Gothobit: Chris Sheehan

Chris Sheehan, who had two spells as touring guitarist with Sisters Of Mercy, has died from cancer.

Sheehan was perhaps better known from his own band, The Starlings, who enjoyed a brief spell of fame opening for Curve, and as part of Dave Stewart's Anxious Records roster.

The Starlings could have been great; but the first album was written while Sheehan - newly located in the UK - enjoyed heroin; he'd kicked it by the time of release, but felt Anxious didn't support the record enough. The second album, then, was about how terrible their label was - a piece of a meta work that didn't go down well and effectively scuppered the group. The band disbanded in 1994, and Chris continued for a while, dropping the definitive article and releasing two Starlings records.

He also found time to work with Babylon Zoo and The Mutton Birds.

Last year, following his bleak prognosis, he had attempted to crowd-source one last album:

can't justify any of my limited income to be spent on my own non-profit activities. Stage 4 metastatic nodular melanoma. Clinical trials and palliative treatment only. Wife terminally ill. Dozens of rescue animals. I don't own a computer anymore and would like a good laptop and software to see what comes out. I will not divert money from my family for selfish artistic urges. Maybe someone who enjoyed a starlings record at sometime is flush. The closest I've been is flushed. Anyway if no one helps I'm off the hook so nothing to lose. Ta Chris.