Walter Lure, guitarist for the pioneering New York punk band Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers, has died. The Los Angeles club Starwood posted about his death: “Walter Lure (April 22, 1949 – August 22, 2020) our dear friend has passed away. Walter was diagnosed with liver and lung cancer in July 2020, which spread rapidly and he died from complications related to the cancer at the age of 71, peacefully in the hospital, surrounded by family.”

Lure played on the Heartbreakers’ one and only studio album, L.A.M.F. — which came out in 1977 — and he left the band shortly after it was released. He became a stock broker but continued to play music. He reunited with the Heartbreakers a number of times before leader Johnny Thunders’ death in 1991 and their drummer Jerry Nolan’s death in 1992. (Bassist Billy Rath also died in 2014.)

Lure had his own band, the Waldos. In 2018, he put out his first new album in 24 years with them. He also performed a number of Heartbreakers retrospective shows over the years. Earlier this year, Lure put out his memoir To Hell And Back: My Life In Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers, In The Words Of The Last Man Standing.