Superstar producer for such artists as Madonna, Blur, U2, Britney Spears, Robbie Williams, and Queen, William Orbit passed away on July 23. He was 69 years old.
A formal statement on all of of the musician’s social media pages read “We are deeply saddened by his passing.” “He will be greatly missed by us and by so many whose lives he touched through his music, friendship and kindness.”
It was just months prior to his death that Orbit said he’d written what he considered a spiritual follow-up to Madonna’s ‘Ray of Light’ but admitted the project was “not going to happen” because he hadn’t heard back from the superstar singer. Having won multiple Grammy awards for his work on her 1998 album, the British musician took to Facebook explaining that despite his hopes of reconnecting creatively with the music legend, he hadn’t had any contact from her in more than two decades.
In March, William wrote:
“Right. Let’s put this Madonna ROL 2.0 thing to rest here and now folks. Can get exhausting.” “Is NOT going to happen. Look, why don’t I just lay it out, cos I get asked constantly. I have an album ready that, in my opinion, is indeed the successor to Ray Of Light. Everything about how it was made and how it sounds yells that from the first few bars.” adding that he reached out to Madonna but received “nil response.” “A week later. I speak with many close to her, including fam, but have not had a single syllable back in over two decades. There I said it.”
Despite the lack of communication, Orbit stressed he holds no resentment “Zero zero absolute zero hard feelings. Are you kidding, I will always love that woman. For real. She made my career. But am I crying? Look at me. Crying with mirth and glee these days.”
William revealed he was writing a book, promising it would include his full story along with “deep chapters,” “pop goss,” cartoon art and his trademark humor. He joked that he had “transitioned now to a man for whom Fs are no longer on offer – zero f***s for the music biz.”
Concluding his post with a tongue-in-cheek farewell to the idea of working with Madonna again, he ended with:
“So, for the history books, she doesn’t love me any more – waaaaaaaaah. Awww. No icon for Billy. Never mind, there’ll be another one along. For my ROL 2. And this time Billy goes full gonzo. (sic)”
Having previously collaborated on ‘Ray Of Light’ and ‘Music,’ two of the most acclaimed records of her career, he last worked with Madonna on her 2012 album MDNA.
His last music credit was for All Saints’ 2018 LP Testament.
Tributes have flooded in for the multi-award-winning producer, including Spice Girl Melanie C, who teamed up with Orbit on her debut solo album Northern Star, posted: “Such an honour to have worked with this great man. Sending all my love xxx.” And fellow producer Erol Alkan wrote “Incredible producer. Made so many records I love. My sincerest condolences. RIP.”
It’s unknown how far along he was with the tell-all tome before his death, and at press time, no cause of death is known.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Distributed by I.R.S. Records – Public Domain