Former SUEDE frontman BRETT ANDERSON has paid tribute to the band’s manager JON EYDMANN, who died while swimming in a lake in Italy.
Eydmann, 41, suffered a suspected seizure when he plunged into the icy waters of Lake Como from the deck of a boat on Monday (31Aug09).
The music mogul was a respected and well-liked figure in the U.K. record industry, and steered Suede through their early days at the forefront of the Britpop movement in the early and mid-1990s.
The Animal Nitrate rockers split in 2003, but Eydmann continued to work in the music business, managing bands through his record company Messy Lives Music.
Suede singer Anderson tells WENN, “I was deeply saddened to hear about Jon’s death. He was a lovely man and I only have fond memories of working with him.”
A police spokesman in Menaggio, on the shores of Lake Como, said the investigation into the tragedy is ongoing, but it’s believed Eydmann’s body reacted to the sudden drop in temperature when he went for a swim.
The spokesman adds, “The weather that day was very hot, but the water is very cold and the theory is that there was some reaction to the sudden difference in body temperature.”
At the time of his death, Eydmann was writing a cookbook and studying history. He is survived by his partner and eight-year-old son.