Can singer Damo Suzuki dies at 74

Legendary Japanese vocalist of the band Can, Damo Suzuki, died on February 9 at the age of 74.

Suzuki’s label, Spoon Records did not disclose the cause of death, however, the singer was struggling with colon cancer since 2014. His label wrote that “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.”

Born in Kobe, Japan, Suzuki made his way to Germany in the 1960s where he was found by Can’s bassist, Holger Czukay and drummer, Jaki Liebezeit, while he was busking in front of a Munich cafe.

The band had already released one album entitled Monster Movie with their original vocalist Malcolm Mooney. Suzuki joined the band and put some work into their 1970s album Soundtracks. In 1971, Can released their first album with Suzuki entitled Tago Mago.

He was most known for his work on tracks such as ‘Vitamin C’ and ‘Spoon’ but helped create the Future Days LP with the band before departing from music in 1973. In that time he became a Jehovah’s Witness for a decade.

When he did return to music, Suzuki played globally with various musicians and referred to this tour as Damo Suzuki’s Network. He released many Network and solo tracks over the next few decades. In 2019 he co-authored a memoir with Paul Woods entitled I Am Damo Suzuki. He was also part of Michelle Heighway’s 2022 documentary Energy.