ATKINSON, N.H. -- Brad Delp, who grew up in Danvers and was lead singer for the 1970s rock band Boston, was found dead yesterday in his home, police said. He was 55.

Atkinson police responded to a call for help at 1:20 p.m. and found Delp dead. Police Lt. William Baldwin said in a statement the death was "untimely" and there was no indication of foul play.
Delp apparently was alone at the time of his death, Baldwin said.

The cause of his death remained under investigation by the Atkinson police and the New Hampshire Medical Examiner's office. Police said an incident report will not be available until Monday.

Delp's hugely successful rock band rose to fame in the late 1970s and had several hits, including "More Than a Feeling." The group sold millions of records.

But before that, Delp, who grew up on Wadsworth Street in Danvers, played in a band called The Monks while a student at Danvers High.

"Anybody who grew up in Danvers knew who he was," Danvers teacher Lisa Dean told The Salem News this winter. "When he hit it big in '76 and ended up being the lead singer of Boston, of course everybody in the world knew who he was."

Delp's Beatles cover band BeatleJuice headlined Feb. 3 at a fundraiser concert Dean helped organize for the Danvers High Falcons baseball team. It was Delp's first time on the Danvers High auditorium stage since he graduated from there in 1969.

The Monks were known for their performances at high school variety shows and YMCA dances. They held a reunion in July 2001 at the Danversport Yacht Club to raise money for the Friends of Folly Hill, a neighborhood group fighting plans for a subdivision. The reunion featured original members Steve Frary, Steve Cohen, Roger Kimball and Bobby Hayes.

For several years, Delp had been living on a quiet, wooded street just north of the New Hampshire line, in Atkinson. No one answered the door at his home last night.

Neighbors said he lived there with his fiancé, Pam Sullivan, whom he had proposed to over Christmas and planned to marry this summer. He also has a teenage son who lives in California and sometimes came to visit in the summertime, according to neighbors.

Ken Silva, who lived directly across the street from Delp for four years, said he was friendly and kind, often helping his neighbors shovel snow or dropping by to say "hello" if he saw Silva out on the front lawn.

"Brad was just a regular guy," he said. "You wouldn't know Brad was a famous pop star."

Next door to Silva, 14-year-old Amanda Harty has pictures of her and Delp from one of the many BeatleJuice shows she has attended, the last one at the Portsmouth Music Hall just a couple of weeks ago. But Harty also enjoyed Boston's music, especially since her name is the same as one of their most famous songs.

Harty said she was impressed with how normal Delp was.

"You'd think a lead singer from a big band would be snobby," she said. "He was just all around a good person."

Last night, Boston's official Web site was taken down and replaced with the statement: "We just lost the nicest guy ebony porn in rock and roll."

A call to the Swampscott home of Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau was not immediately returned last night.

blog comments powered by Disqus