Kenny Hyslop, the legendary drummer of Silk Passes Away at 73

Artists and fans are paying tribute to Simple Minds and Slik drummer Kenny Hyslop, who died at 73. The cause of death has not been revealed but it is understood he had been ill for some time.

Born in Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde in 1951, Hyslop began his career as a drummer in the early 1970s, replacing Matt Carins as the drummer of Salvation in 1972.

Two years later the band was renamed Slik following a line-up change that resulted in Ure becoming lead vocalist. Their biggest hit came with the 1975 release of Forever And Ever, which soared to number one on the UK charts.

However, after another name change and a short-lived foray into punk, the group disbanded two years later. Hyslop then played with new wave bands Zones and The Skids before joining Simple Minds.

During his time with that band, he worked on the song Promised You A Miracle and performed on the first leg of the Sons and Fascination Tour. However, he left in early 1982 due to artistic differences with the rest of the band and was replaced for the second leg of the tour. He then went on to form Set the Tone and the One O’Clock Gang.

He also became an alternative DJ until leaving the UK for Canada with the blues band, Big George and the Business. Hyslop later taught drumming at Carlton Studios in Glasgow and continued to produce music, sharing new work through Myspace.

He was also in the band the glam rock group Slik and Midge Ure, who paid tribute to his friend on X. 

He wrote: “Just about to board the @BritishAirways flight from JFK and heard my old friend/Slik/Simple Minds drummer Kenny Hyslop has passed away. He lived a lively life!

“Huge condolences to his friends and family. He was much loved.”

Ure compared Hyslop to Ultravos bass guitarist Chris Cross, with whom he later co-wrote the band’s marvelous hit single Vienna.

“Kenny was like the ‘Chris’ of Slik,” recounted Ure. “We were joined at the hip in those early years. Instantly bonding over our mutual love of ‘button-down pocket’ cowboy shirts! It’s the small thing which enables great friendships to grow…”