Friendly Fires trumpet player, Richard Turner, has died at the age of 27 by suffering cardiac arrest while swimming at a pool at Brockwell Lido in Herne Hill, South London last week. Lifeguards and paramedics tried their best efforts to revive him, but he died at King’s College Hospital in Denmark Hill, Camberwell.
Turner contributed to Friendly Fires live performances on and off, as well as playing in his own band, Round Trip.
A statement on the band’s website said: On Friday we learnt of the sudden passing of Richard Turner. Rich played trumpet in our live gigs on and off for three years. He was an utterly exceptional musician and his contributions to our shows will be hugely missed. He was also an accomplished and admired composer.
The cruel twist is that Richard had trained daily for a long distance swim, called the Great North Swim, which he had completed the week before. His brother, Andy, was shocked to hear what had happened: I last saw my brother the Monday before he died. We had just had an amazing weekend swimming in the sea in Dorset. Rich was a really sociable guy and an amazing musician. Everyone was just bowled over by his talent.
