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Greg Gilbert, the lead singer of indie band Delays, has died aged 44 after a five year battle with bowel cancer.
The musician’s death was announced by his heartbroken younger brother Aaron, 42, on Thursday, who paid tribute to his sibling, band member and ‘best friend’.
Last month Greg revealed he’d stopped treatment for the stage 4 bowel cancer he was diagnosed with in 2016.
RIP: Greg Gilbert, the lead singer of indie band Delays, has died aged 44 after a five year battle with bowel cancer (pictured performing at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2014)
Taking to Twitter, Aaron told their fans in a statement: ‘I have no idea how to do this right now, but this afternoon at 2:22; we walked my brother back home to somewhere out there in the ether.
‘Greg died surrounded in the endless love that us and all of you have given him on this journey, and we will never be able to fully express how much it meant to him (and all of us) to have you by our side lifting us up like a winged army.
‘Your messages, your encouragement and your compassion have been our oxygen for the last five years. He was my brother and my best friend, and we did everything together.
‘It was the greatest honour to be with him as he took one last gentle breath before leaving us. I could have sworn we were limitless…’
Singer and artist Greg, 44, was first diagnosed with stage 4 bowel cancer in 2016. The Delays frontman is father to Dali and Bay (pictured)
Indie: The Delays were formed in Southampton in 2001 with the band being made up of brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, and Colin Fox and Rowley (pictured in 2006)
Tribute: Taking to Twitter Aaron told their fans in a statement: ‘Greg died surrounded in the endless love that us and all of you have given him’
Aaron continued how he felt ‘so grateful’ to have brother who showed him ‘the true meaning of grace, courage and strength’.
He continued: ‘Thank you for sharing our grief, and for making it easier to carry at times while you were firefighting battles of your own…
‘And thank you for making Greg such a special person in your lives. I’m so glad we all existed at the same time. We’re only temporary, let’s make our temporary extraordinary.’
Last month Greg revealed he’d stopped treatment for the stage 4 bowel cancer he was diagnosed with five years ago.
Health: Last month Greg revealed he’d stopped treatment for the stage 4 bowel cancer he was diagnosed with five years ago
In an emotional post across his social media accounts, father-of-two Greg told his followers ‘this isn’t a post I ever thought I’d have to write’, explaining that he was now solely on pain relief.
Gilbert also praised hospital staff who are treating him at a Southampton hospice, calling them ‘angels’.
He told fans: ‘This isn’t a post I ever thought I’d have to write but it suddenly seems necessary. I have, unfortunately, been taken off of treatment and am now being treated solely for pain relief.
‘I don’t know how long I have’: In an emotional post across his social media accounts, father-of-two Greg told his followers ‘this isn’t a post I ever thought I’d have to write’
‘The pains are mostly under control and the nurses here are nothing less than angels.’
The singer and guitarist was first diagnosed with the disease on his youngest daughter Bay’s first birthday in 2016 and was told by doctors that the cancer had already spread to his lungs.
Despite multiple treatments in recent years, he revealed to fans of the band, who supported the Manic Street Preachers and Franz Ferdinand on tours in the 90s, that there are no longer treatment options beyond pain management.
Gilbert’s diagnosis came after he had been treated for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) prior to being blighted with severe pains in his abdomen, leading doctors to discover a ‘cancerous blockage in his bowel’.
His wife Stacey set up a Go Fund Me campaign page at the time, writing: ‘We were told this heart breaking news on our daughter Bay’s 1st birthday. I cannot put into words the terror and shock of this moment.
Chart-toppers: Delays have seen two of their four studio albums reach the top 30 in the UK Albums Chart, with their debut record Faded Seaside Glamour hit number 17 in 2004
‘Greg is an otherwise fit and healthy 39-year old man who has never smoked, taken drugs and has rarely even drunk alcohol.
‘To hear Greg ask the consultant how long he had left to live is the darkest moment of my life and something that will haunt me forever.’
In 2019, Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy selected poems Gilbert had written about living with cancer for the Laureate’s Choice series.
The Delays were formed in Southampton in 2001 with the band being made up of brothers Greg and Aaron Gilbert, and Colin Fox and Rowley.
They have seen two of their four studio albums reach the top 30 in the UK Albums Chart, with their debut record Faded Seaside Glamour hit number 17 in 2004.
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