Dan McCafferty death: Lead singer of Nazareth band dies aged 76

‘I have lost my best friend and the world has lost one of the greatest singers who ever lived,’ his friend and bandmate Paul Agnew wrote in a post announcing his death

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Dan McCafferty, the lead singer of Scottish rock band Nazareth, has died at aged 76.

The news was announced on Tuesday (8 November) by McCafferty’s bandmate Paul Agnew.

“Dan died at 12:40 today,” bassist Agnew wrote, “This is the saddest announcement I ever had to make.”

“Maryann [McCafferty’s wife] and the family have lost a wonderful loving husband and father,” he continued in the post accompanied by a photo of McCafferty.

“I have lost my best friend and the world has lost one of the greatest singers who ever lived.”

“Too upset to say anything more at this time,” he added.

The cause of McCaffery’s death had not been disclosed at the time of writing.

McCafferty sang in Nazareth until 2013 when he stopped touring due to health issues affecting his voice.

The band was formed by McCafferty and Agnew in 1968 in Dunfermline. They were completed by Manny Charlton on Guitar and Darrell Sweet on drums.

They were heavily inspired by British bands such as The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, but got their name from The Band’s iconic song “The Weight” which mentions the city of Nazareth in the first line.

Nazareth moved to London to pursue the band’s career in 1970 and supported Deep Purple on tour.

Notable works include the band’s cover of The Everly Brothers’ single “Love Hurts”, which was included on their album Hair of The Dog in 1975.

The rock ballad went on to reach No 8 on the Billboard 100 charts and has since been used across multiple films and TV moments.

McCafferty is survived by his wife Maryann and their two children.