Greg Gilbert, frontman of the British indie rock band Delays, has died of bowel cancer at 44. His brother and bandmate Aaron Gilbert announced the news on social media. “This afternoon at 2:22; we walked my brother back home to somewhere out there in the ether,” he wrote. “Greg died surrounded in the endless love that us & all of you have given him on this journey, and we will never be able to fully express how much it meant to him (and all of us) to have you by our side lifting us up like a winged army.”

Formed in the early 2000s, the band was originally called Corky and then Idoru before finally settling on Delays. They signed to Rough Trade Records for the release of their debut album Faded Seaside Glamour in 2004 and went on to release three more albums: You See Colours in 2005, Everything’s The Rush in 2008, and Star Tiger Star Ariel in 2010.

After being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016, Gilbert, who had studied at Winchester Art School before starting Delays, began focusing his creative energy on drawing, painting, and writing poetry. His work was exhibited at Southampton City Art Gallery and his poetry was selected for publication by Carol Ann Duffy as part of her Laureate’s Choice series.

Read his brother Aaron’s tribute and revisit some of Greg’s music below.

I have no idea how to do this right now, but this afternoon at 2:22; we walked my brother back home to somewhere out there in the ether. Greg died surrounded in the endless love that us & all of you have given him on this journey, and we will never be able to fully express how much it meant to him (and all of us) to have you by our side lifting us up like a winged army. Your messages, your encouragement & your compassion have been our oxygen for the last 5 years.

He was my brother & my best friend, & we did everything together, & it was the greatest honour to be with him as he took one last gentle breath before leaving us. I could have sworn we were limitless… But now that ‘is’ has become ‘was’, I need to be mindful that there is still so much majesty out there in the universe, & so much to be thankful for despite the tidal wave of sadness washing over me right now.

We connect on a different level with every human we ever meet; firing synapses, the in-between thoughts and the midnight wanderlust ramblings are the things I’ll miss the most. The memory reels that felt like a movie I wanted to live inside forever. I’m so lucky to have had a brother to carve out such impossibly beautiful moments with, and to show me the true meaning of grace, courage and strength.

He is, & always will be in our melodies, & in all the breaths in between, he’s is in every brush stroke and every piece of art that his mind gave light to… And these are the crutches I’ll try my best to lean on when it all feels too heavy.

Death gives birth to a legacy, & it was his wish that he carried on living through your speakers from horizon to horizon, and through the technicolour delights he’s left for us to swim in. I’ll be singing with him in every blink and every gap and through every teardrop, & I’d love you to do the same, because his life was a chorus & the half life of music is infinite.

Thank you for sharing our grief, & for making it easier to carry at times while you were firefighting battles of your own. & thank you for making Greg such a special person in your lives. I’m so glad we all existed at the same time.

We’re only temporary, let’s make our temporary extraordinary x

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