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RIP Matthew Seligman Of The Soft Boys
John Doran , April 18th, 2020 16:13

Inspirational Soft Boys musician who played with Bowie at Live AID, has died after contracting Covid-19

[A Soft Boys promotional shot by Kurtis Knapp featuring Matthew Seligman on the right]

Matthew Seligman of the Soft Boys has died from complications caused by COVID-19. The sad news was confirmed by former bandmate Robyn Hitchcock on his Facebook page in the early hours of this morning (April 18).

Hitchcock wrote: "I’m writing this as Matthew Seligman slips out of this life and into wherever souls go next. Everybody goes, but none of us were expecting Matthew to leave us so abruptly, forever. It is strange and very sad to be talking of him in the past tense. I first met Matthew in 1976 in Cambridge, just before the beginning of the Soft Boys. He had nice dark hair and was very charming, with a slight break in his voice. A joyous and funky bass player, he made Underwater Moonlight an exuberant LP to record and listen to. His manic bass run at the end of 'Insanely Jealous' and his stately propeller dive into the last chorus of the title track, as well as the insistent groove he brought to 'Kingdom Of Love' are some of the finest bass playing I have ever witnessed."

Seligman also played with Morrissey, was part of Bowie's band in the mid-80s, recorded with Peter Murphy and guested on Thomas Dolby's Blinded By Science and The Flat Earth albums.