Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty, whose hits included Baker Street and Stuck in the Middle with You, has died aged 63.
His family said he died at home peacefully yesterday morning with his daughter Martha at his side.
Born in the Scottish town of Paisley, near Glasgow, Rafferty recorded and toured with fellow Scot and comedian Billy Connolly as part of the folk band the Humblebums, and co-founded the soft-rock group Stealer’s Wheel in 1972, before pursuing a successful solo career.
The 70s anthem Baker Street, released in 1978, was still earning Rafferty £80,000 a year more than 30 years after its release. The classic rock song, with its memorable saxophone riff, was based on his experiences busking in the London Underground as a struggling young musician.
Stuck in the Middle with You was a hit in the early 70s and also featured on the soundtrack of Quentin Tarantino’s debut film Reservoir Dogs in 1992.
Rafferty had battled an alcohol problem and spent time in hospital with liver failure.
He divorced from his wife Carla – who he met at a dancehall when she was 15 and married five years later – in 1990. According to The Guardian, she said: “There was no hope. I would never have left him if there’d been a glimmer of a chance of him recovering.”
His last album, Another World, was released in 2000.
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