Barry Mitchell, Queen’s second bassist and part of the band’s earliest lineup with Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor, has died at 76. Greg Brooks confirmed the news in a Facebook post, saying he had just received “terribly sad news” that the early Queen player had passed away.
Mitchell’s death brings renewed attention to one of the briefest but most revealing chapters in Queen’s rise. He joined in August 1970 after Mike Grose departed and played 13 gigs with the group over six months, long before John Deacon completed the classic lineup. Mitchell is also believed to have laid down the original bass parts for “Liar” and “Son and Daughter,” songs that helped define the band’s early sound.
His own explanation for leaving was plain enough. In a 2018 Rolling Stone interview, Mitchell said he “wasn't enthusiastic enough” about the band’s musical direction at the time. He exited in January 1971 even as Queen was beginning the climb that would make it one of the biggest bands in the world, then moved on to Crushed Butler, later renamed Tiger, a group biographers would credit as Britain’s first proto-punk act.
That short detour matters because it shows how close Mitchell was to the version of Queen history most listeners know. He was there before the lineup hardened, before the fame, and before the band’s legacy became fixed around Mercury, May, Taylor and Deacon. He is survived by two daughters, and no further public details have been confirmed about the cause of death.
For now, the unanswered part is the simplest one: what ended Mitchell’s life at 76. The public record has the farewell, but not yet the reason.
