William Arthur was the lead
singer,
guitarist and
songwriter behind the
Sydney,
Australia band
Glide. He was born in 1965 in
New Zealand, but quickly became interested in music. With Glide, he released two EPs and four EPs, including one
posthumous release. He died on 20 August 1999. The cause of his
death has not been made public, but it is suspected to have involved a
drug overdose.
This is a pity, because Glide was certainly popular with the critics, but never hit it big. The posthumous album, called Last, actually shows an improvement on already good songwriting ability.
William Arthur was clearly the driving force behind Glide, and after his departure, the band folded. Glide's style is pretty unique, but can be thought of as a combination of, say Ride-style guitars, with Weezer-style pop sensibilities, and Suzanne Vega-style lyrics. Odd mix, but it worked.
Tribute web site: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~ryalljoe/