Spice Girls pay tribute to Steve Lewinson
The iconic British girl group praised "brilliant" bass player Steve Lewinson.
The Spice Girls are mourning the death of bass guitarist Steve Lewinson.
Lewinson, who was well-known as a member of the Simply Red band, passed away in December at the age of 58. The official Spice Girls social media accounts paid tribute to him on Monday.
"We were deeply saddened to hear that Steve Lewinson, who so brilliantly played bass for us on our first ever tour and featured on Spiceworld the album, passed away just before Christmas," the band captioned a video of clips showing them onstage with him.
The bassist also played for Amy Winehouse, Kylie Minogue, Sade, and George Michael.
"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fellow musicians today," the Spice Girls added.
Steve's Celebration of Life service was held on Monday, January 20. Singer-songwriter Amy Studt described the funeral as the "most stunning, fitting, glorious send-off".
"I will miss you always, Steve. He taught me so much and was an instant friend since I was 14 when we first started writing together. Today was hard but it was a beautiful service. Magnificent show-up for such a great man. He was so bursting full of light, joy, laughter, curiosity, kindness and talent. Sunrise to sunset indeed. Can’t believe I’ll never get to speak to him again. All my love and thoughts with his family and everyone who knew and loved this exceptional man," she said.
We were deeply saddened to hear that Steve Lewinson, who so brilliantly played bass for us on our first ever tour and featured on Spiceworld the album, passed away just before Christmas.
— Spice Girls (@spicegirls) January 20, 2025
Our thoughts are with his family, friends and fellow musicians today 🤍 pic.twitter.com/FmzrlYpsHg
Simply Red shared a statement from Lewinson's family on December 22. It revealed that Lewinson passed away on Monday, December 16.
"In October 2024 he was diagnosed with an aggressive and malignant brain tumour and had already undergone initial treatment. Despite the nature of the diagnosis, Steve’s condition was considered to be stable at the time, and he was optimistic about further interventions. His passing at this stage was an unexpected and devastating shock to us all," the statement read.
He was surrounded by his wife and family when he died.
"Steve faced his journey with courage and hope, and he had excellent care and support from his family, friends and medical teams."
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Scores of social media users also paid tribute to Lewinson.
"Matt & I will never forget recording Steve playing the bass on
'Never Give On The Good Times'. He elevated that track and made it so
authentic and joyful. Such a talent. Such a loss. We love you, Steve,"
writer and producer Richard Stannard said.
In honour of Lewinson, watch the Spice Girls' emotional 'Goodbye' music video below.
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Main image credit: YouTube/Spice Girls