Paris Angels and Black Grape guitarist Paul Wagstaff has died, it has been announced. His friends and fans paid tribute to the ‘kindhearted’ star with emotional statements
Paris Angels and Black Grape star Paul ‘Wags’ Wagstaff has died. Tributes have poured in for the musician, who has been part of Domino Bones and Happy Mondays, as they reminisced on his ‘kind heart and a lightness of touch with the disenfranchised.’
Happy Mondays and Black Grape star Bez, real name Mark Berry, paid tribute to his friend on his Facebook page with a throwback photo of Black Grape. He wrote: “Mr Paul Wagstaff (Wags), remembering the good times. RIP my friend.” Paying tribute, presenter Terry Christian wrote on X: “R.I.P Paul ‘Wags’ Wagstaff guitarist with Manchester bands Paris Angels and of course Black Grape and more recently Happy Mondays. Like asking where the music goes when it stops playing – that Manchester vibe Paul was a part of will always be in ‘the area’.”
Wagstaff played guitar with Mancunian act Paris Angel as well as Shaun Ryder’s post-Happy Mondays’ project, Black Grape. He later joined Bez to work on Domino Bones.
The Blackheads frontman Mike Bennett also paid tribute to the star in a statement. Mike said: “Legendary Paul Wagstaff also known as Wags was an important part of Paris Angels, Black Grape and Happy Mondays.
“I knew him for years and he was not just a musician but a literary scholar, and always had a kind heart and a lightness of touch with the disenfranchised. Needless to say I dipped in and out of that category and I have to say that his advice, kind heart scholastic words stopped me from making wrong decision and venturing through dark corridors. Despite his own physical deliberations I found him self deprecating, upbeat and creatively of genius proportions.”
The guitarist was most recently working on a project with his long-term partner Tamara Smith – who is an actress for the Royal Shakespeare Company as well as a poet and playwright.
Paying tribute, Mike continued: “His influence on Tamara’s new body of work will remain substantial and my heart goers out to her, as they have always been quite literally soulmates who looked at life through a very special lens and certainly made a difference both in the local community as well as touching peoples hearts in the artistic community all over the world. He was a one off and told me great stories of working with the likes of Joe Strummer and Snow Patrol. We will never see his like again!”
Singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy posted: “I’m very saddened to hear of the sudden passing of Wags.. aka Paul Wagstaff. He was always a really lovely bloke, and a truly talented and soulful guitarist. Very sad news.”
One fan wrote: “RIP Paul “Wags” Wagstaff. Guitarist with Paris Angels and Black Grape, and – from meeting him at the Town & Country Club in 1991 – lovely bloke.”
Black Grape was formed in 1993 by Bez and Shaun Ryder, who recruited Paul “Kermit” Leveridge and Carl “Psycho” McCarthy, Ged Lynch, Wags and Oli “Dirtycash” Dillon. In 1995, the band were signed by Radioactive Records and released its debut studio album It’s Great When You’re Straight… Yeah. It debuted at number one in the UK Albums Chart and spawned three top 20 singles. It also was certified platinum in the UK in April 1996.
Their subsequent studio album, Stupid Stupid Stupid, wasn’t as commercially successful but was certified gold in the. UK in January 1998. Black Grape broke up that year after Ryder fired the rest of the band while touring. They reunited several times for concerts and more studio albums.
Wagstaff is survived by long-term partner Tamara Smith.
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