Obituaries: Dickie Peterson, Brendan Mullen, Stephen Gately

• Blue Cheer bassist-singer Dickie Peterson died yesterday in Germany after developing an infection following surgery to treat prostate and liver cancer, Blabbermouth reports. Peterson, 61 (pictured above) was a founding member of the hard-rock trio whose debut Vincebus Eruptum remains a heavy-metal landmark.

• Brendan Mullen, a pioneer behind the scenes of the Los Angeles punk scene, passed away from a sudden stroke Monday in L.A., Variety reports. Mullen founded legendary club the Masque in 1977, where the Germs and X performed legendary gigs; he later became a booker at Club Lingerie and co-wrote We Got the Neutron Bomb: The Untold Story of L.A. Punk. His final book was the Jane's Addiction oral history Whores, which was published in 2005.
• Stephen Gately of Irish boy band Boyzone died unexpectedly while on vacation with his boyfriend in Majorca, ABC News reports. Gately, 33, suffered a buildup of fluid in his lungs that led to respiratory failure.

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Song Stories

“Weird”

Hanson | 1997

Accomplished tunesmith Desmond Child co-wrote "Weird" with the three brothers that make up Hanson. Credited for dozens of cuts, including songs by Kiss, Cher, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, Child told Rolling Stone that "Weird" holds a special place in his heart, "because it's about being different--and I grew up poor, I grew up being Latin, I grew up being gay, and now I'm fat!" The song was included on Hanson's 1997 album Middle of Nowhere, which sold more than ten million units.

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