An influential figure, he remained an inquisitive musical spirit to the end.
Damo Suzuki, former lead singer for pioneering German band Can, has died of cancer at the age of 74. His passing was confirmed on February 10 on Can’s social media pages. He had been fighting colon cancer for a decade and had been given a 10 per cent chance of survival.
“It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of our wonderful friend Damo Suzuki, yesterday, Friday 9 February, 2024,” the post read.“His boundless creative energy has touched so many over the whole world, not just with Can, but also with his all-continents spanning Network Tour. Damo’s kind soul and cheeky smile will be forever missed. He will be joining Michael [Karoli], Jaki [Liebezeit] and Holger [Czukay] for a fantastic jam!”
Born Kenji Suzuki in 1950 to an architect father and housewife mother, he left his native Japan the day after his 18th birthday and spent the next two years travelling across Sweden, England and Ireland before arriving in Germany in 1970 where his life was to alter forever. Busking outside a café in Munich, he was spotted by Can bassist Holger Czukay and their drummer Jaki Liebezeit.
Their original vocalist, Malcolm Mooney, had quit the band after singing on their 1969 debut album, Monster Movie. Impressed with Suzuki’s street performance, the pair invited him to join them onstage that night, which he did without any rehearsal. His improvisational style of singing,
