Wayne Fontana pictured in 2008
‘Game Of Love’ singer Wayne Fontana has passed away aged 74. The Mindbenders frontman, real name Glyn Geoffrey Ellis, passed away at Stockport’s Stepping Hill Hospital with his partner by his side on Thursday.
A representative for his family said: ‘On behalf of the family of Wayne Fontana regret to announce he passed away this afternoon at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. His long term partner was by his side. Known for his 1965 hit ‘Game of Love.’ Family asks for privacy at this time.’
Tributes flooded in for the 1960s icon from fans and celebrity friends. DJ Tony Blackburn, 77, led tributes as he took to Twitter to pen: ‘So sorry to hear about the passing of great 60’s icon Wayne Fontana yesterday. He was a lovely guy and gave us some great songs. As Sounds Of The Sixties has been recorded already for tomorrow we will do a tribute on Saturday week’s show.’
Other fans penned: ‘RIP Wayne Fontana .. such a character & still had such a great voice. Will be sadly missed on the 60s circuit Crying face… Another great 60s rock n roll legend leaves us’.
Sad times: Tributes flooded in for the 1960s icon from fans and celebrity friends
The rocker found fame in 1964 when he and his band, the Mindbenders, had hits like ‘Game of Love’ – a US number one – and Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um. After he quit the group the next year – walking off in mid-concert – the Mindbenders enjoyed their biggest success, ‘A Groovy Kind of Love.’
Following his stint in the spotlight, Wayne became embroiled in legal troubles in 2007 when he became locked in a shock battle with HM Revenue & Customs. In November 2007, Wayne was given a jail term for 11 months after setting fire to a bailiff’s car in a row over an unpaid congestion charge.
A judge said the troubled singer deserved prison after carrying out the attack in the bizarre belief he was the victim of an Establishment conspiracy.
The Mindbenders
Yet he was allowed to walk free from court immediately after already serving the equivalent of his term while held under the Mental Heath Act. The star – then 61 – had already been locked up since appearing in the dock dressed as the Lady of Justice earlier that year.
Doctors diagnosed him with a paranoid illness and depression yet announced in court that they no longer believed he was a danger to himself or others. A court heard how he reached his “tipping point” when bailiff Paul Stott and a colleague visited his home over an unpaid London congestion charge.
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
