The music world continues to mourn this week; following the weighty losses of Sly Stone and Brian Wilson, Douglas McCarthy — the frontman of English EBM group Nitzer Ebb — has also died. He was 58.
The band shared the news that McCarthy had died yesterday morning (June 11). "We ask everyone to please be respectful of Douglas, his wife, and family in this difficult time," Nitzer Ebb wrote on social media. No cause of death was given, but McCarthy had been diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2024.
Born in the East London town of Barking, McCarthy grew up in the county of Essex. He met future Nitzer Ebb drummer, David Gooday, while skateboarding when he was 10. Gooday and the band's eventual keyboardist, Vaughan "Bon" Harris, were a grade ahead of McCarthy in school, and the three founded the band in 1982, performing for the first time at the Chelmsford YMCA.
They signed to Mute Records in the UK and Geffen Records in the US to release their first studio album, That Total Age, in 1987. The band went on to open for multiple Depeche Mode tours in Europe and North America, further exposing them to an international audience.
Nitzer Ebb released five more albums: 1989's Belief, 1990's Showtime, 1991's Ebbhead, 1995's Big Hit and 2010's Industrial Complex, the final of which was released after the band reunited in 2007 following their 1995 disbandment. They began touring again in 2009.
McCarthy collapsed before a show in Palm Beach, FL, in November of 2021. In March 2024, he announced that he was withdrawing from the band's performances for the foreseeable future due to health concerns. Nitzer Ebb have continued to tour, with Harris taking over on vocals.