A singer whose voice was interwoven with early Manchester electronic music has passed away. Denise Johnson, best known for her contributions to Primal Scream‘s 1991 album, Screamadelica, has passed away at age 53. Her cause of death has not been disclosed at the time of writing.
Johnson’s friend, Sue Langford, confirmed her death via Twitter. “The singer Denise Johnson has died suddenly at home in Manchester,” she said in a subsequent statement. “Denise had been ill in the week prior to her death but told friends she was ‘much better’ on Friday. The cause of death is not yet known, although she was discovered, holding her inhaler, on Monday morning.”
“I have so many great memories of Denise from when we were young,” tweeted English singer Rowetta. “We just used to sing and laugh like naughty schoolgirls all the time. A great loss to Manchester and music. My condolences to her family and loved ones.”
Johnson is the second Screamadelica collaborator to die this year. On February 17th, early acid house innovator Andrew Weatherall passed away after a battle with pulmonary embolism.
Most recently, Denise Johnson had delivered an acoustic cover of the New Order classic “True Faith” in 2018 that was to appear on her debut album, Where Does It Go, slated to come out September 25th, 2020. At the time of writing, it is unclear whether the album release will be postponed.
