Alan Cartwright, who played bass in Procol Harum in the mid-’70s, has died at age 75. Louder reports he had been diagnosed with stomach cancer in 2020. News came from fan site Beyond the Pale, via Cartwright’s longtime friend Kenny White, who wrote “It is with great sadness and regret that I have to tell you of the passing of long-time Procol Harum band member Alan Cartwright, who left us in the early hours of the morning of 4 March. Loved and cared for by family and friends, he was at peace. A fine musician but, more important, a fine person: amiable with a great sense of humour. Greatly missed.”

Cartwright joined Procol Harum in 1971 when the band changed direction. Founding guitarist Robin Trower had just left the group, as had bassist Chris Copping. He joined just in time for their hit 1972 live album In Concert with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, which went Top 10 in the U.S. and Canada. He went on to make three studio albums with Procol Harum: 1972’s Grand Hotel, which hit #21 on Billboard’s album charts, as well as 1974’s Exotic Birds and Fruit and 1975’s Procol’s Ninth (which features hit UK single “Pandora’s Box’).

Rest in peace, Alan.