Timmy Matley dead: The Overtones singer dies age 36
Timmy Matley, one fifth of vocal harmony group The Overtones, has died aged 36.
Timmy’s death was confirmed by his bandmates in an emotional post on the group’s Twitter account.
The Overtones members Mike, Mark, Darren and Lachie said: ‘It is with the greatest sadness that we have to announce that our dear friend and brother Timmy has passed away.”
“We know this news will be as heartbreaking for you all as it is for us… We appreciate your love and support at this difficult time.”
Timmy was one of three in the band who identified as gay, the others being Lachie Chapman and Mark Franks.
The Overtones, Getty Images for Breast Cancer Care)
The singer, who described his role in the band as the one who “sang the high notes” had been diagnosed with skin cancer in 2016, although the star’s exact cause of death has yet to be confirmed.
Timmy’s exact diagnosis was stage three malignant melanoma, an aggressive and life-threatening form of skin cancer.
The Overtones were signed by a talent scout for Warner Bros who saw the five-piece male group busking on Oxford Street.
The group went on to sell over half a million copies of their first album Good OI’ Fashioned Love, released in 2010 and the band subsequently released four more albums.
Timmy Matley, Lachie Chapman, Mike Crawshaw, Mark Franks and Darren Everest from the Overtones (Photo by Rob Ball/Getty Images)
In an interview with Attitude magazine in 2015, Timmy described his ideal guy as someone with “quiet confidence. Not a cocky, loud person who’s letting everyone know they are in the room.”
“Self-belief, it shines through. Oh, I forgot, a bit of St Tropez always helps!”
Timmy said the most important part of his body was his voice, but joked that if the band were to land “a Magic Mike style concert then I would definitely hit the gym more.”
Timmy was active on Twitter up until this month. He tweeted on April 2nd about how he loved Ru Paul’s Drag Race star Miss Vanjie.
The singer also sang with The Overtones not long ago, on March 23rd on Channel 5’s Jane McDonald and Friends.
Timmy, who moved from Cork in Ireland aged 17 to work on his singing career, was due to sky dive for charity on May 3rd to raise funds for the Royal Marsden Hospital where he was receiving cancer treatment.
The star had already raised over £6,000 for the cause via his Just Giving page.
The Overtones are set to tour the UK this summer, although there is no word as yet about whether or not the tour will continue.
