Jack Russell, lead singer of the heavy metal band Great White and survivor of the Station Night Club fire, died on Thursday, according to several media reports.
According to an obituary in Rolling Stone, Russell died at the age of 63 from Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy. In July, he announced that he would end his touring career due to his dementia and MSA diagnosis.
The Station fire, the fourth-worst nightclub fire in the United States, left 100 people dead and over 200 injured. It started at the West Warwick club when a manager from Great White set off pyrotechnics for the band’s performance. The sparks ignited the foam that soundproofed the club’s walls. The flammable foam fueled the fire and spread quickly, trapping many people inside the club.
Ty Longley, a guitarist for Great White, died in the fire, but Russell and others survived.
Russell was one of those who were specifically targeted for criticism after the fire.
However, Daniel Biechele, the band’s road manager who set off the pyrotechnics that started the fire, and club owners Jeffrey and Michael Derderian were the only people ever charged in connection with the fire. Both pleaded guilty to 100 counts of manslaughter – Biechele pleaded guilty; the Derderians pleaded no contest. Biechele and Michael Derderian were sentenced to four years in prison, although both were released early. Jeffrey Derderian was sentenced to community service.
Nevertheless, Great White was involved in legal proceedings that resulted in a $176 million payout to the injured and the families of the dead. In 2013, just before the tenth anniversary of the fire, Russell announced he would hold a benefit concert in California and donate the proceeds to a foundation that wanted to build a memorial at the site of the fire. However, representatives of the Station Fire Memorial Foundation told Russell’s manager that they did not want his money.
Nearly 13 years after the fire, Russell said in an interview with CNN that he wanted to “go public and talk about it,” but his lawyers had advised him “never to apologize” because it “implies guilt.”
At the time, some family members of the fire’s victims did not believe Russell’s remorse. During his interview, Russell, who was never charged in the disaster, blamed the fire on the city’s fire inspector “who did not do his job properly” and never leveled accusations against the club’s owners for installing flammable foam on the walls and ceiling for soundproofing.
A post on the band’s Instagram page said of Russell: “His love for the fans and his sons was unmatched, as was his own love for rock music. What do you say about someone who has been with you on such an incredible journey, through good times and bad? We’d rather let music fill in the gaps.”
