Matt Bianco Member Mark Fisher Dies

Mark Fisher, the longtime Matt Bianco member who helped overhaul the veteran U.K. pop band's sound after joining in time for their second album, has passed away.

Details of Fisher's passing are currently unknown, but news of his death has been confirmed by the band's official social media channels, where a Dec. 12 post reads, "It is with a very sad heart that I have to inform you that Mark Fisher passed away peacefully this morning with his family around him, he will be greatly missed. He so loved travelling the world and playing to the Matt Bianco fans."

While not a founding member of Matt Bianco, Fisher was in the fold during the band's greatest period of commercial success. After the departure of original vocalist Basia Trzetrzelewska and keyboardist Danny White, frontman Mark Reilly assembled a new lineup that included Fisher — already a respected session musician whose career included a stint as a keyboard player for Wham!

Fisher's presence was immediately felt on 1986's Matt Bianco LP, which gave the group's sound a much more radio-friendly sheen and gave them their first taste of Top 40 success. That streak continued with 1988's Indigo album, which brought their music to the U.S. and gave them their biggest single, the No. 10 Billboard dance hit "Don't Blame It on That Girl."

Matt Bianco continued to record throughout the '90s, although subsequent efforts saw their sales momentum slow outside the Asian market. Fisher split after the turn of the century, leaving Reilly to reunite the original lineup for a one-off album — following which Fisher returned again, contributing to 2009's HiFi Bossanova LP.

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