!!!

seriously?

[arsonite]

RIP

[JohnnyGenzale]

Kornholic wrote:

He's now up there jamming with dimebag and hendrix rest in peace.

Why does Dimebag have to be mentioned whenever it says someone has died?

RIP anyway.

[andrew1234]

=( i loved him =...( RIP

[GA7X]

RIP ... RESPECT!

[eetfuk58]

eveyone needs to chill with the rip stuff, kinda like everyone still saying it about dimebag.

im sure what any musician wants its to have their music loved and respected and remembered and listened too, not for everyone to just say rip about them and move on.

[cosmic rocker]

This is sad, but I hope his music lives on forever

[*powerslave*]

Rip

[..NEM..]

R.I.P.

[liam177lewis]

rip. lame, i saw 'snake a couple says ago in wembley. its crazy, he'll be missed.

[MtLMkR]

he will not be forgotten, i saw him live with whitesnake, the first concert i ever went to. genius musician, knew up and down how to rock.

rip

[fastlanestoner]

god that thing about his arm is like every guitarist's worst nightmare

[Rajah]

Sean-Man wrote:

shreddin_frets wrote:

Man. One more band to erase on my "I want to see" list

RIP Brother, my condolences to your wife and kids

rip, but i believe vivian campbell is playing guitar wiht whitesnake right now, so u could still see them

That was over 20 years ago!

tuwyci wrote:

rip. pretty sure he was in the is this love video. people always say it was steve vai.

That was John Sykes. Steve Vai did the album after that one.

[Rajah]

+ Reb Beech and Doug Aldrich are the current guitarists for Whitesnake. Have been for the past 5 years.

[6_Feet_Below]

RIP man

[Emo_Guitars]

RIP =[ wow

[syd-young]

R.I.P nother good one falls he will be missed

[espplayer400]

RIP. i dont like whitesnake at all, but it doesnt mean i dont respect them and him

[FVD]

Kornholic wrote:

He's now up there jamming with dimebag and hendrix rest in peace.

I think it be more appropriate that Mel will be jamming with Cozy Powell instead. Still can't believe Cozy left us 10 years ago too.

[leafy]

Tubyboulin wrote:

Cancer ftl

i second that
rip

[slash=king]

eetfuk58 wrote:

eveyone needs to chill with the rip stuff, kinda like everyone still saying it about dimebag.

im sure what any musician wants its to have their music loved and respected and remembered and listened too, not for everyone to just say rip about them and move on.

it's just a way of showing respect man, just coz they say R.I.P. doesn't mean they won't remember the music.

R.I.P. and may your music live on in everyone it's touched

[BlubberBelly]

R.I.P.
Mel Galley did NOT play on Here I Go Again (original or the 1987 version) or the Saints & Sinners album (Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden did) He replaced Bernie Marsden for the tour and co-wrote and performed on the next album Slide It In (which was remastered for the U.S soft rock radio-friendly market and included John Sykes guitar overdubs)
Regardless of this his work with Trapeze was awesome (great funk rock)
Condolences to family & friends

[randyaintdead82]

JohnnyGenzale :
Kornholic wrote:

He's now up there jamming with dimebag and hendrix rest in peace.


Why does Dimebag have to be mentioned whenever it says someone has died?

RIP anyway.
POSTED: 07/05/2008 - 07:53 pm / quote |

now guys, hes obviously jammin with randy, kurt, john, and freddie, nuff said

[randyaintdead82]

ok forgot a drummer, umm hes also jamming with either keith or bonzo