According to Consequence, Manny Charlton of Scottish hard rock band Nazareth has passed away at the age of 80. Charlton was a founding member and lead guitarist of the group. Details about his cause of death have yet to be released but the band wrote in a Facebook post that it “was sudden and not illness related.”
In the same Facebook post, the band honored Charlton’s musical talent, “Manny was there from the very beginning of Nazareth so we all came up together through the tough times and through the wonderfully successful years,” the statement continues, “Not only was he a team player who loved jamming for hours… He was never happier than when he was sitting in the producers chair making records and searching for that special ‘racket’ that he was always trying to create.”
RIP Manny Charlton
Posted by Nazareth on Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Nazareth was formed in 1968 with founding members Charlton, bassist Pete Agnew, vocalist Dan McCafferty and drummer Darrell Sweet. They released their debut self-titled album in 1971 before going on to release their classic 1975 record Hair of the Dog which featured the band’s hit cover of The Everly Brothers’ “Love Hurts.”
Charlton’s contributions went beyond Nazareth. After leaving the band in 1990, he released his first solo album Drool (1997). He released several albums including Hellacious (2013). Guns N’ Roses Axl Rose had originally enlisted him to produce their classic 1987 album Appetite For Destruction, however, conflicting schedules meant that he was unable to produce the final product. In 2018, the band released Charlton’s production as a reissue.