Musician Tony Richards Has Sadly Passed Away

Tony Richards, the original drummer from rock band W.A.S.P., has passed away. He was 69-years-old.

With heavy hearts, the band’s official Instagram account announced the musician’s passing on Wednesday, Nov. 11, via a statement from lead singer Blackie Lawless.

“The entire W.A.S.P. Camp are deeply saddened to hear of the passing of our original drummer, Tony Richards. When the Band was first started we were 4 extremely strong personalities. Tony was absolutely equal to any of the others that were in the Band. His personality was infectious. He looked fantastic in photos. But his ability to play made him really who he was. To watch him play riveted you no matter where you were in the room. When he was gone from the Band we were wounded in a way that we never really quite recovered from. He was equally a part of that first album and when that record is heard to this day his personal stamp will forever be a part of the totality of that recording,” Lawless wrote.

“He will forever be missed. We in the W.A.S.P. Camp would like to wish his family our deepest condolences.”

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Guitarist Chris Holmes, another member of W.A.S.P. joined Lawless in paying tribute to Richards, writing on Instagram, “Goodbye Tony ….My Friend and one of the nicest fella you could know!! Chris has been chatting with Tony regular of late, and shared some great stories…. Some great memories were made.”

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Richards spent two years with the band (1982 – 1984) and played on their debut album, W.A.S.P., which was released in August 1984. That album featured several memorable singles including, “I Wanna Be Somebody,” “Sleeping (In the Fire),” “On Your Knees” and “B.A.D.” 

Prior to drumming with W.A.S.P., Richards was a member of the group Dante Fox, who were later known as Great White. Later in life, he spent time drumming for numerous bands and often performed with DellaVella.

Richards’ cause of death has not been made public.