An online obituary on Sunday, September 1, 2024, announced the passing of Rufus Ruffell, former guitarist of The Rubettes band.
“I’m deeply saddened to share that my friend and bandmate Rufus Ruffell has passed away. You’ll always be a part of our music mate. Rest in peace,” a tribute post shared on Facebook said.
Rufus was a member of The Rubettes from year 2000 to 2009 (guitars, vocals).
The Rubettes
The Rubettes are an English pop/glam rock band put together in 1974 after the release of “Sugar Baby Love”, a recording assembled of studio session musicians in 1973 by the songwriting team of Wayne Bickerton, the then head of A&R at Polydor Records, and his co-songwriter, Tony Waddington after their doo-wop and 1950s American pop-influenced songs had been rejected by a number of existing acts. Waddington paired the group with manager John Morris, the husband of singer Clodagh Rodgers and under his guidance, the band duly emerged at the tail end of the glam rock movement, wearing trademark white suits and cloth caps on stage. Their first release, “Sugar Baby Love” was an instant hit remaining at number one in the United Kingdom for four weeks in May 1974, while reaching number 37 on the US chart that August, and remains their best-known record. Subsequent releases were to be less successful, but the band continued to tour well into the 2000s with two line-ups in existence.
