Brian Anthony Howe Cause of Death: How Did the Singer Die?

Brian Anthony Howe, the lead vocalist for Bad Company, has died. He was 66.

Howe passed away on Wednesday at his home in Florida, according to TMZ. He died of cardiac arrest. Howe had suffered from heart issues and had a heart attack in 2017.

TMZ reports that when paramedics first reached Howe, they had a brief conversation with him and he passed soon after. It is believed he was on the way to the hospital when he died.

His 2017 Heart Attack “Easily” Could Have Killed Him

In May 2019, Howe opened up to the News Press about his heart attack. “It was a bad one, apparently,” he said. “I don’t remember anything about it. I was driving. And I was found in my car at a stop sign, unconscious.”

He added that the heart attack “easily” could have killed him and doctors even discussed taking him off life support.

“It’s what they call a widowmaker,” he told the outlet. “I don’t recall not feeling well. I don’t recall feeling anything. It was suddenly: Lights out. It affected me. I couldn’t talk terribly well — which a lot of people enjoyed, to be honest with you [laughs].”

Doctors reportedly used two stents to open the heart blockage. At the time of the interview, Howe admitted that he still wasn’t completely feeling himself. “It was nasty. It took me a long time to recover. And I’ll be honest with you: Ever since then, I’ve had a difficult time dealing with the heat. It’s just weird. It’s just changed my bio-chemistry, I suppose. … I just can’t take the heat anymore.”

In response to his death, Howe’s longtime friend and manager, Paul Easton, told People, “It is with deep and profound sadness that we announce the untimely passing of a loving father, friend and musical icon, Brian Howe.”

Howe’s sister, Sandie, added, “Finding the appropriate words to express the pain in our hearts over losing my brother has been difficult. Our family would like to thank you for your compassion and the outpouring of love we are receiving.”

He Replaced Paul Rodgers as Lead Vocalist for ‘Bad Company’

Howe, who replaced lead singer Paul Rodgers, was famous for hits in the 80s and 90s like “If You Needed Somebody”, “How About That”, and “Walk Through Fire.”

A prolific songwriter, Howe wrote a majority of the album “Holy Water” in 1990. He left the English rock band in 1994, citing tension with bandmates Mick Ralph and drummer Simon Kirke. NME quotes him as saying, “Leaving Bad Company was not a difficult decision. It had got to the point where nobody was contributing anything to songwriting and quite frankly, the band was getting very very sloppy live.”

In 1997, Howe kickstarted his solo career and released his first solo album, Tangled in Blue. The album was re-released in 2003. Over the course of his career, Howe released three solo albums, the latter two being Touch and Circus Bar.

Prior to joining Bad Company, Howe was the lead singer on Ted Nugent’s “Penetrator” album, which reached No. 56 on the Billboard 200.

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