Queen bassist Barry Mitchell dies at 76

Barry Mitchell, who was a bassist for the iconic rock band Queen before their breakout success, has died at 76, the group's official archivist Greg Brooks has said in a post on their Facebook page.

Sharing a photo of Barry during his time with the band, Greg noted that it was terribly sad news to receive, Caliber.Az reports.

“His anecdotes at the convention were fascinating and offered rare insight. He will be greatly missed,” Brooks noted.

Fans have since shared their own tributes to Barry, who they described as an “incredible guitarist.”

Barry was Queen's second bassist, staying with them for six months between 1970 and 1971. He joined a few months after Freddie Mercury became the band's lead singer, with the line-up already featuring guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. 

Barry was a member of the band for just six months, but is said to have provided riffs and bass lines for songs such as Liar and Son And Daughter.

He was recommended to Queen's drummer Roger Taylor after previously performing with a band called Conviction, but only had a brief stint with the group.

In total, Barry played 13 gigs with the band, which were mostly in the UK, and was one of a number of bassists who played for Queen before John Deacon joined.

Speaking to Rolling Stone in 2018, Barry said: “We played quite a few concerts in England, notably in Liverpool. Since we didn't have enough original songs to last a whole show and Freddie loved classic rock & roll, we played that too.”

Asked why he left the band, Barry joked he was “fired because they thought I was useless,” before adding: “In fact, it was me who wasn't enthusiastic enough about their music. This didn't necessarily go in the direction I wanted to go. 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.”

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov