James Woolley, a former keyboardist for industrial rock heavyweights Nine Inch Nails, has died, aged 50.
As Alt Nation reports, Woolley’s ex-wife Katie Van Buren has taken to Facebook to share the sad news, explaining that Woolley died over the weekend.
“I wanted our friends to know so you can please keep Brendan, Mary and Anne, the Woolley family and all his loved ones in your prayers,” Van Buren says.
“James worked hard and played hard with NIN. He brought coolness to playing keyboards, which isn’t as easy to do as playing guitar or drums. Those years were truly magical and quite an adventure.
“Though our marriage ended, James always stayed close to his children. He loved being a father. Because of significant neck and spine injuries, he wasn’t capable of doing a lot of physical activities with them, but he loved sitting down to paint, or teach piano, or just look at nature. He passed his amazing musical and artistic talents to all three children.”
Woolley was a member of the Trent Reznor-led group for over three years. He played keyboard for a run of dates with the band in 1991, playing the Lollapalooza tour. He also played with them through their 1994 Self Destruct tour.
He’s further featured in their 1997 film concert film Closure, although he was no longer touring with the band by then.
Following Nine Inch Nails, Woolley worked with Judas Priest’s Rob Halford on his project 2wo, as well as working with his own band V.O.I.D..
Watch Woolley feature in Nine Inch Nails’ March Of The Pigs video below, alongside Katie Van Buren’s full statement.
UPDATE 18/08/16 11:45am AEST: Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor has issued a statement (Via Rolling Stone) regarding Woolley’s death. It reads:
“Terrible news regarding James. I hadn’t crossed paths with him for some time, but always thought of him fondly. He was a fun character to be around, a solid musician and a genuinely good guy. Those of us from that era of the band have been sharing ‘James’ stories … lots of laughs and love and sadness. Wishing his family the very best.”
Watch: Nine Inch Nails – March Of The Pigs (Live)
https://youtu.be/PL72Tyxe1rc
