Billy Bryans, co-founder and drummer of Juno Award-winning band The Parachute Club, has passed away. He died in Toronto’s Kensington Hospice on Monday at the age of 62, after a long battle with lung cancer.
Billy and his band The Parachute Club rose to fame with their hit Rise Up. But Billy's credits and contributions ran much deeper. As a musician, he performed and recorded with bands across the musical spectrum - from rock and blues to punk and African styles.
His work as a record producer was equally eclectic. He worked with everyone from rockabilly groups and reggae artists to South Asian bhangra bands.
About Billy Bryans Billy was born as William Taylor Bryans in Montreal on September 15, 1948. He learned playing the drums by drumming along to discs borrowed from his father's store, Ted’s Records and Hobbies, in the west island community of Pointe-Claire.
After graduating from Sir George Williams University, Billy moved to Toronto in 1970 and became part of Horn, a free jazz and political rock band.
Billy once said he got off on playing with musicians who approached things in a new, fresh way. This included radical feminist rock band Mama Quilla II, and political rock group The Parachute Club.
In 2006 Billy announced that he had lung cancer. Later that year, Bryans defied the odds and recovered from the disease.
Early this year, the drummer, producer and dj announced that his cancer had returned.
