808 State’s Andrew Barker Dies After ‘Short Period of Illness’

Andrew Barker of Manchester electronic band 808 State died on Saturday (Nov. 6), the group confirmed in a statement on social media this weekend.

“It’s with a heavy heart to inform you of the passing of Andrew Barker,” the band posted Sunday on Twitter. “His family and friends asks that people respect their privacy at this time but remember him for the joy he brought through his personality and music. You’ll be sadly missed.”

Barker’s cause of death has not been revealed, but on Instagram, a post about the “tragic news of the passing of Andy Barker” on 808 State’s account stated that he had “experienced a short period of illness and passed away in his hometown of Manchester yesterday.”

The statements were shared with a black-and-white portrait of Barker.

The acid house act released their debut album, Newbuild, in 1988. Andy Barker (alongside Darren Partington, together known as the Spinmasters) joined when Gerald Simpson departed in 1989, and his first work with 808 State was the 1989 EP Quadrastate, which featured the track “Pacific State” that became a top 10 chart single in the United Kingdom.

808 State’s most recent release was 2019’s Transmission Suite, their first new album in 17 years.

“I started DJing when I was fourteen in a local youth club, playing early hip hop and electro,” Barker was quoted as saying in an interview in 2019. “By the time I was old enough to go out clubbing, house music had arrived. The similarity between electro and house was what seduced me to the new genre. It had a huge influence on what I was playing in my sets and creating in the studio.”