Herbie Flowers, Bassist Who Played for David Bowie, Lou Reed & Others, Dies at 86

Bass guitarist Herbie Flowers, who played with David Bowie, Elton John, Lou Reed and other music legends in a decades-long career, has died at 86.

The musician’s family confirmed his death on Facebook Saturday (Sept. 7).

“While we knew and loved him as Uncle Herbie, his musical contributions have likely touched your lives as well,” the husband of Flowers’ niece wrote. “He played bass on many of the songs from the golden age of rock,” the post reads.

A cause of death was not provided.

Flowers was a founding member of the pop group Blue Mink, who later joined the rock band T Rex. He won acclaim for his work with many of the biggest names in U.K. music in the 1970s, giving Reed’s “Walk on the Wild Side,” from the 1972 Transformer album, its recognizable twinned bassline.

He also played bass for Bowie’s “Space Oddity,” Bryan Ferry’s “The Bride Stripped Bare,” and Paul McCartney’s “Give My Regards to Broad Street,” and featured in two of John’s early ’70s albums, among many others.

In a tribute, Bowie’s estate wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “his work with Bowie and associates over the years is too long to list here.”

“Aside from his incredible musicianship over many decades, he was a beautiful soul and a very funny man. He will be sorely missed,” it said. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends.”

Tim Burgess, lead singer for The Charlatans singer, wrote X that Flowers “made the greats sound greater.”

Flowers also founded the instrumental rock band Sky in the late 1970s, releasing seven albums.